The special features performances by Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Justin Moore, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Taylor Swift, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band. The show was filmed last June in front of a sold-out audience during the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee.

This year, CMA Music Festival served as the Grand Re-Opening of Nashville, after the city and surrounding areas experienced a devastating flood in May. The flood, the recovery efforts, and the coming together of the Nashville community to help its fellow citizens will be spotlighted in the television special. CMA is donating 50 percent of this year’s net proceeds from the Festival to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for flood relief. As always, the other 50 percent of net proceeds will be donated to the Nashville Alliance for Public Education through CMA’s Keep the Music Playing program to purchase instruments and supplies for music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools.

The annual CMA Music Festival is unlike any other, with four days filled with more than one hundred hours of live music, 30 hours of autograph signings by Country Music’s biggest names and up and comers, hundreds of artists and celebrities, and a party list of thousands of avid fans. This year an average of 65,000 fans from every state and 26 foreign countries attended each day of CMA Music Festival, its biggest turnout yet.
There is a lot of great music, of course, but there are also a few unexpected moments: Dierks Bentley takes viewers into his late night fan club party; Jason Aldean gives an exclusive look at his “huddle” with the band to get pumped up before performing at LP Field; Gloriana shows off their “bus mascot” given to them by Taylor Swift; and noted practical joker Blake Shelton makes a special “request” of Kellie Pickler to watch his dogs and his mother while he heads out to perform.

This special just happens to coincide with the announcement of the 2010 CMA nominations. The final five categories will be announced Wednesday by Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley on ABC’s Good Morning America. The awards ceremony is November 10 and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

The nominations in the seven categories announced Tuesday:

Single of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
A Little More Country Than That – Easton Corbin – Produced by Carson Chamberlain
Hillbilly Bone – Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins – Produced by Scott Hendricks
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum – Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum
The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert – Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke
White Liar – Miranda Lambert – Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Song of the Year (Award goes to Songwriter(s))
A Little More Country Than That – Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress, and Wynn Varble
Need You Now – Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Josh Kear
The House That Built Me – Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin
Toes – Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins, and Shawn Mullins
White Liar – Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

Vocal Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland

New Artist of the Year
Luke Bryan
Easton Corbin
Jerrod Niemann
Chris Young
Zac Brown Band

Music Video of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Director)
Hillbilly Bone – Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins – Directed by Roman White
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum – Directed by David McClister
The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert – Directed by Trey Fanjoy
Water – Brad Paisley – Directed by Jim Shea
White Liar – Miranda Lambert – Directed by Chris Hicky

Musician of the Year
Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Dann Huff – Guitar
Brent Mason – Guitar
Mac McAnally – Guitar
Randy Scruggs – Guitar

And in case you didn’t know who I am voting for in every category possible, here’s a little hint: He’s a “little more country than that.”

The new dude in Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi’s life, 24-year old Iraq veteran Jeff Miranda, was so sure she was going to sing wedding tunes after two weeks of their being together that he proposed to her on (seen here) the September cover of Steppin’ Out magazine.

But, as HollyScoop.com reported Tuesday, the only tune he’s hearing is . . . wah wah wahh wahh:

Unfortunately for Jeff, her answer is no! Her publicist (yes, she has one) has shot down the marriage rumors. “Rumors of Nicole’s romantic status have been greatly exaggerated. She is single with no immediate plans to change that,” the publicist said in a statement.

Snooks also took to her Twitter, writing, “Just want to set the record straight. I’m single and I’m not going to get married!”

Props on the ballsy move, but it didn’t work out. Sorry, brah, give Snooks a (long) while to be sure you won’t use her and leave her.

And again Lindsay Lohan is in the news: rehab’s frequent flyer sat down for a pre-jail interview with noted chick magazine Vanity Fair to chat about her career of mistakes. For someone who claims she’s not making excuses about her own irresponsibility, she sure made a lot of them – from blaming her dad for that piss poor upbringing she received to National Enquirer for her choice of role models.

She even pulled the “People do 10X more of these things in college” card. Heavy drinking and cocaine use aren’t prerequisites for higher education – but Lindsay seems to think they are!

Full story, if you want it.

h/t x17online, August 30th:

The whole cast of Jersey Shore, in some as-yet unfolding drama, is being sued for assault by a New Jersey woman: known only as “J.P.,” she blamed a verbal Snooki dust-up for her scarred chin – incurred when four bodyguards tackled her to the ground. To drive things eleven levels beyond overkill, she’s also (via rep Eugene Lavergne) named MTV and Viacom Productions as co-defendants – claiming them to be complicit in criminal racketeering operations.

What’s more pathetic: the Shore‘s existence, the idea of Pauly D bringing “The Godfather”‘s dead horse scene alive for Jay, the idea that Snooki weighs over 800lbs . . . or the ethics record of Mr. Lavergne?

The Friday night arrest report of one-time Simple Life star Paris Hilton, obtained by TMZ on 8/30, says she could spend one to four years in Vegas lockup on drug possession charges.

Caught on Las Vegas Boulevard for pot DUI, our LiLo wanna-be was taken by the attending cop to the Wynn Hotel; there, she auditioned for World’s Dumbest Criminals, opening the place’s first last cocaine and inhalant pharmacy in full view of law enforcement.

She will appear in court on October 27th: legal “experts,” who bought Paris’ full stock of excuses before cops got there, are already suggesting this case tough to prove.

Fly Boy, Elliott Park’s first full-length album is a gathering of genres. It is an album that is full of surprises from one of the most talented makers of music out there in America today.

It must be hell to be Elliott Park on Valentine’s Day. I mean, who could take all that pressure? He is so clever, so articulate, and so in touch with the human psyche that I’m sure his wife expects the absolutely perfect card. Or worse – the perfect song. Elliott takes a feeling and wraps it in just the right notes and words until it does full justice to the gift inside. Well, Elliott can relax. If this album is any indication, the well of humanity within him that waters the songs he creates is deep and inspiring.

You may not know his name, but chances are you know his music, especially the number one country hit “I Loved Her First,” recorded by Heartland. That song, co-written by Walt Aldridge, captured the multiple emotions felt by a father at the marriage of his daughter. The honesty conveyed in that song is typical of this singer/songwriter. Elliott Park’s lyrics are straight-to-the-point, which gives him an endearing quality. Vocally he has an accessible, relaxed way of singing. At times he can sound a little like a young Randy Newman, and when he chooses to, he can pull off a slight Tom Waits effect. But in the end, he is an original.

As an album, Fly Boy is not easy to classify because it doesn’t try to fit into any particular music category. Instead, it is an album of contemporary folk songs with hints of country, rock, pop, classical, and even a bit of ragtime. It’s a meticulously constructed collage of the American musical experience as lived by a self-actualized post-modern everyman. Hmmm, that makes it sound so academic. Let me put it this way: it’s a stack of different-flavored ice cream scoops all piled on top of one another, waiting to be appreciated by anyone and everyone.

Some of my favorite songs on the album:

“Simple Song” – I’ve always been a big fan of Professor Harold Hill (AKA ‘The Music Man’), so I can’t help but like this song that makes me think that maybe someday Elliott Park will get off the train down Main Street in my hometown and try to sell everyone trombone lessons. It’s an infectious song that makes you feel like making music. Just like it should.

“Blue Dog” – Pixar should just go ahead and buy the rights to this song right now and start developing Toy Story 4 to feature it. If they do, I guarantee that film would win at least one Academy Award (for “Best Song”).

“Fight For You” – Picking up where a Bach “air” might have left off (and going to where some metal has yet to go), this bedtime story for children or adults is a daring and satisfying as anything I’ve heard all year. You’ll never hear this one on the radio; it’s that good.

“The Soldier and the Oak” – I wish I could nominate this one for entry into the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Songs. It is a lesson in “cause and effect,” reminding us that perseverence might just bring unforseen happy consequences. That parable sounds familiar, but here it is – in a refreshingly new form, with all of the power intact. The Simon & Garfunkel-esque rhythm introduces us to the simple story of an oak tree’s uses as it weaves its way through the centuries, all the while showing “amazing grace.”

“Too Many” – In a way, this song (along with “Time For You”) are the heart of the album. Both songs address coming to terms with modern life and maintaining your sanity by keeping your priorities in line. The words flow cleverly, the melodies are ultra-inviting, and the familiar annoyances of daily life become something heard anew (and suddenly manageable) in these songs of deliverance.

Elliott Park has the gift that so many artists strive to attain – he makes it all sound so easy. His songs have a breezy sensitivity to them that seems like they just formed themselves as he pulled out his guitar or sat down at his piano. But, just like the author of a perfectly-worded Valentine card that gets tucked into a desk drawer and saved, we know better.

Hey, Generation Y! We’re officially the most undirected age bracket in human history. Congrats! We are a proud legion of kids that have no clue who we are, what we want or when we should get it.

Except me.  I’m an exception to the rule. But let’s get to that later…

Jessie Rosen, author of the LemonDrop article with the darling self-explanatory headline, Dear NY Times, Here’s Why I Haven’t ‘Grown Up.’ Love, a 20-Something, goes on to convey her own struggle with self-discovery and the decision to take a chance on her writing career before it’s too late.

However, all the focus on trying to have the ‘right career,’ or be in the ‘right place’ before some mystical age when we’re supposed to have our lives together, whatever that even means, is more likely to keep us scrambling rather than making the most of a situation.

It’s lent to an acceptance of the non-committal, the trial period. It has been the worst betrayal of our elders to placate our generation with promises of time and infinite do-overs. Your job is a dull dead-end…so what? Suck it up, pansy. Quit complaining and take the opportunity to learn something about yourself, even if it’s simply how much torture you can take. Eventually, change happens, life is anything but static.

The churning, and “black box” feelings I’ve felt, are ultimately natural. But what separates me from the Rosen’s of the world is that I’ve stopped making plans. More often than not, any plans I’ve mapped out for myself never came to fruition as I’d thought.

Alternatively, I now take opportunities. I refuse to believe that my job will be the sole determinant for my happiness. With that in mind, I make the time to cram every activity, class, event and social gathering into my schedule with the sole mindset of, ‘hey, you never know.’ Ultimately, diversifying my activities has given me a greater, clearer idea of myself and what I want from life as a whole, beyond the confines of career satisfaction.

And I didn’t have to move back in with my parents.

Did I mention I’m 2 years younger than my LemonDrop counterpart?

Why should anyone move back with family and store up cash before launching a kamikaze mission to become a successful writer? Rosen has put her eggs in one basket and designated it as her last chance to try something wild before resigning herself to the title of “grown up.”  It is a fairly fatalistic mindset.

I may not be certain of where my career will be even 6 months from now, but honestly, I don’t worry about it. It’s not the only thing in my life. In the words of Fight Club, you are not your job. Jobs come and go but your real fulfillment should come from the pride you take in a job well done, even if the company is going bankrupt or your boss is a tool.

Every 30-something I speak with says they wish they’d done it my way, the traditional way. It’s easy look at someone else’s life by age 50 and say, ‘Now’s the time’ or ‘I wish I’d been that brave.’ However, they know you could fail miserably and they’d rather it be you that deals with the fallout.

It’s getting hard not to like Blake Shelton. He has certainly taken his sweet time climbing the ranks of country stardom. But if he takes a look at where he is now (number one). Blake Shelton is on fire everywhere you look; the charts, concert halls, awards shows.

So why have I resisted the talent of Blake Shelton all these years? Is it because he seems to me to be the young Bill Clinton of country music? (Not a fan of Slick Willy here, in case you can’t figure that out.) I know that may make no sense to anyone, but I just can’t quite put my finger on why I have always found him irritating. Not that I’m comparing him to Elvis, mind you, but I feel like one of those guys in the 1950s musta felt when his girl went crazy for Elvis. Is it because he thinks he’s all that? Is it because he has a wife that seems more ambitious than he is? Is it the way he comes across as an uneasy mixture of healthy confidence and unhealthy self-worship?

It’s probably the way he serenaded Hoda Kotb on the Today Show this week. Blech!

Clearly, I should stop following him on Twitter. After all, I’ve never met the man, but that is where most of my opinions of him are formed. All you have to do is follow him yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Go on, do it. He’s actually a pretty entertaining guy. See? I’m starting to like him. But that’s mostly because he continues to put out good music and I respect the work he does.

Shelton has already influenced the country music industry with the releases of what he calls “Six Paks.” Instead of waiting a year to put out a full-length album, Shelton has been releasing 6 tracks at a time and putting the music out on a more timely basis. It is a model that will change how artists do business (and how they strategize how to attain more frequent chart hits per year).

With the release of All About Tonight, Shelton features such talented songwriters as Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip, Jeff Bates, Tony Mullins and Craig Wiseman. But the collaborations don’t stop there. Once again, Blake teams up with fiancé Miranda Lambert for “Draggin The River,” a rockin’ song about two lovers planning to elope.

There is only one bonafide smash-hit on the mini album. It is called “That Thing We Do,” a tribute to the pleasures of loving country style. In it, Shelton has just the right mix of bravado and nice guy appeal. The song just feels right, in spite of Blake Shelton having very little that is uniquely his in the vocal department. Seriously, when’s the last time you heard a song and knew right away that it was Blake Shelton singing?

Still, like a certain guy in the White House two presidents ago, it seems that the only thing that matters to Blake Shelton is having a good time. And isn’t that why people go to a country concert in the first place?

Bristol Palin is joining the Season 11 cast of Dancing With the Stars: the online news branch of E! Network, in an August 26th exclusive, confirmed that the oldest daughter of Alaska’s First Family will be available to ring in the elimination show’s new season on September 20th.

For its part, ABC won’t officially comment on casting until the end of August, but they should probably pull a Shawn Johnson with this one and hire some extra security: too many lunatics are running around out there with political axes to grind.