Blake Shelton Reveals His Strategy for Season Two of ‘The Voice’

It feels like only yesterday that Blake Shelton‘s charge Dia Frampton was the runner up on the debut season of ‘The Voice.’ Well, season two is upon us, and Shelton is already raring to go and plotting his methods for another round. Shelton revealed that he will retain last season’s strategy of picking the singers with the most unique and different voices for his team. Obviously, Shelton has no interest in cultivating a poker face during the audition round. “I am picking polarizing voices,” Shelton reveals to The Boot. “That really worked out well for me last time around. There were a lot of great singers on that show, but there was only one Dia and one Xenia. They are so different from any other voices you ever hear. That’s what the show means to me.” Shelton, who serves as a coach and a mentor to each singer on his team, thinks this season will be an improvement from last year, which was by no means a flop. In fact, it was a huge ratings hit. He thinks his show stands out from other reality talent competitions because of the way it’s structured. “That’s the cool thing about having artists be the coaches — we all have a different vision for what ‘The Voice’ is,” he theorizes. “I think it will become even more dynamic this year, as far as how different each one of our teams are. Now we know what we’re looking for and how to go about the game we play.” The second season of ‘The Voice’ will premiere on Feb. 5 on NBC, immediately following the Super Bowl.

(A Taste Of Country)

Oregon's Rose Bowl Uniforms Channel Darth Vader.

Ever wonder what it would be like if Darth Vader played in the Rose Bowl?
You'll find out on January 2. The University of Oregon will debut the latest Nike Pro Combat gear that claims to be the most advanced football uniform system in the world. It's certainly the scariest. Much like the iPhone, the Nike Combat Uniforms -- which first debuted at last year's BCS title game -- keep introducing new versions. This outfit features 11 different materials in the jersey and pants, and 16 in the complete uniform. Oregon fans, always delighted to see their Ducks set trends, will be happy to know that the new unis include larger, bolder numbers with an iridescent sheen similar to that of a mallard duck's feathers. Or Lord Vader's coat.

Two Women Charged for Making False Claims Following Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse.

Sadly, there will always be a few bad apples who attempt to make selfish gains from the misfortune of others. Thankfully, in this case, two women who made false claims in order to get free money following the Indiana State Fair stage collapse have been caught — and are being charged. According to Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, Stephanie Murry, 25, and Sandra Hurn, 38, of Indianapolis attempted to collect money from both the State Fair Remembrance Fund and the Indiana Tort Claim Fund, though it is believed that neither of the two women were at the fair on the night of the stage collapse.

The pair attempted to collect a total of $22,500 from the available funds. Murry and Hurn claim to have been injured in the crash, which killed seven and injured 58 others just minutes before country duo Sugarland were due to take the stage.

Hurn, who was able to collect a total of $7,500 from the remembrance fund, is looking at a maximum of 36 years in prison if convicted on charges of forgery, perjury, theft and attempted theft. While Murry was denied money because she did not meet the qualifications, she is still looking at a maximum of 14 years behind bars. In order to catch the crooks, officials ‘approved’ both of the women’s requests — and arrested them when they came to get their checks.

“It is particularly troubling that individuals would attempt to illegally profit upon a tragedy such as the State Fair stage collapse. We have zero tolerance for those who wish to gain at the misfortune of others,” Curry said in a statement. “We will not stand idly by while greedy individuals take from those who are truly deserving of compensation from this tragedy.”

(A Taste Of Country)

The Band Perry to Perform National Anthem at Cotton Bowl.

The Band Perry had a banner year in 2011, due in large part to the crossover success of ‘If I Die Young.’ They will soar into 2012 with another heralded appearance. The trio of siblings will perform the national anthem at the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 6, reports CMT.
The game is scheduled to take place at 8 PM ET on Fox and will feature a match between the Kansas Sate Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Band Perry will sing ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ beforehand. Kimberly Perry and her brothers are of course stoked about the chance to sing the national anthem at a heavily viewed sporting event. Of the opportunity, the singer said, “Cowboys Stadium is one of the biggest and best venues in the entire world when it comes to country music. We are excited and honored to be singing our country’s anthem on such a national stage.”

(A Taste Of Counrty)

Country Weddings and Engagements in 2011.

It seemed that in almost every month of 2011, a new country couple was sneaking away to get married. Beginning on New Year’s Day with Shania Twain, Kellie Pickler and their respective grooms and continuing through to Sunny Sweeney‘s magical wedding date of of 11/11/11, it appears that country stars eloped more often than not in 2011. There were also plenty of high profile proposals, including two members of Lady Antebellum getting engaged to their significant others. There are plenty of pictures and stories of romance to click through in this list of 2011′s country weddings and engagements.

(A Taste Of Country)

Click Here To Check Them Out!

"A Christmas Story" is Our Favorite Holiday Movie and "The Grinch" is Our Favorite Holiday Special.

Harris Interactive just conducted a huge holiday poll. Here are some of the results:
Favorite Christmas Movie: "A Christmas Story" . . . but not by much. 20% of people chose that one, while 19% went with "It's A Wonderful Life", which NBC is airing on Christmas Eve this year. TBS will have your hookup for "A Christmas Story". Favorite Christmas Special: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". This is the animated version, not the JIM CARREY movie. It was chosen by 23% of respondents. This was another close one. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" got 22%. Sadly, I must report that there was very little love for my personal favorite, "The Year Without a Santa Claus". It finished in 5th place with only 3% of the vote. Have you no love for Heat Miser and Snow Miser? The Holiday Song People Most Look Forward to Hearing is "White Christmas". Followed by "Silent Night" and "Oh Holy Night". The Holiday Song People Want to Go Away is "Jingle Bells". Followed by "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". No percentages were given for the songs.

John Rich Finds Irony in Scoring Six Drink Tickets on Southwest Flight!!!

Just a few weeks ago, John Rich was kicked off of a Southwest flight home to Nashville for being too drunk. So you can imagine why he found it especially ironic that while boarding yet another Southwest flight early Tuesday morning, he received not one, but six free drink tickets. “IRONY: just checked in for my Southwest flight to New Orleans, and they give me SIX drink tickets!! Its 9:30am….are they setting me up??” Rich tweeted, making light of the situation. The singer was leaving Las Vegas to return home following the American Country Awards in early December when it was decided he was too intoxicated, and thus “not fit for travel under governing federal aviation regulations.” Rich was removed from his flight by Southwest personnel and had to make other travel arrangements, but he obviously harbors no hard feelings about what went down, given his lighthearted tweetS. Rich is currently in the Big Easy to find a location to shoot a new music video. Just before boarding his flight and snagging a handful of drink coupons, the Big and Rich hitmaker tweeted some info about his latest venture, saying, “Off to New Orleans to scout locations for a video shoot on a NEW John Anderson song featuring Haggard and Willie!!! Just WAIT till you hear!”

(A Taste Of Country)

Brad Paisley Is Donating Proceeds From His New Song "Hard Life" . . . To A Very Worthy Cause

BRAD PAISLEY did a really cool thing. He recorded a song called "Hard Life", which was written by his friend Joe Kindregan. Joe suffers from a rare, fatal genetic disease called A-T, or ataxia-telangiectasia.(--It's also called Louis-Bar syndrome.) The song is from Joe's point of view and he doesn't pull punches about what it's like living with A-T. And yet, he remains totally positive. It's pretty inspiring. Here's Brad talking about his buddy. He says, quote, "I've known Joe for several years and he is one of my favorite people. "His disease is physically debilitating but obviously creatively and mentally Joe has such tremendous depth. It's an honor for me to be the person to give voice to his creativity and cause."
Brad is donating all of his artist royalties from the digital version to the A-T Children's Project.

You Can Purchase The Song From Itunes. Click Here!

Luke Bryan Took to His Twitter Page . . . to Apologize for His Drunk Tweets.

You can add LUKE BRYAN to the list of people who may never drunk Tweet again. It started last Thursday when he took his wife Caroline to a Nashville restaurant called Virago. Luke Tweeted, quote, "It's my anniversary. Daddy's getting lucky." And then came the lethal combination of too much firewater and perceived disrespect. Luke wrote, quote, "Hey y'all. It's been a great night. But. However. Virago the sub par sushi joint made me take my hat off mid meal." And then, quote, "After 2 bottles of Dom (Perignon). So will never eat mediocre sushi again on my anniversary." Believe it or not, Luke was just getting started. He then tried to start a backlash. He asked everyone to, quote, "Join me in my boycott of Virago. Sushi restaurant against those who sing and perform country music." And he followed that up with some shameless boasting, quote, "Yes, I left a 150 dollar tip. Had the manager not scolded me like a child I would have left double that." Luke even drove the point home that he was NOT of sound mind. He wrote, quote, "I'm is drunk. Love y'all. See y'all in the morning." As we all know, a round of drunk Tweets must be followed by some sober apologies. The next day, which was Friday, Luke Tweeted, quote, "Well, in the wake of my drunk tweets. I do wanna apologize to Virago. The food was really great and the service was great too." Plus, quote, "Also sorry about the choice words." I guess you can never give too many props to the people you just badmouthed. Luke added, quote, "Also, Caroline and I had a great night together. I never really was that mad. I truly was being silly and got carried away. Sorry again."

All in all, Luke is NOT the first to "Drunk Tweet"....and he won't be the last. At least he apologized. Some don't even do that.

Octomom TV...Oh man....

The Octomom NADYA SULEMAN may have finally figured out how to take care of her 14 kids. TMZ says she has scored a SIX-FIGURE DEAL to do a weekly web show.

Here's the promo for the "Big Show"...

Taylor Swift May or May Not Be Dating the Singer From the Band Parachute.

Is TAYLOR SWIFT dating WILL ANDERSON, the singer (slash) guitarist from the rock band PARACHUTE? Maybe. Perez Hilton started the rumor by quoting "sources" who said Taylor spends, quote, "at least three to four times a week" at Will's house. They also claimed Will told an audience at one of his shows that the song "White Dress" was basically written about Taylor. What we DO know is there's a photo of them hanging out over the Thanksgiving holiday. (See Above)

Hey who knows? As long as she's happy. Right?

Brad Paisley Doesn't Like People Saying He Has a Charmed Life.

It may seem like things have come pretty easily for BRAD PAISLEY, but they haven't, and they don't, and he wants you to know that. Brad says, quote, "I cringe every time I read 'The Charmed Life of Brad Paisley' in 'Country Weekly' or 'People' or something, you know, because I do look like I've got it made . . . and I do have it made. "But I always cringe because the 'charmed life' leaves out sleepless nights in the studio and years and years of work."


Well put Brad! Nothing (that's worth it) is easy to get!

Pearl Harbor attack remembered at 70th anniversary ceremonies; 120 survivors to participate.

By Associated Press.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — The Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor and those who lost their lives that day are being remembered Wednesday on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack that brought the U.S. into World War II.

About 120 survivors will join Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, military leaders and civilians to observe a moment of silence in Pearl Harbor at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time — the moment the attack began seven decades ago.

Click Here For The Full Story.

(The Washington Post)

"The Adventures of Tintin" and "Just Dance 3" Are This Week's New Video Game Releases

"The Adventures of Tintin: The Game" (E10+) . . . for Xbox, PS3, Wii, PC and DS. In the classic comics, Tintin was a young Belgian reporter who investigated mysteries with the help of his dog Snowy and his best friend, Captain Haddock. The comic was hugely popular in Europe and even ran as an animated TV series in the '60s and '90s. This game is based on the new movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg which hits theaters a few days before Christmas. The game supports the motion technology of the Kinect sensor and the Playstation Move. It also features two player co-op.

"Just Dance 3" (E10+) is out this week for Xbox, PS3, and Wii. It includes a new four-player mode with choreography for four people. The track list includes Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous", Cee Lo's "Forget You", and three Katy Perry songs, for a total of 51 dance routines.

John Rich Was Kicked Off a Southwest Flight For Being Drunk and Belligerent.

JOHN RICH was booted off a Southwest Airlines flight out of Las Vegas Sunday morning for being quote, "not fit to travel." Here's what I know: John did a show Saturday night at the Eastside Cannery Resort and Hotel in Vegas. The next morning, he had a 10:50 A.M. flight back home to Nashville. Supposedly he appeared drunk as he was boarding the plane, and got into an argument with another passenger. And according to witnesses, he continued to exhibit drunken behavior once he was seated in the cabin. Airline officials decided it was a problem, so they escorted him off the flight. A rep for Southwest told TMZ, quote, "Our crew assessed the situation and determined that the passenger was not fit for travel under governing federal aviation regulations.
"The customer was rebooked on a later flight, but chose to make alternative travel arrangements. We have processed a refund for the customer and his travel companion." John's spokesman released a statement denying he fought with another passenger . . . but it did leave the door open for other interpretations. Quote: "Did John Rich have a great time with his fans in Vegas? Yes. Was there an altercation? Absolutely not."

Hey...John was havin' himself a "Big & Rich Time"!

Country Stars Share Their Favorite Christmas Memories...

One of the interesting segments of last night's "CMA Country Christmas" was when the artists shared their favorite holiday memories. Here are a few of them...

VINCE GILL remembered how his sister would open gifts before Christmas Day and then re-wrap them without getting caught. He said, quote, "She was good at acting surprised at what she got." Vince's wife AMY GRANT talked about when her cat found her gift live gerbils. Quote, "We're sitting around, all fuzzy feeling, then all of a sudden, I'm going, 'What is that crunching sound under the tree?' It was my big present . . .the gerbils!"

One of KELLIE PICKLER'S favorite holiday memories was visiting the troops in Iraq. She said, quote, "There are so many things we take for granted. We don't realize it until it's not there anymore . . . until that luxury, that freedom, is not there."

KEITH URBAN is from Australia, where it's currently summer. He said, quote, "Christmas was always about going to the beach. And my fondest Christmas memory is about getting in the station wagon with my mom, dad, my brother, and me, and going to the beach for the day."

Hank Williams Jr. Walked Off The Stage at CMT's "Artist of the Year" Taping.

Regardless of how you feel about HANK WILLIAMS JR., the man is never boring. His latest bit of chaos happened at the taping of CMT's "Artists of the Year" on Tuesday. Hank abruptly walked off the stage while performing "Tattoos On This Town" with JASON ALDEAN. He wasn't mad at Jason or anything. His reps claim Hank just didn't feel he was doing the song justice. Sadly, the walk-off will not be seen when the show airs on December 13th. Jason simply redid the song on his own with his band.

**Personal Opinion Here***
I would think when an artist asks you to join them on stage (as seen in pic above), you would consider it an honor and see it through. I think it was disrepectful of Hank to walk off. Jason Aldean is a VERY talented person. I think Jason knew what he was doing when he asked Hank to sit in. I think if Jason thought it wasn't going well, he would of said something. It shouldn't be Hanks decision. Small slap in the face to Aldean. But, Jason is a tough guy. I think his skin is much thicker than that.

-Hammer