So if you didn’t know (you must be under a rock), the season premier of The Voice was Sunday after the Super Bowl. For the second season we are taking a journey with coaches Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green to find “the voice” that will take America by storm.

It is obvious that everyone in the CMNB office is pulling for Team Blake, but any coach that gives us a country star will be just fine with us too! This year instead of teams of 8, the coaches will get to pick initial teams of 12! So far Team Christina has four of her spots taken with Chris Mann, Jesse Campbell, Lindsey Pavao and The Line (a duet). Team Adam has three spots filled with Angel Taylor, Kim Yarbrough and Tony Lucca. Cee Lo also has three team members, Angie Johnson, Jamar Rogers and Juliet Simms. Most importantly, Team Blake has three artists in the running! Gwen Sebastian, Jermaine Paul and RaeLynn have got to be excited to be on the funniest guys team right?!

Next Monday, February 13, the “Blind Auditions” will continue! Don’t forget to tune into NBC at 8/7c to watch all of the comedy from the coaches and talent from the hopefuls unfold!

It’s no secret that over the past few years, the Superbowl and its media extravaganza has become just as much about the ads that air during its prime airtime as it is about the actual game. NBC’s The Voice producers clearly weren’t about to miss out on this year’s golden opportunity to steal a little more limelight for the upcoming season of their hit series!

Blake Shelton (clearly, our favorite mentor!), Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera are back and kicking the season off right with a funny and action packed trailer for the season (with a special guest…). Check it out below, and make sure you catch up on last night’s season premiere if you haven’t already!

2012 The Voice Superbowl Ad

Chris Young has had a great deal of deserving success in the recent months. He has been nominated for Male Vocalist of the year and Single Record of the year for his hit, “Tomorrow,” for the 47th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Young has joined ACM Awards co-host and “The Voice” star Blake Shelton as one of only two solo artists to top Billboard’s Hot Country Song chart with their five most recent singles as “You” surges to the top this week.

“I am ecstatic! I’ve been excited for each #1 and to have five in a row feels amazing.” -Young

“You” was written by Young with Luke Laird, is the follow up to his #1 smash “Tomorrow” from his highly acclaimed third album NEON, which opened at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 in July of 2011. The song has racked up over 350,000 downloads.

The singer/songwriter’s four previous chart toppers include “Tomorrow,” “Gettin’ You Home,” “Voices” and the title track to his 2009 gold certified sophomore album, The Man I Want To Be.

Catch Young on tour with his labelmate, Miranda Lambert, on her On Fire tour!

Lionel Richie’s duet partners include Jennifer Nettles, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Little Big Town, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett.

Tuskegee is an exciting new chapter in a career that has seen album sales of more than 100 million, 22 Top 10s, fifty Grammys, an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe and a host of other awards.

Tuskegee is also a musical homecoming that feels like a heartwarming reunion with a beloved friend. He proves that you can go home again as he returns to his Southern roots to pay tribute to his hometown of Tuskegee, Alabama, where he was shaped as a man and a musician. He was exposed to country, gospel, R&B and classical music growing up and this town is where he helped form the Commodores and wrote his first hits, including “Sail On” and “Easy.”

“Tuskegee is where it all began, the place where I felt all things were available and possible. It’s where I learned about life and love and the power of music, and the place I built a musical foundation that knows no genres or boundaries.” -Richie

Richie is following his songs as they take him back to country, where they have been welcomed for more than two decades. Conway Twitty recorded “Three Times A Lady,” Kenny Rogers famously sang “Lady” and Alabama recorded “Deep River Woman.” He has performed on the Country Music Association Awards three times, his 2011 performance received two standing ovations.

Richie says recording Tuskegee was perhaps the most fun he has ever had in the studio.

“Tuskegee is going to be one of the most special albums I’ve ever done in my life. This is something that is going to be so special forever because it’s a moment in time when all these artists got together and celebrated some music. What started out as a collaboration of a group of very talented, very successful artists ended up growing into brand new, very good friends.”

April 2, a concert special, Lionel Richie and Friends “In Concert,” will be recorded in Las Vegas and aired on CBS at a later date. The show will include Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Kenny Rogers and more!

Tuskegee Track Listing
1. You Are – with Blake Shelton
2. Say You, Say Me – with Jason Aldean
3. Stuck On You – with Darius Rucker
4. Deep River Woman – with Little Big Town
5. My Love – with Kenny Chesney
6. Dancing On The Ceiling – with Rascal Flatts
7. Hello – with Jennifer Nettles
8. Sail On – with Tim McGraw
9. Endless Love – with Shania Twain
10. Just For You – Billy Currington
11. Lady – with Kenny Rogers
12. Easy – with Willie Nelson
13. All Night Long – with Jimmy Buffett

Well, to announce the Grammy nominations they held an entire concert, but the ACM Awards are going to be keeping it a little more low key than that. Organizers have planned a digital press conference to take place via social media Thursday, January 26th starting at 6:30am (PT). All categories will be announced in real time to fans and the media at the same time (what a novel idea!). Reba McEntire (who is hosting the awards show alongside Blake Shelton) will be participating in events leading up to the conference. Additionally, nominee reaction videos will be posted throughout the day.

You can check out the press conference via Facebook by clicking here or Twitter by clicking here.

The 47th Annual ACM Awards will take place Sunday, April 1st, and will air live out of Las Vegas on CBS at 8pm (ET).

Miranda Lambert has rescheduled some shows because of the passing of her father-in-law, Dick Shelton. Mr. Shelton’s health had been an issue for the past year and he was hospitalized in early December with pneumonia.

Lambert has changed the dates to three upcoming shows, Charlotte, NC (1/19), Lexington, KY (1/20) and Greensboro, NC (1/21).

“Thank you to the fans for all the support and prayers. This is a really difficult time for our family and the most important thing is being together. Tell your loved ones you love them. See you next week.” -Miranda

The “On Fire” tour will resume January 25, in Charlotte, NC.

Rescheduled Dates:

Charlotte, NC – January 25, 7:30 pm
Greensboro, NC – February 19, 7:30 pm
Lexington, KY – February 26, 7:30 pm

Blake Shelton’s father, Dick Shelton, passed away last night (Tuesday) in Oklahoma. Mr. Shelton had been having some troubles with his health for the past year and was hospitalized early December for pneumonia. Blake made a special acceptance speech on the night of the American Country Awards, mentioning his father back home.

“I appreciate your understanding during this difficult time and thank you for all your prayers. Your support means the world to me. I love you guys.” -Blake

Blake left this message on his website along with the news of some show postponements. Rapid City, SD (1/19), Bismark, ND (1/20), Billings, MT (1/21) and Bozeman, MT (1/22).

These four shows for the “Well Lit & Amplified Tour 2012” will be rescheduled and are listed below. The tour will go on as scheduled next week in Columbus, GA on Jan. 26.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire family and friends.

Bismark, ND – March 20
Rapid City, SD – March 21
Bozeman, MT – March 22
Billings, MT – March 23

#1 Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton
From their wedding photos to wedding details to album releases, it is safe to say that Blake and Miranda topped the charts at number 1. Blake gained many fans for himself and country music in general when he showed the world his down-home, don’t give a crap attitude on the hit new show The Voice! Miranda joined a few girls to become the Pistol Annies. With the same attitude as her husband, these three took the world by storm with their outspoken lyrics and solid harmonies!

#2 Award Shows
We had the CMAs, the CMT Awards, the ACMs and the ACAs, not to mention other non-country based shows (Peoples Choice, Grammy, Teen Choice, Etc.) and each show gave us moments that we will remember for years to come! I would say that the recognition given to the artists that won was pretty spaced out. An artist might have done a great job at taking home the majority of the trophies at one particular show, but no one was the top dog at every show. That seems right on the money considering each award show has different ways of voting, whether its fan based or industry votes. Another thing that was interesting about the award shows this year was the number of surprise performances. Who would have ever thought we would see Ludacris (the rapper) at a country based award show?!

#3 Summer Tours
This year was no different than any other when it came to summer tours! One of the first things that comes to mind when dreaming about the next summer when I’m looking outside at 2 feet of snow on the ground is what shows I will be lucky enough to catch! This year two major summer tours were the return of Kenny Chesney’s Goin’ Coastal and Tim McGraw’s Emotional Traffic! Along with them there were other country superstars headlining all over the country and those fabulous festivals that included multiple artists that lasted almost a week! Shows are slowly beginning to be announced for Summer 2012, so everyone be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for your favorite artists coming to a stadium or bar near you!

Blake Shelton’s spokeswoman, Tree Paine, told CNN the singer’s father had been taken to a hospital with pneumonia that evening. After the show, Shelton immediately flew home to Oklahoma to be with his family.

“Thanks to every one of y’all who took time to vote for me for the ACAs,” he tweeted as he left the venue. “And for all the thoughts and prayers for dad! He’s happy about it!”

Blake, you know our hearts are with you, and I’m sure your daddy will knock that pneumonia right in the rear, cause that’s what these Oklahoma men do!

Cheers!
~WC~

You may have gotten a chance to watch Blake Shelton perform “Footloose” live on the 2011 CMA Awards, but that’s not the only place Shelton has been performing this track! In a recent performance for a much smaller audience, Blake performed his new, hit cover of the classic for CMT’s “Invitation Only“ on Monday, November 14th. The song is quite catchy in its original format, but I have to say, Shelton gives a certain spice to the song you simply will not find in the classic version. So, if you haven’t had a chance yet, check out Blake’s version of “Footloose“, and see if it makes you want to get up and shake it!

Watch Shelton’s CMT Invitation Only Performance of “Footloose“

Also, check out the Official Music Video for Shelton’s version of “Footloose“!