The country music scene has been abuzz with the news of Taylor Swift’s audition and subsequent offer to play a role in the upcoming film adaptation of the classic novel turned Broadway production, Les Miserables. We were curious if this signified just an opportunity for Swift or a career change. However, it looks like it’s a moot point since Taylor has been passed up for the role in favor of a different actress. HaleighT is here to share her opinion on these Hollywood wheelings and dealings! Check out what she thinks and tell us what you think! Did Taylor deserve the role or does it just not matter?

Get The Scoop On Taylor Swift’s Missed Hollywood Opportunity!

Josh Kelley has released the very sweet video for “Naleigh Moon!” Naleigh is the daughter of Kelley and actress Katherine Heigl. The video features home footage of the couple with their adopted three year old. The song “Naleigh Moon” appears on Kelley’s 2011 acclaimed album, Georgia Clay, and was go-written with Georgia Clay producer Clint Lagerberg.

“I knew you [Heigl] were going to do a great job and you’re an awesome story teller. Also, I knew you would do it for free.” -Kelley says to Heigl at their home

The video was shot in Los Angeles and includes home footage of Naleigh over the past couple of years.

When asked about the first reactions to the video, Josh replies,

“People loved it. My manager showed it to the record label. The CEO from the record label called me and said, ‘We just played the video for the whole label and over half the people were crying.’”

Josh has been on the road extensively in support of Georgia Clay with opening slots for Taylor Swift, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert. He just wrapped up a tour opening for multi-platinum and award-winning group Lady Antebellum. You can catch him this coming weekend performing at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

This week on “This Is Country Music” we have all three gals in the office and we kick it off talking about the death threats we got after the last podcast. We also cover what we expect from country music’s two biggest stars in 2012, how Waylon Jennings is still inspiring a badass innovation with The Waylon Fund, and how facebook and twitter help us stalk our favorite stars.

Listen Now!

Country Music Podcast Resources:

Taylor Swift: Safe and Sound

Neil Perry on Twitter

The Waylon Fund

Six String Boys

Degrees of Facebook Separation

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Taylor Swift has been offered the role Eponine in an upcoming film adaption of the classic Les Miserables for which she recently auditioned. Word on the street is that Swift was up against Hollywood talents like Lea Michele, Evan Rachel Wood and Scarlett Johansson. While there hasn’t been word yet on whether or not she will expect the offer, it seems likely. Universal is set to start production in March with an end goal of a December 2012 release.

Taylor has grounded her career in country music (remember, she won CMA Entertainer of the Year just a few weeks ago…), and accumulated a massive fan base and wide appeal beyond the country genre collaborating with pop stars and rappers. So, it seems, despite an onslaught of industry awards, she has been reaching beyond the country music world for some time now. Reportedly, she is working on another album, but with an offer like this, I can’t help but wonder if Swift is jumping ship and making a change in her career path.

What do you think? Is Taylor Swift leaving country music behind or just making room for more avenues of success?

Over the past couple weeks, I have been hearing a lot of discussion about the most searched people through the obvious search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo…you get the idea. I am always surprised, well not surprised, but annoyed by who the “world” cumatively searches for the most. So, I thought, why not take a look at who country fans are searching for the most. That’s what we really care about anyway, right? So, I give you, YOUR top 3 most searched country artists of 2011! I am okay with these results, and I’m both surprised and not surprised. Take a look and let us know what you think.

1.Thompson Square
This duo is a definite up and comer, and they are rising fast. Everyone is completely in love with the hit “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?”, and it is clear you just can’t get enough! So, they are sitting here at number 1. They are an adorable couple and talented musicians, and we just love them! Clearly, you love them too!

2. Taylor Swift
No surprise here! Taylor has a massive following, finished up her hugely successful Speak Now World Tour, and released several hit singles. Oh yeah, and this is just a little thing, but she did also win CMA Entertainer of the Year. So, obviously there was a lot of information you needed to find out about her this year!

3. Jason Aldean
We have said it once and we will keep saying it, but 2011 was one heck of a year for Jason Aldean. He had a great summer tour, the fans love him, he was either nominated for or was winning an award left and right, and he released some amazing singles off his My Kind of Party album (my favorite is “Tattoos On This Town“). So, clearly you wanted to pay attention to Jason this year and we can’t blame ya!

Who is in your Top 3 for 2011? Be sure to comment below and let us know!

Taylor Swift has teamed up with The Civil Wars to create a single titled “Safe & Sound” for the soundtrack for The Hunger Games. The film is based on the popular book trilogy and is set to release on March 23, 2012. The single hit the Top 10 upon its release on iTunes, and is clearly already being well-received by fans. You can check it out below.

Interestingly, this song might be the most country song Swift has released. It has a melancholy quality that is appropriate for the themes of the film, and an Americana vibe no doubt brought in by The Civil Wars. It really is a beautiful song, and its great to see The Civil Wars on such a big project and to see Taylor reaching outside of her comfort zone. Listen and tell us what you think.

Take a Listen to Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars “Safe & Sound“

Last night was the presentation of the CMT Artists Of The Year Awards, hosted by Rob Lowe. The honorees were Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley. The recipients were chosen based off of sales, radio airplay, concert grosses and activity on cmt.com.

Each artist was given a section of the 90 minute show that was dedicated to them with a performance, congratulatory words by others and a short acceptance speech.

Kenny Chesney had the special treat to have Gavin Degraw perform his hit “Somewhere With You“, where he did a fantastic job! A part of the show that ranks very high on my list was when Matthew McConaughey had a video message for Chesney that was too cute!

Lady Antebellum received kind words from many including their good friend Miranda Lambert and performed their brand new single “Dancin’ Away With My Heart.” It sounded great and by the reactions of Taylor Swift and the rest of the audience (including me at home), it looks like this will be another chart topper for them!

Jason Aldean performed his current single “Tattoos On This Town” and spoke of how this year was kind of a risk, but he was glad he did things on his terms. He wasn’t concerned about what people were telling him to do, he followed his gut and boy did it pay off! Nobody puts Jason in a corner!

Viewers were treated to a special treat with an energetic performance by The Avett Brothers. A band that is quite possibly one of the most cross-genre groups around (we aren’t quite sure what they are…folk, rock, indie, Americana, who knows)!

Taylor Swift also had someone else perform one of her songs, but this performance had a bit of a twist. The All American Rejects gave us their take on “Mean” while throwing in a little bit of their own hit “Gives You Hell!” It was great! She accepted her award from her good friend and fellow female country artist, Faith Hill.

Brad Paisley wrapped the night up for us, first by saying that Country Music was the best industry to be in because everyone was so nice and then by collaborating with Joe Walsh on “Camouflage!”

It was a great night for everyone, wish I could have been there! Congratulations again to all five of the talented acts!

Happy Birthday to Taylor Swift! Today she is 22 and one of the most successful artists of all time! I love a good flash back, so here is “Tim McGraw.” Who would have thought that this teenager would take the world by storm the way she did?! World tours, sold out arenas, award after award…what will she do next?

Taylor Swift’s latest single “Ours” has a surprising new video to go with it. The song speaks of a relationship that is understood by the only two involved in it. The video has the same general quirky theme as most of hers do, until we reach the end. At the end the love of her life is a soldier coming home. There has been some mixed reviews over this part, some say how sweet and others say when did she become active in supporting our military?

Was this just a cute story line or did she pull a cheap shot by using the military? We want to know what you think! Comment below and tell us all about it!

Whether you agree or disagree with her story line, this song is being performed in front of mirrors by countless numbers of little girls! Watch the video here!

Taylor Swift played the final show of her 2011 Speak Now World Tour Tuesday, November 22nd at Madison Square Garden in NYC. To make the close of this huge and extremely successful tour all the more special, Taylor invited special guest James Taylor to the stage! Together they performed James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and Taylor also accompanied Swift on Guitar for her song “Fifteen“. Before bringing James out on stage, Swift shared an anecdote about how and when her mother informed her that she was in fact named after the famous singer!

Swift’s CD + DVD set featuring the Speak Now World Tour Live is currently available for those fans who did not have a chance to catch the tour in person, and for those who just want to relive it! For more info, click here.