JERROD NIEMANN "GETS ON UP"
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jerrod Niemann is cruising. Literally. He's currently performing on the open seas as part of the Blake Shelton and Friends Cruise through October 21. But life wasn't always so easy. Niemann scored a No. 1 hit with the song "Lover Lover" from his major label debut album in 2010, but he says the road to success wasn't easy.
JASON ALDEAN MAKES SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT
BOSTON (AP) - Jason Aldean will be the first country music artist ever to perform at Fenway park, the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox. Aldean made the announcement yesterday from Fenway and said the July 13, 2013, concert is "going to be a fun night." He'll be joined by Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett for the concert which kicks off his first stadium tour.
TAYLOR SWIFT EXACTS REVENGE WITH HIT SONGS
UNDATED (AP) - Taylor Swift says "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a portrait of how she felt when she finally stopped caring what an ex boyfriend thought of her. In an interview with USA Today, Swift says that ex whose identity she doesn't reveal, made her feel that her music was "not as good or as relevant" as the "hipster bands he listened to." So, Swift says she set out to write a song that she "knew would absolutely drive him crazy when he heard it on the radio."
KRISTIN CHENOWETH STILL RECOVERING FROM ACCIDENT
UNDATED (AP) - After being seriously injured on the set of the CBS TV show "The Good Wife," Kristin Chenoweth says she's "doing great" but it's an "ongoing recovery." She tells People magazine that she recently discovered that she has three cracked teeth from the accident, in addition to having neck issues and a 5-inch skull fracture that she says is healing. Chenoweth calls the experience "life changing" and says now she is "only doing things that really matter." On November 1 she'll head to Las Vegas to co-host the American Country Awards with Trace Adkins.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD'S SWEET 16
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Carrie Underwood's latest single "Blown Away" took the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Country charts this week. The title-track off her most recent album is now her 16th No. 1 single. The album made history this spring by debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums Chart making Underwood only the second country artist in the 47-year history of the chart to have each of her first four albums debut at No. 1. "Blown Away" also debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre chart.
AMY GRANT OPENS UP TO KATIE COURIC ABOUT HER PARENTS' DEMENTIA
UNDATED (AP) - Amy Grant says dealing with her parents' dementia at first felt like being on a "slippery slope." In an interview with Katie Couric on Couric's new talk show "Katie," Grant opens up about her journey with her aging parents. Their diagnosis initially left Grant feeling angry and she says she cried a lot. But on the advice of a friend she learned to have a sense of humor. She came to realize that her parents' condition and how she handled it was going to be "the last great lesson" she would learn from them.