DARIUS RUCKER INVITED TO JOIN GRAND OLE OPRY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Darius Rucker’s conversion to country is now complete: He’s joining the Grand Ole Opry. Rucker performed on last night’s Opry and received a visit from unannounced guest Brad Paisley, who surprised him with the invitation. Rucker rose to fame as the frontman for South Carolina rockers Hootie and The Blowfish, but began to pursue his lifelong passion for country music a few years ago. He will release his third country album early next year.
The 46-year-old is the third black performer to hold Opry membership, joining Country Music Hall of Fame members DeFord Bailey and Charley Pride. Rucker will be inducted into the Opry on Oct. 16. That show will air live on GAC.

TAYLOR SWIFT YOUNGEST WOMAN ON FORBES TOP EARNERS LIST
(AP) – Taylor Swift released her new single “Red” this week but she is definitely in the black. Swift is number three on Forbes magazine’s annual list of Entertainment’s Highest-Paid Women and at 22 she is the youngest. Swift earned an estimated $57 million this year. Her new album “Red” comes out later this month and the first single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has already spent three weeks in the number one spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. It’s a good thing Swift – who is currently dating Conor Kennedy – is earning lots of money, because according to Marie Claire magazine Swift wants at least four kids. In an interview which will appear in the U.K. November issue, Swift says she wants “a bunch of them running around, minimum four.” She says she is already putting money away for their education. The women who beat Swift for the number one and two positions on Forbes’ list: Oprah Winfrey followed by Britney Spears.

BRITTANY KERR APOLOGIZES FOR INDISCRETION WITH JASON ALDEAN
UNDATED (AP) – First Jason Aldean apologized after pictures of him appearing to kiss former “American Idol” hopeful Brittany Kerr popped up. Now Kerr has issued an apology via celebrity website TMZ, which first leaked the photos of the two at a bar in West Hollywood. Aldean, a married father of two, said he was drunk and “screwed up.” For her part, Kerr, a dancer for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, tells TMZ that her actions were not a representation of her true character and calls them “a lapse in judgment.” She apologized “to everyone that has been affected” by the release of the photos.

NICKEL CREEK’S CHRIS THILE RECEIVES $500,000 “GENIUS GRANT” FROM MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
CHICAGO (AP) – Punch Brothers mandolinist and vocalist and former member of Nickel Creek, Chris Thile says he initially ignored repeated phone calls from a mystery phone number on Monday. He thought they were election-year robocalls. Then he received a message that said “Don’t tell anyone about this call.” His tour manager searched for the number online and realized it was the MacArthur Foundation calling. It turns out Thile, 31, is the recipient of one of the Foundation’s prestigious $500,000 “genius grants.” Thile says he thinks he “turned white” and he “never felt so internally warm.” As for the half million dollar windfall, paid out over five years, Thile says he might use some of it to fund a chamber music project for a bluegrass quintet.

TAYLOR SWIFT RESPONDS TO INTERNET PRANK
BOSTON (AP) – Taylor Swift is giving $10,000 and concert tickets to a school for the deaf. The school was disqualified from a contest because Internet pranksters thought it would be funny for the school to win tickets to a live concert. The Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston was booted from the online contest which promised an on-campus performance by Swift, because many of the votes were cast as part of the prank. The Boston Globe newspaper reports that Swift and contest sponsors decided instead to donate a combined $50,000 to the school. VH1’s Save the Music program will donate $10,000 in musical instruments and Swift says every student at the school will receive a ticket to her next local concert. The school’s principal Jeremiah Ford says that even after being disqualified from the online contest, they are winners “absolutely.”

TRACE ADKINS IS NEWEST AMERICAN RED CROSS SPOKESMAN
UNDATED (AP) – Trace Adkins says that when his home was destroyed in a fire last year, the Red Cross was among the first on-site to offer assistance. Now, Adkins is returning the favor, so to speak. He is the newest spokesman for the 2012 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Campaign. Adkins says he and his family were fortunate because they only lost ‘things’ that could be replaced. But he says “that’s not the case for every victim of disaster.” Adkins is urging the public to make charitable donations, send cards to servicemen and women and donate blood as part of the Giving Campaign. The Red Cross has an online catalog for tax-deductible charitable donations that provide shelter, as well as basic necessities for disaster victims and military comfort kits. It is also collecting holiday greeting cards to distribute to military personnel based overseas throughout the season.

SINGER RAYLENE RANKIN DIES
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) – Raylene Rankin, a member of the Canadian Celtic music group The Rankin Family, has died. Rankin and four siblings formed the group more than 20 years ago, originally under the name The Rankins. They are credited with taking East Coast Canadian Celtic music to the mainstream and they won numerous awards including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards and three Canadian Country Music Awards. Rankin was also a successful solo artist. Her sister Heather said in a statement that Rankin, who died of cancer, “fought a long and courageous battle with grace and dignity and was an inspiration.” She was 52 years old.

JASON ALDEAN SAYS HE ‘SCREWED UP’
(AP) – Jason Aldean admits he “acted inappropriately” with former “American Idol” contestant Brittany Kerr at a Los Angeles nightclub last week. The married father of two owned up to his flirtatious mistake and apologized for his indiscretion which was caught on camera. Aldean took to Twitter and Facebook to make a direct apology over the weekend. He wrote that he didn’t want fans to “just read about his personal life on gossip web sites.” He says he “screwed up” and “had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar.” He went on to say that he left the bar alone, caught the bus to his next show “and that’s the end of the story.” Aldean says he’s not perfect and he embarrassed his family and himself and appreciates being able to “work through this privately.”

“THE VOICE”
LOS ANGELES (AP) – He looks metal, but sounds country. The teams on “The Voice” are now complete. Blake Shelton’s last pick up was Rudy Parris, a 46-year-old with long, black hair. Shelton told Parris he has the soul of country artist. Team Blake also gets a teen singer whose mom drove her to Nashville 40 times in a year and a half to pursue her music dreams.

CMA AWARDS ADD MORE PERFORMERS
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) – Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan and the Zac Brown Band are joining the already star-studded list of CMA Awards performers which includes Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, Kelly Clarkson and Dierks Bentley. Each of the evening’s performers are nominees, with Lambert in the lead. She has four nods this year for Album, Song, Video and Female Vocalist of the Year – a title she has held since 2010. The Awards take place in Nashville, November 1 and will be co-hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. They air live on ABC.

TAYLOR SWIFT SAYS JONI MITCHELL ROLE NOT A DONE DEAL
UNDATED (AP) – Variety magazine reports that Taylor Swift is “already in line to play Joni Mitchell” in a film called “Girls Like Us.” But in a recent interview with Country Weekly magazine, Swift says it’s not a done deal. Girls Like Us is an adaptation of a book by Sheila Weller, about the trailblazing trio of singer-songwriters Mitchell, Carly Simon and Carole King. Swift says in the Country Weekly interview that she’s “not actually signed on to do a movie at this point” and it’s not the kind of thing that’s good to talk about until it’s a definite thing. However, she points out she “would love to tell that story.”

KENNY ROGERS SKIPS PLASTIC SURGERY IN HIS MEMOIR
UNDATED (AP) – Kenny Rogers’ memoir, “Luck or Something Like It” hit bookstore shelves today. The autobiography covers lots of ground including Rogers’ Depression-era Texas childhood and his struggles with his marriages. One thing he didn’t tell-all about is his plastic surgery. In a “CMT Insider” interview Rogers says he did write a section about it but his manager said, “Let’s not go there.” Rogers says he’s not embarrassed that he had plastic surgery but admits he never liked the way his eyes looked “after the fact.”

BUCKY COVINGTON ON THE PERKS AND PITFALLS OF HIS CAREER
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Bucky Covington says there are pros and cons to being a famous musician who spends a lot of time on the road. On the plus side he’s toured the country and seen a lot of beautiful places. The “bad part” he says, is that he meets a lot of women and it’s easy to get into what he calls “very, very sticky situations.”

DOLLY PARTON WITHDRAWS FROM WATER AND SNOW PARK VENTURE
NASHVILLE (AP) – Dolly Parton has pulled out of plans for a water and snow park in Nashville. Her Dollywood Company had planned to partner with Gaylord Entertainment to create the $50 million park. Gaylord shareholders recently voted to reorganize the company as a real estate investment trust. Parton says in a statement, “Gaylord makes decisions that they feel are good for their company and their stockholders and I have to make decisions based on what is best for me and the Dollywood Company.”

CARRIE UNDERWOOD, DIERKS BENTLEY, LUKE BRYAN SPEAK UP FOR COLLEGE
NASHVILLE (AP) – Carrie Underwood says everyone should have that moment of being proud to graduate college. Dierks Bentley says he definitely would not have passed up college. Luke Bryan says going to college taught him to work harder. They’re all part of CMT’s Empowering Education initiative to encourage viewers to pursue education beyond high school. The website CMTEmpoweringEducation.com gives information on schools, financial resources and the college stories of country music stars. Dustin Lynch will appear on CMT’s Top 20 countdown on Friday to talk more about the initiative.

SCOTTY McCREERY PLANS CHRISTMAS ALBUM
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Scotty McCreery says they always listen to Christmas music early at his house, so that’s why he’s eager to release a Christmas album. “Christmas With Scotty McCreery” comes out October 16. He says ever since he launched his music career, he’s wanted to do a holiday record. It includes two new songs: “Christmas in Heaven” and “Christmas Is Coming Around.” McCreery also does “O Holy Night,” the song he sang as a fifth-grader while playing Joseph in a Christmas play. McCreery tackles holiday standards like “Jingle Bells,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Let It Snow.”

CASEY JAMES GETS NEW TWITTER HANDLE
NASHVILLE (AP) – Casey James has dropped the underscore from his Twitter handle. He used to be Casey(underscore)James, but now he’s just CaseyJames, one word. James will do the Taste of Country Christmas tour with JB and the Moonshine Band beginning November 15 in Abilene, Texas.

JERROD NEIMANN WANTS TO ROCK A DORM ROOM
NASHVILLE (AP) – Jerrod Neimann is looking for a dorm room to play in. He’s holding a contest to give away a free concert in a college student’s room. Neimann will trick out the room, too. The winner will also get a 32-inch Sony Bravia television, a Madden NFL 13 bundle, an MP3 player designed for runners and an iPod speaker. Students can enter through http://rockyourroom.jerrodniemannofficial.com before October 22. Neimann’s album, “Free the Music,” is out tomorrow.