Keepin' it Country Media & Radio » tim mcgraw

Tim McGraw’s Superstar night to air May 19th

Lydia Picknell — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:41:55 +0000

Next week is a big week for country music icon Tim McGraw. On Sunday, May 19th at 9 pm EST, CBS will air “ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night.” The special was filmed right after the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas earlier this year.

The special will have performances by Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Ne-Yo, Faith Hill, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Brantley Gilbert, Florida-Georgia Line, Pitbull, John Fogerty, and, of course, Tim himself.

Will you be tuning in on the 19th? Which performance are you most excited to see?

VIDEO: Tim McGraw – Highway Don’t Care

Lydia Picknell — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:54:38 +0000

In case you missed the world premiere yesterday on his Google+ Hangout, Tim McGraw‘s brand new music video for “Highway Don’t Care” is available now!

Check out the video, which features a shirtless Tim, and appearances by Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

Tim McGraw to debut Highway Don’t Care video on Google+

Lydia Picknell — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:06:26 +0000

Country music superstar Tim McGraw will premiere the video for his single, “Highway Don’t Care,” on Monday, May 6th, at 5 pm EST with Google+ Hangout. The single and video feature fellow country mega- stars Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. The music video was directed by Shane Drake.

About the video release, Tim said:

“This video is really more of a short film, and I think it will surprise everyone and hopefully leave a strong impression. Shane brought a lot of passion to the concept we worked on together, and it’s cool that we’ll be able to get an immediate live response from the fans when we introduce it.”

The hangout will be live streamed at YouTube.com/TimMcgraw.

Curb Records taking Tim McGraw back to court

Lydia Picknell — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:31:19 +0000

Just when everyone thought the Curb Records vs. Tim McGraw court battle was finally done, Tim’s former record label threw a curve ball. The label won its battle to take the case to a Federal Court, and have sent us their response to the news. Check out why Curb Records says they’re so happy to be going back to court against Tim McGraw and his new record label Big Machine Records.

The following is a statement sent out by Curb Records:

Curb Records, Inc. was pleased to learn that Nashville’s Federal Court took jurisdiction of Curb Records’ continuing lawsuit with Tim McGraw and Big Machine Records. The lawsuit raises issues of tremendous significance which are important not only to Curb Records, but also to the recording industry and many other industries – the enforceability of contracts in Tennessee. Curb Records contends in the lawsuit that:

McGraw ignored his obligation to deliver his required Fifth Option Period album to Curb Records; and

The album he did provide, Emotional Traffic, consisted of old material recorded before the time during which he was permitted to record the Fifth Option Period album; and

McGraw ignored his delivery obligations and Curb Records’ approval rights; and

McGraw destroyed or erased many recordings owned by Curb Records; and

McGraw refused to accept his recording advance check and sent the check back to Curb Records so that McGraw could claim non-payment; and

McGraw attempted to deliver the required Fifth Option Period album before he was allowed to do so, attempting to end his recording obligations prematurely, among other things.

Curb Records has also determined that Tim McGraw recorded the songs recently released on an album by Big Machine Records while he was still under contract with Curb Records. Accordingly, Curb Records contends that McGraw and Big Machine are infringing the Curb Records’ copyrights in those recordings. In addition, Curb Records has learned that, although Tim McGraw was required to provide to Curb all of the recordings he had made while he was recording for Curb Records, not only did he fail to deliver all of those recordings, but that he has even erased his voice from a number of the recordings which belong to Curb Records. Because only a federal court has jurisdiction over claims of copyright infringement, these issues will be heard by the federal court in Nashville. Curb Records seeks not only damages for copyright infringement from McGraw and Big Machine Records, but also the Court’s declaration that Curb Records is the owner of these recordings which were made during the term of its Recording Agreement and which Big Machine Records, Curb Records contends, wrongfully induced Tim McGraw to provide to it. Curb Records believes that an artist honoring his agreements is a principle so important to the recording industry and commerce in general that it has asked the federal court to make these determinations.

ACM Poll: Vocal Event of the Year

Jeanna D. — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:41:36 +0000

Next up… “Vocal Event of the Year”! Who doesn’t love a good country collab?

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson took this award home last year for their cross-over mega-hit, “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” Both are back in the category again this year, except with brand new and separate collaborations!

Who will win? Don’t Rush – Kelly Clarkson Featuring Vince Gill; Easy – Rascal Flatts Featuring Natasha Bedingfield; Feel Like A Rock Star – Kenny Chesney (Duet With Tim McGraw); Let It Rain – David Nail Featuring Sarah Buxton; or The Only Way I Know – Jason Aldean With Luke Bryan & Eric Church?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Couples and Collaborations: A Look at ACM Fashion History

Jennifer Swirsky — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 02:34:43 +0000

The 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards are taking place this Sunday, April 7th, in Las Vegas. As we all know, the red carpet and stage fashion choices are some of the most talked about items when it comes to award shows. Back, due to popular demand, is our very own pre-award show fashion reminiscent feature! This time, we take a look at the couples and collaborations of ACMs past … and, boy, have there been some questionably horrific and unquestionably sensational choices in ACM history!

Couples:

There is no better way to kick this thing off than by discussing the 48th Annual ACM Awards host, Blake Shelton, and his blonde bombshell of a wife, Miranda Lambert. On their own, each of these two artists (whom we here at Keepin’ It Country just adore!) looks sensational. Blake looks absolutely dapper in his gray jacket, black shirt, and charcoal tie, while Miranda’s dress is just the perfect amount of flash to go with her shining personality. However, we believe each forgot to consider his/her own best accessory on the red carpet — each other! Silver and gold = giant no no, unless we are talking jewelry … We girls always make exceptions for jewelry!

If you have eyes, you know that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are gorgeous and insanely talented. Talk about a couple whose children who hit the DNA lottery! However, natural beauty and undeniable talent does not always equate to great decisions. This particular ACM orange carpet appearance leaves a bit to be desired. Is Tim wearing a blazer or a fleece hoodie from Aeropostale? Is his shirt a collector’s item from “Saturday Night Fever”? And Faith looks like a flapper who found out she was hitting the orange carpet and decided to show her love for the Miami Dolphins (Fins to the left! Fins to the Right!). Questionable choices aside, these two are still smokin’, regardless of what they pull off the hangers on any given awards show Sunday!

It was really nice of Madame Tussaud’s to donate these wax figures of Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman. Oh wait, it’s really them! Nashville’s favorite Australian duo hit the red carpet at the ACMs looking fabulous. With their matching hairdos and apparent affinity for all things crushed velvet, Nicole and Keith dazzled…and probably sweated up a storm in the Las Vegas dry heat.

The Collaborations:

Rascal Flatts teamed up with cross-genre sensation, Kelly Clarkson, to sing “What Hurts the Most” at the 2006 ACMs. No question about it, the fashion choices (and stellar performance) by this collaboration surely were not hurting on this night! Ladies first — Kelly always kills it when she wears red, and this night was no exception. The plunging front shows some skin, but leaves plenty to the imagination. Kelly looks classy, comfortable, and chic on the red carpet and on the arms of country music’s popular trio. The men of Rascal Flatts look a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n roll in vests, blazers, and t-shirts, while sporting some chest. Here’s to you, boys! Here’s to you!

Wait, is this a country awards show? Yes, yes it is. And it looks like Jem has returned from the 1980s to investigate whether Janie really does have a gun. Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith … not of American Idol, youngsters) joined Carrie Underwood during the 2011 ACM Awards to entertain country music fans with his unparalleled voice, while Carrie, once again, showed off her incomparable leg muscles. Steven dons an all-white ensemble, including a long coat, that shows off his rocker side without leaving the country folk thinking he had gone “craaaaazy craaaaazy”. Carrie looks like she grabbed her red star earring, asked Synergy to change her into Jem so she and the Holograms could battle The Mizfits. However, because she is Carrie, and because she is a goddess, she somehow pulls off what looks like Black Swan meets Girl Interrupted flawlessly.

No, really. Is this a country awards show? Also in 2011, Rihanna joined Jennifer Nettles on stage at the ACM Awards, proving once again that different genres are becoming more and more accepting of our favorite music. Let’s start with Rihanna. Unlike Steven Tyler, Rihanna doesn’t quite pull off the all-white look. In fact, with that hairdo, she looks like a Q-Tip that was dipped in iodine (likely to soothe the pain of all of us who had to endure the length of her performance). We love Jennifer Nettles. A lot. And her outfit proves one very important thing to us…She is psychic and was foreshadowing her future as a “Duets” coach. Jennifer clearly was already planning the moment she took the stage with J. Rome to perform “You’re the One That I Want” from “Grease”. On the other hand, if she chose to break into some MC Hammer dancing in those pants, that would not be shocking either.

The Co-Host No More:

We will truly miss Reba hosting this year’s awards show. Reba has become a staple on the ACMs and, while we are excited for her that she has huge projects consuming her time, this installment of the awards will be an adjustment. Reba has had some amazing moments throughout the years, but discussing all of Reba’s awards, successes, and seamless performances is no fun; and we want to have fun! As such, here are some of Reba’s not-so-amazing fashion moments in ACM history.

Thumbs up, Reba? We think not. Bad color, bad fit, bad design. Oh, and the carpet DOES, in fact, match the drapes…

Cheeeeeese! Oh Reba, clearly someone just put a mirror in front of you for the first time right when the photographer was clicking the camera because you look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Or you really need to find the ladies’ room. And thank heavens the pixie do is no more!

We saved the best for last. We rarely render ourselves speechless, but we very well may be at a loss for words here. Considering a blog is meant for words, we will leave it at this: A picture is worth a thousand of them!

Who will we fall for and who will fall victim to us on the red carpet? Who will carry home the big awards and who will go home simply holding a flask? Whose performances will shine and who will be outshone? Don’t forget to tune in this Sunday, April 7th, at 8:00 p.m. EST on CBS to find out!

Other things to look forward to during this year’s ACMs:

Tim McGraw will perform “Highway Don’t Care” with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban;

Hunter Hayes will world premiere his new single “I Want Crazy” and then be joined later by legendary music icon Stevie Wonder;

Kelly Clarkson will perform “Don’t Rush”;

Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Hunter Hayes will perform together live from ACM Fan Jam;

Country superstar Reba will introduce the George Strait and Garth Brooks performance. As previously announced, Strait and Brooks will perform together for the first time ever to pay tribute to Dick Clark. Each will perform a version of one of their classic hits and then join together for a very special moment;

Jewel will partner with ACM Lifting Lives to perform a live mash-up of her chart-topping hit “Hands” combined with “Fill a Heart,” an original song written by singer-songwriter Tori Kelly. This special musical moment, presented by ConAgra Foods’ Child Hunger Ends Here campaign, will be performed at the 48^thANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS FAN JAM.

A Recap of our ACM Performance Announcements

Lydia Picknell — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:21:40 +0000

Yesterday we were part of a teleconference with CBS and Academy of Country Music producers for the upcoming ACM awards this weekend. We got to know quite a few exciting secrets for the award show this weekend, and of course we couldn’t wait to tell our fans and readers on Twitter! If you’re following us on Twitter (@keepinitblog) you will have already heard these really cool performances, but we are recapping them now so everyone can keep track of what might be the most-fun Academy of Country Music Award show ever.

Unfortunately, we were unable to make it to the ACMs this year because of budgetary reasons, so we’ll be live-tweeting them from home along with you! Make sure you join us Sunday afternoon for our exclusive KEEPIN’ IT COUNTRY PRESENTS… Jason Charles Miller stageit show at 3 pm EST, before the ACMs kick off live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at 8 pm EST. Use hashtag #KIC to join in our fun!

The ACMs will kick off with a big opening performance of “Boys ‘Round Here” with Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Pistol Annies, Sheryl Crow, and Brad Paisley.

Jewel will perform a special Lifting Lives segment with a mash-up of her hit single “Hands Clean” and “Fill A Heart,” an original song by singer-songwriter Tori Kelly.

Hunter Hayes will get two pretty cool performances – he’ll be debuting his new single “I Want Crazy” with Stevie Wonder, and will mix in one of Stevie’s big hits. Hunter will return later in the show with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley live from the ACM Fan Jam. How did Stevie and Hunter get together? Turns out Hunter covers Stevie’s songs on tour, and Stevie discovered them and became a fan of Hunter.

Taylor Swift will have country superstars Keith Urban and Tim McGraw joining her for “Highway Don’t Care.”

Luke Bryan will be debuting a brand new single “Crash My Party” during the award show..

Kelly Clarkson will be performing her country single “Don’t Rush” with a special, announced guest. Is it Vince Gill? We don’t know, but we know he was approached along with someone else.

Reba will introduce a very special duet performance from Garth Brooks and George Strait who will be paying tribute to the late Dick Clark. It’s going to be a pretty emotional performance, so make sure you tune in for this one.

Do you have any questions about the ACMs? We’ll answer what we can on Facebook and Twitter!

Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood & More Added to ACM Awards Performers

Nicole Piering — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:31:13 +0000

The 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards announced today that superstars Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town will perform on the April 7th show.

Airing live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on CBS, the show will be hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, who have become affectionately referred to as “Bluke” on Twitter.

The above artists join an already star-studded show that features performances by Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, George Strait and the Band Perry.

Tim McGraw Grabs 33rd Number One Single

Jeanna D. — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:22:17 +0000

Last week, Tim McGraw claimed his 33rd number one single with “One of Those Nights!” The song, which is included on his number one selling album Two Lanes of Freedom, topped the Billboard Country Chart.

McGraw shared:

“It feels great to have the No. one song…it’s always a really special feeling. Country radio has never let me down, and I’m so thankful for those relationships. It’s going to be a great song for the tour this summer…it sets the perfect tone for an awesome night!”

McGraw also posted this video on his official website thanking his fans for his new number one single!

Congratulations, Tim, on such a huge accomplishment!

“We’re All For The Hall” Announcement

Tia — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:24:51 +0000

Keith Urban‘s “We’re All For The Hall” benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will return for the fourth consecutive year.

The show, which will feature an all-star lineup, will take place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on April 16th, 2013. Some of the invited artists include Keith, Vince Gill, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Rosanne Cash, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Kid Rock, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver and Hank Williams, Jr.

This year’s theme will be “Rebels and Renegades, the Outlaws are IN”. The past three benefit concerts have raised a collective $1.5 million, which is directed toward the Museum’s operating expenses, caring for the collection, exhibitions, programs, and more.

Museum board president Vince Gill created All for the Hall, an artist-led fundraising initiative for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Funds raised from the concert also go toward preservation efforts, exhibitions and educational programs about the culture and value of country music.

“The purity in making music on your own terms – to create art in your own way – for me, is at the heart of the outlaw spirit,” said Urban. “It’s those outlaws that we celebrate this year, who not only made it possible for a guy like me to do what I love, but who play a pivotal role in the strength of Country music’s diversity.”

Tickets will go on sale on March1st at 10AM CST. For ticket and VIP package information, visit Ticketmaster.com.