“THE VOICE”
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Blake Shelton gives a country girl the boot. On “The Voice” last night, Shelton had to choose between two teenagers. He decided to hang on to Michaela Paige, while letting Kelly Crapa (KRAY’-pah) go. But Kelly was thankful for getting this far. The teams are now set on The Voice. Next week, the knockout rounds begin.

“THE X FACTOR”
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The country trio Sister C gets good news from Simon Cowell. He keeps the Texas sisters on “The X Factor.” He also gives a nod to the Lylas, one of the instant groups formed at boot camp. The teams on The X Factor now set. Other country singers to make it through include Willie Jones, the deep-voiced black teenager, and Tate Stevens. We’ll start hearing them live on November first.

MIRANDA LAMBERT, DIERKS BENTLEY TOURING TOGETHER NEXT YEAR
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley are going on tour together next year. They’re kicking off the co-headlining “Locked and Reloaded” tour on January 17th. Lambert says this will be a tour of “epic badassery.” Bentley says “it’s going to be a killer year.” The two toured together in 2006 on Bentley’s “Locked and Loaded” tour with Lambert as an opener.

TIM MCGRAW, FAITH HILL TO PERFORM ON CMA AWARDS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will be performing on the CMA Awards next week. Hill will sing her new single, “American Heart,” and McGraw will debut new music from his upcoming album. They’ll return to the stage together with Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton for a special tribute to Willie Nelson. The CMAs air live from Nashville November 1st on ABC.

JOHN RICH TO HOST GOP RALLY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – John Rich is hosting a rally for Governor Mitt Romney on Thursday in Ohio. It’s called “Musicians for Mitt.” Randy Owen of Alabama is the first of several artists to be announced for the event. Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins are performing at another GOP event in Colorado this week.

LITTLE BIG TOWN PERFORMING ON ‘LIVE WITH KELLY AND MICHAEL’ TODAY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Look for Little Big Town on TV this morning. They’ll be performing on “Live With Kelly and Michael.”

PAISLEY PLAYS TO MORE THAN 1 MILLION FANS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – It’s safe to say Brad Paisley met a lot of his fans on tour this year. He played to over one million fans in the U.S. on his “Virtual Reality World Tour.” The domestic run just wrapped up, but he still has six international shows scheduled for November. Paisley is also hosting and performing on the CMA Awards November 1st.

PAISLEY PRANKS THE BAND PERRY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The first clue that Brad Paisley is pranking you is when the audience starts laughing. That’s what happened to The Band Perry during the last weekend of Paisley’s “Virtual Reality” tour. Paisley sent his crew on stage dressed in short shorts as “Lt. Dangle” from Comedy Central’s “Reno 911.” Kimberly Perry says Paisley has been “such a fun-loving host” on the road, but she hopes he can buy his crew members some longer shorts on the next tour.

BAND PERRY TO DEBUT NEW SINGLE ON CMA AWARDS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Band Perry plans to debut their new single, “Better Dig Two,” on the CMA Awards November 1st. The new song ships to country radio a few days later on November 5th.