Whether it be midnight mass, a special holiday dinner or, in my family, eating Mexican food followed by the Griswold’s family Christmas — traditions are traditions. So, when Carrie Underwood recently stopped by CMT to chat about her latest musical project, Greatest Hits: Decade #1, I was curious to find out a few of her… Read more »

My invitation to visit Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks’ house for Christmas must have been lost in the mail. Which is a total bummer because, according to Yearwood, you’d definitely want to be in their home during the holidays. “Our house does smell amazing during Christmas — and it looks amazing during Christmas,” said Yearwood,… Read more »

Fabled guitarist and record producer Chip Young died Saturday (Dec. 20) in Nashville at the age of 76. Born Jerry Marvin Stembridge in Atlanta on May 19, 1938, Young began his career in the 1950s, playing with fellow guitar hotshot Jerry Reed and singer-songwriter Joe South. His talents flowered in the 1960s and ‘70s, during… Read more »

In a move that should have surprised absolutely no one, Justin Timberlake brought Garth Brooks onstage with him on Friday (Dec. 19) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Because, duh. Let’s go back in time for a second. Timberlake has been a fan of Brooks since he was a little kid. Remember the video that surfaced a… Read more »

Was it her bachelorette party? Or just a trip to New York for some holiday boondoggling? I’m going to go with yes to both. That’s because Brittany Kerr — Jason Aldean’s fiancee — posted an Instagram picture of herself with a group of eight girlfriends on a New York City street on Thursday (Dec. 11)…. Read more »

The way I look at “best of” lists is this: It’s not so much what I thought was the best from this year. It’s more an indication of the music I am taking with me into next year. It’s music I know I’ll still love long after the release date’s been forgotten. Those are the… Read more »

A $39 million out-of-court settlement has been reached in connection with the stage collapse that killed seven people at Sugarland’s 2011 concert at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, The Associated Press reports. The lawsuits against Sugarland, concert promoter Live Nation and 16 other defendants were dismissed Friday (Dec. 19), according to attorney Kenneth J…. Read more »

If it’s not one Oklahoman, it’s another. This week, Carrie Underwood’s Greatest Hits: Decade #1 debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s country albums chart, thereby dislodging fellow Okie Garth Brooks’ Man Against Machine, which had held that eminence for four consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, Tim McGraw’s “Shotgun Rider” glides to the top of the country airplay… Read more »

Country music fans, meet Genius. No, it’s not a new band but a novel way to view and interpret song lyrics and other forms of the written word. Created in 2009 as Rap Genius, the website quickly expanded into everything from the collected works of Shakespeare and the speeches of Abraham Lincoln to TV and… Read more »

CMT Hot 20 Countdown will wrap up its year-long celebration of country music’s greatest influences with a special five-hour marathon on Dec. 27. The CMT All-Time Top 40: Artist’s Choice Marathon will highlight some of the series’ most memorable moments. The journey began earlier this year with a weekly countdown of artist-voted, all-genre recipients including… Read more »