CMT Honors Decade’s Greatest Hits

CMT will commemorate the first decade of the 21st century with a two-hour special, “CMT’s 40 Greatest Songs Of The Decade.” The show premieres November 13th and pays tribute to Country’s Top 40 Videos from 2000 to 2010.

See Rascal Flatts By ‘Invitation Only’

Rascal Flatts are the next act to be featured on the CMT “Invitation Only” series, Rascal Flatts. The all-new episode premieres November 15th. The performance is taped before a small studio audience in Nashville, where Gary, Jay and Joe Don answer questions from the audience and perform some of their biggest hits. They will also introduce some of the music from their new album, “Nothing Like This,” which drops the day after the show’s premiere.

Tracy Lawrence To Fry Up Turkeys For Homeless

Tracy Lawrence, friends and colleagues are set to gather to feed those less-fortunate on Thanksgiving. Tracy’s 5th Annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry will be November 23rd in Nashville. In the years that this event has been held, they have donated more than 4,000 turkeys and meals – valued at over $84,000 to the Nashville Rescue Mission. In addition, cash donations from the event have exceeded $100,000.

Taylor TV

Taylor Swift has a slew of TV appearances next week surrounding the release of her new album, “Speak Now.” She’ll play a special concert at the United Nations in New York on Monday that will stream online globally via MTV’s many websites. On Tuesday, she performs on the “Today Show” as well as the “Late Show with David Letterman.” On Wednesday, Swift will appear on “Live with Regis & Kelly” and take part in a special literacy event as part of Scholastic’s 90th anniversary literary campaign. She’ll also attend the unveiling of a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussaud’s. Swift will perform a special concert at JFK airport, then fly to the west coast with a group of contest winners. She will tape an episode of the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” slated to air November 1st, and also perform on “Dancing With The Stars” on November 2nd.

Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center Opening Set

The grand opening of the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center is set for November 3rd in Savannah, Tennessee. Located on the campus of the Hardin Medical Center, the new facility has been planned since 2004. The Darryl Worley Foundation, the medical center and the Hardin County Community and Healthcare Foundation have raised $1.7 million toward their $2 million goal for the project. They hope to reach the total before work on the center is completed early next year. Worley has raised money through his annual “Tennessee River Run” festival in Savannah.

How Toby Handled Bullies

Toby Keith has strong thoughts about bullying. “Yeah, bullying is bad, but in my generation, my father wouldn’t allow that to happen,” he told CNN. “My father would say, ‘Do whatever you have to do to shut it down, you know. Fight.’ We would fight the bully. If you let the guy bully you every day at school, it’s going to continue to go. So it’s better to take that ass-whooping the first day and get it over with, and then they usually leave you alone.” Toby says that is advice he’s lived by throughout his life.

Nettles To Host CMA Christmas Special

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland has signed on to serve as host of “CMA Country Christmas,” a special to be taped in Nashville. The holiday show will be taped in front of a live audience on November 11th and will air November 29th on ABC. Kellie Pickler has been added to the list of performers, which includes Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Darius Rucker and Sugarland.

Taylor Swift Gets ‘Mean’

With this week’s release of “Mean,” Taylor Swift topped her own Billboard record – which she set last week for Most Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 in the history of the chart. The four songs from “Speak Now” released early as part of an iTunes rollout all reached No. 1 on the all-genre downloads chart within hours of their release, and paid song downloads from “Speak Now” now top 1.8 million.

Lady Antebellum Re-Lives ‘Worst Gig Ever’

More than 1,000 people showed up at a gas station to help Lady Antebellum relive their “worst gig ever.” The trio performed their hit song “Need You Now” yesterday, along with two other songs during a free mini-concert at the Mayfield Mobil station in Milwaukee. The concert was a re-enactment of a performance the band once described as their “worst gig ever” – when they performed at a nearby truck stop at the crack of dawn on opening day of deer hunting season, long before they became stars.

Brad Paisley’s ‘Hits Alive’

Brad Paisley, who has delivered one of the year’s hottest country tours with his “H2O World Tour,” will release the double-disc “Hits Alive” on November 2nd. In live or studio versions, the collection includes 15 of Paisley’s No. 1 songs and four that hit the Top 5, plus the instrumental “Time Warp” and Brad’s current single, “Anything Like Me.” Featuring 21 individual songs, the two discs sport 24 total tracks, some presented both in live and studio versions.

Jamey Johnson’s Video Premiering

Jamey Johnson’s video for “Playing the Part,” directed by Matthew McConaughey, premieres this week. “Entertainment Tonight” will feature the world premiere today. VEVO will premiere the full-length director’s cut on at www.vevo.com and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage will be available online at www.people.com. It is the first music video ever directed by McConaughey and the first video from Johnson’s No. 1 double album, “The Guitar Song.” Johnson, who is currently on tour, will perform on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on October 26th.

Gary Allan To Undergo Vocal Cord Surgery

Gary Allan has had to cancel a couple of dates in December due to minor vocal cord surgery he’ll undergo next month. His shows in Cherokee, North Carolina, on December 11th and Las Vegas on December 31st will be rescheduled. Gary’s October and November dates will not be affected. The procedure to remove a polyp from his vocal cord will take place in late November. Gary is expected to make a full recovery and is set to resume his tour schedule in the middle of February.

Dierks Bentley Celebrates Fifth Annual Miles & Music For Kids

Dierks Bentley’s fifth annual “Music and Miles for Kids” benefit event on Sunday was a roaring success. The fundraiser benefits Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Dierks was able to add over $250,000 to the already $1.2 million that has been raised through the charity so far. The benefit concert included performances by Luke Bryan, Laura Bell Bundy, Mat Kearney, Miranda Lambert, Del McCoury, Heidi Newfield and Jerrod Niemann. More than 1,200 motorcycle enthusiasts and country music fans lined up for miles behind Bentley for a bike ride from Columbia, Tennessee, to Nashville’s Riverfront Park.

Phil Vassar To Headline New Year’s Eve ‘Bash On Broadway’

Phil Vassar will headline the second annual New Year’s Eve “Bash on Broadway” in downtown Nashville on December 31st. Phil will be joined by Heidi Newfield, Nashville rocker Will Hoge and MuzikMafia’s Damien Horne. The New Year’s Eve bash, which will be free and open to the public, will be hosted by Storme Warren.

Kenny Chesney Releasing New Single, DVD

Kenny Chesney is releasing “Somewhere With You” as the second single from his latest album, “Hemingway’s Whiskey.” The single follows Chesney’s No. 1 “The Boys of Fall.” In addition, Chesney’s football documentary, “Boys of Fall,” will be released on DVD exclusively at Walmart on November 9th. The DVD offers the never-before-seen, full-length 90-minute version of the documentary, along with bonus features, behind-the-scenes footage and commentary.

Taylor Swift To Perform At CMAs

Taylor Swift has been booked to perform at the 44th annual CMA Awards show in Nashville. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will serve as hosts at the November 10th event. Previously announced performers include Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Sugarland, Underwood and Keith Urban. In addition, special duet performances will feature Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson and Miranda Lambert with Sheryl Crow in a tribute to Loretta Lynn’s 50th anniversary as a recording artist.

Is Taylor Swift’s New Song About John Mayer?

A song on Taylor Swift’s upcoming album, “Speak Now,” is reportedly about a brief fling she had with John Mayer. “Dear John” drops hints about a romance with an older man. The two first met to record a duet, “Half of My Heart,” on “Battle Studies,” the latest album from the 32-year-old. Swift has neither confirmed nor denied that the song is about Mayer, but she does have a history of writing songs about the men in her life, including Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner and Kanye West.

Rascal Flatts Reveal Track List For ‘Nothing Like This’

Rascal Flatts’ upcoming album, “Nothing Like This,” will not only include the hit single “Why Wait” but will also feature a collaboration with pop star Natasha Bedingfield on a song titled “Easy.” The trio will also release an exclusive version at Walmart, featuring bonus footage from the filming of the video for “Why Wait,” featuring David Arquette, Ron White, Wayne Newton, Penn & Teller and Carrot Top. The package will also contain the video in its entirety as well. The album comes out November 16th.

Rascal Flatts Wrap Tour

Rascal Flatts wrapped the first leg of their “Nothing Like This Tour” last weekend in Irvine, California, closing out the year with 650,000 fans attending 56 shows. The “Nothing Like This Tour” will continue with a second leg in 2011 with special guests Chris Young and Luke Bryan. Dates will be announced soon.

T.J. Martell Foundation Gala Set

Charlie Daniels, Colbie Caillat and Enrique Iglesias will perform during the 35th annual T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research awards gala set for October 27th in New York City. Daniels will be presented the foundation’s Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award and Kenny Loggins will receive the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award. Jaron and the Long Road to Love will also attend the gala that includes a tribute to heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who died in May after a battle with cancer.