Don't these spectators look familiar to you?? Why, yes, that would be Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, and Taylor Swift. They attended a recent Nashville Predators game -- and made ESPN!! Take that, Jessica Simpson!!

I found this article on CNN as reported by the AP wire. People get disgruntled when artists re-re-release Christmas albums or tack on Christmas EPs to previously released LPs but hey, there's money in that stocking.

And an interesting note: Josh Groban's Christmas album has sold more than any album in the country for the last 5 weeks; has sold more than most albums all year; has sold more in 2007 than any country music album.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

A report published by UMG Spain, highlighting major releases for the 2008 season, lists superstar Shania Twain as releasing her highly-anticipated album in May.

The report states, "After five years without a studio album release, the world-best seller is back with an all-new album." The album is slated for a May 13 release date.

No title or further information has been given. Due to the Christmas and New Year holidays, representatives at UMG Nashville were immediately unavailable for comment.

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS!

Word on the street is the "2 Voices 2 World" tour is going to be a smash. Estimates show it may sell out in over 85% of the venues it plays at. Local promoters are telling fans not to wait until the week of the show to buy tickets - there may not be any!! I don't know Kelly's schedule (I had heard she was zipping to Australia to tour following), but don't be too surprised if the tour goes national and is extended through the summer.

You know, when labels do this, it just makes me mad. Take a look at the picture to the side (courtesy of MCA Nashville). Yep, that's Trisha Yearwood, but no, she doesn't have a new album coming out.

You see, Ms. Yearwood is no longer an MCA artist. But, because MCA owns her past catalog, they can reissue and repackage anything they want. This album is "Love Songs," featuring songs from her nine MCA albums.

If you are a Yearwood fan, just check out the "Songbook Collection" or recently released "Greatest Hits" albums. You really don't need this, now do you??

Here's a few pictures from Shania Twain's recent visit to Las Vegas. She was at the Walgreens corporate meeting to promote her new perfume, Shania Starlight, in early July.

While this is newsworthy, I cannot stand Chesney's publicists. They have been known to blow up numbers or, what's the phrase, slant numbers in their favor.

In any case, Billboard has named Chesney's "Flip Flop Summer Tour" the #1 country tour of the year. From the press release (linked above):

[The tour] grossed over $71 million and drew in excess of 1.1 million fans. The Flip Flop Summer Tour marks sixth year in a row of playing to over a million fans. His draw was good enough to be up there with both the Police and Genesis' reunion tours and Justin Timberlake's SexyBack Tour.

In case you didn't know, Chesney is this year's CMA Entertainer of the Year and has already announced his stadium tour for next year. He is also Mediabase's (Country Aircheck) #1 radio artist of the year.

I have to admit, the man is on fire. I don't see it slowing down either. Look for Chesney and Carrie Underwood to go #1 man/woman in 2008.

This has been a hot-topic in the music industry since the turn of the decade. The RIAA (the company that issues certifications for albums shipped, not sold!) has a policy that certifies per disc.

Let me explain: if Joe Smith releases a two-disc set, he only needs to ship 1 million copies to be certified double platinum. Cheating the system? Maybe, but that's why I personally prefer Soundscan's numbers. This policy is, by the way, why Garth Brooks is the best selling artist of all-time. His Wal-Mart box set pushed his "Double Live" album to 20 million times platinum, the same as Shania's "Come On Over" that's just one disc.

Well, anyway, I bring that up to tell you that George Strait has been certified 7x platinum for his "50 #1s" (double-disc) set and Reba has been certified 2x platinum for her "Reba #1s" album (double-disc).

In all actuality, Strait has only shipped 3.5 million albums and McEntire only 1 million. Same goes for Garth and Shania; his live album has only shipped 10 million and her "Up!" album has moved just around six million. (UP! by the way is certified 11x platinum)

This policy should probably be reassessed, but hey, like I said, we have an alternative. It gave Shania her back-to-back-to-back diamond award and it's done wonders for Garth. All depends on how you look at it, I assume.

EDIT: I found this interesting. Most of you are probably aware that The Eagles' new album is a double-disc, yet it's only been certified 3x platinum on 2 million albums sold. Here's why. For a 2-disc set to count double for certification, the total playing time must be at least 100 minutes. Since the Eagles' 2-disc set only plays for about 91 minutes, it doesn't qualify. Therefore, each sale of Long Road Out Of Eden only counts as one for certification.

So who's next to be included in the country genre? Soft rock is not country music, y'all. Anyway, this from the RIAA today:

The Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA, on its first day of eligibility. Released October 30th, the album debuted at number one, with sales of 711,000 units, and has already become the 5th best selling album of 2007. Additionally, with U.S. sales at two million, it is the biggest selling Country album of the year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. With Long Road Out of Eden, the Eagles are the only artist in music history to score a number one album more than 35 years after releasing their debut record.

Congratulations to Wal-Mart for properly promoting this record. I'm sure it's not too far off before we see Wal-Mart launch its own record label.

Looks like Travis Tritt is having more career issues. After failing to get radio attention with his latest release (although press for the album has been positive), Tritt now has no home. This today from CMT News:

Travis Tritt has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Category 5 Records, the Nashville-based label that released his latest album, The Storm, in August. Filed Tuesday (Dec. 11) in federal district court in Nashville, Tritt alleges that Category 5 and label president and CEO Ray Termini misrepresented the company's financial resources and expertise and denied him creative control over his recordings.

The Connecticut attorney general's office is investigating to determine if Termini illegally used Medicaid funds to help launch the record label. Termini has denied misusing the money. Tritt, who has a four-year contract with the label, claims Category 5 currently owes him almost $400,000.

Shame, too, because independent labels seem to be the trend on the Row.

This blog is now like TIME's "Swampland" blog. I will find interesting stories and/or rumors and post them here.

Then you, the lovely poster, can add your comments by clicking the "Discuss This" link right below each post in the blog.

This shift will help us stay regular and hopefully add a discussion element to the site. Hope you enjoy!!

After we broke the story of the announcement of Charlie Daniels being asked to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, we had a chance to interview this legendary gentleman. Here he talks about his first performance on the Opry and his biggest hit being included in a video game:

COUNTRY ON-DEMAND: What does being a Grand Ole Opry member do for your career?

CHARLIE DANIELS: Becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry is the fullfillment of a dream I've had for most of my life. It's something I am deeply honored about.

COD: Describe to us your first performance on the Grand Ole Opry, were you
nervous?

CD: The first time I was on the Opry stage was as a member of the Earl Scruggs Review back in the early 70's and yes, I was a little nervous.

COD: Aside from your forthcoming induction, what is one of your most memorable experiences from the Grand Ole Opry?

CD: I suppose being on stage with Mr. Roy Acuff who was a lifelong hero of mine.

COD: You have some great friends in the Opry. What does it mean to have their support?

CD: Some people really went to bat for me to become a member of the Opry and I feel very beholden to them.

COD: "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" is included in the new Guitar Hero game. Players have to beat the Devil. Any thoughts on being included among the "Legends of Rock?"

CD: The Guitar Heroes project could well introduce that song to a whole generation of young people. I haven't heard it yet, but it's probably going to be a challenging piece to play. I know it is for me.

Special thanks to Charlie Daniels and his team for this interview.