Bill Monroe To Be Featured In Times Square Ad

The late father of bluegrass music soon will be playing in Times Square in New York. Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau has contracted for a 15-second ad on a digital full-motion billboard on New York’s 42nd Street. The ad will promote the centennial of Bill Monroe’s birth. The spot will feature Monroe, bluegrass music and Owensboro and will run 18 times a day for 48 days at a cost of $15,000. It’s running from November 15th to January 1st, which will cover the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration. The ad also will feature the convention bureau’s new website, www.BillMonroe100birthday.com. Monroe died in 1996. He is buried in Rosine, Kentucky.

Jason’s Gracious About Taylor Taking No. 1

Jason Aldean says he doesn’t mind a bit that Taylor Swift blocked him from the No. 1 spot on albums charts, even though he sold 193,000 copies of his new album, “My Kinda Party,” in its debut week. In that same week, Taylor sold an amazing 320,000 copies of “Speak Now,” a week after debuting with more than 1 million in sales. “I don’t even count Taylor Swift,” Jason told Country Weekly. “She’s on a different planet than the rest of us.” He added, “You know what? Congrats to Taylor. A lot of people just don’t do those numbers anymore. It just goes to show you, people are still into buying full-length albums.” Jason can take some comfort in having the best male country album debut since Kenny Chesney’s 2007 album release.

Brad Paisley Shares His CMA Trophy

Brad Paisley’s win as Entertainer of the Year at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards was bittersweet. Backstage after receiving the evening’s highest honor, Brad said he would share his award with his band and crew, who he said stepped up to the plate after Nashville floods destroyed the stage set and his guitars just as they were starting rehearsals for the new “H2O World Tour.” “I owe this award to my crew, who take as much pride in our concerts as I do,” he said. “If ever there was a year I wanted to win this award, this was it.” Brad had been up for the Entertainer award six times; this was his first win.

Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith To Tour As ‘2 Friends’

Amy Grant is hitting the road in February 2011 with contemporary Christian music star, Michael W. Smith. Amy and Michael will play 15 dates together on their “2 Friends” tour, which begins February 10th in Holland, Michigan, and ends March 6th in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Keith Urban To Share ‘An Inside Look At Get Closer’

Keith Urban is the subject of “Count Me In ... An Inside Look at Get Closer,” a 30-minute documentary debuting November 16th, on Hulu. The film gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the singer’s latest album, “Get Closer,” being released the same day.

Rascal Flatts To Resume Tour In ‘11

Rascal Flatts have announced cities and dates for the second leg of their “Nothing Like This” tour with opening acts Luke Bryan and Chris Young. The 21-show tour kicks off January 14th in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and ends March 12th in Oklahoma City. Rascal Flatts performed for more than 650,000 people in 2010. They completed the first leg of their Nothing Like This tour in October. The band will release their first album on Big Machine Records, “Nothing Like This,” on November 16th.

Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus Join AMA Lineup

Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus will perform on this year’s American Music Awards, airing November 21st on ABC. Kid Rock, whose new album, “Born Free,” comes out November 16th, also joins the lineup, which includes previously announced acts P!nk, Usher, Ne-Yo, Diddy, Bon Jovi and Rihanna, who will open the show. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, the New Kids On The Block and the Backstreet Boys will also perform.

Urban Releasing New Songs

Keith Urban is releasing tracks from his new CD. Each day leading up to the November 16th release of “Get Closer,” Urban and Target will release one new track via Facebook, Facebook.com/Keith Urban and Facebook.com/Target. At Target and Target.com, fans can get the special deluxe edition of “Get Closer,” which includes four live tracks and three exclusive songs not found anywhere else. On November 16th, each of the three Target exclusive songs will be available for guests to listen and share with their friends.

Carrie Underwood Featured In New Olay Campaign

Carrie Underwood now appears in a series of ads for skincare giant Olay. Carrie is featured in various ads that show her with a freshly-washed face to promote the company's line of facial cleansers, including foaming formulas, cloth wipes, and scrubs.

Hillary Scott Claims SESAC Honors

Lady Antebellum’s RodeHillary Scott was crowned Songwriter of the Year Monday at the SESAC Nashville Music Awards ceremony, held at the performing rights organization's headquarters on Music Row. Scott also won separate trophies for her part in writing the Lady Antebellum hits “Need You Now,” “Run to You” and “Our Kind of Love.” Lady Antebellum opened the ceremony by singing their hit “Need You Now.” "Need You Know" took Song of the Year honors, and earned EMI Foray Music Publisher of the Year.

Jo Dee Messina Releases Two 'Unmistakable' Eps

Jo Dee Messina's “Inspiration” and “Drive” are now available online. Those are the titles of the two new EPs in her “Unmistakable” collection, each containing eight new tracks. The EPs are the second and third installation in the “Unmistakable” series, which launched in April with the release of “Love,” the first new music from Jo Dee in five years. “Drive” features acoustic live versions of “I’m Alright” and “Lesson in Leavin’,” while “Inspiration” includes acoustic live versions of “Bring on the Rain” and “Even God Must Get the Blues,” as well as previously unreleased “How Do You Get High?” and the personal “That's God.”

 

Garth Announces New Dates For Wynn Las Vegas

Garth Brooks has performed to sold-out crowds and rave reviews at the intimate Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas since December 2009. Tickets for the next series of concerts will go on sale on Saturday. Tickets are $225 plus service charge and tax ($253 total). Dates include December 3-5, January 21-23, February 11-13, and February 25-27.

James Otto Wants Your Veterans’ Photos

James Otto says Veterans Day is a big deal at his house. Otto’s dad was an Army drill sergeant for 23 years, and his grandfather is a Korean War vet. Otto himself served in the Navy. Now Otto is collecting photos of other veterans to be used in a video for his song, “Soldiers and Jesus.” You can submit photos through his website at www.jamesotto.net.

Taylor Swift Named BMI Songwriter Of The Year

Taylor Swift’s success continues as she was named Country Songwriter of the Year at the BMI Awards last night, becoming the youngest person to win the award at age 20. Swift also won Country Song of the Year with co-writer Liz Rose for “You Belong To Me.” She’s the first songwriter to win that award three years in a row. Swift’s new album, “Speak Now,” had the biggest opening of any record since 2005 last week. While things have been going well for Swift, Monday was a tough day for her. She attended the funeral of a close friend. “He was 21, and I used to play my songs for him first,” Taylor said.