BIG FROG 104'S HOT NEWZ FROM NASHVILLE

October 15, 2010 » Slim Lady Please Stand Up: Lady Antebellum are up against the "Real Slim Shady" Eminem in leading 2010 American Music Awards nominations with five each. The T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist Of The Year and the Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist categories are among Lady A's nods. "What a great way to start celebrating Thanksgiving week a little early," the group's Charles Kelley says. "We are so thankful for everyone who has helped make it all happen." Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band and Rascal Flatts are also nominated. See a complete list here. The AMAs air live Nov. 21 at 8pm ET on ABC-TV. » Love Is The Foundation: Three days shy of the 50th anniversary of her Grand Ole Opry debut, Loretta Lynn was honored Tuesday night (10/12) during the star-studded Grammy Salute To Country at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Host Reba kicked off the show with "If You're Not Gone Too Long" and emceed the rest of the seven-song set, which featured Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson, Lee Ann Womack and Martina McBride. Van Lear Rose producer and rocker Jack White opened the President's Merit and Lifetime Achievement Awards presentation with a story about meeting Lynn as his band the White Stripes toured her estate. "Before I knew it, Loretta was making Meg and I chicken and dumplings at her house," he said. "During dinner Loretta was talking about making another album, and when it seemed like no one was paying attention I sort of raised my hand and said, 'If you need a producer, I can stop mowing lawns for a summer.'"  Moved to tears, Lynn hugged White and Recording Academy exec Neil Portnow before closing the program with her evening's escort Garth Brooks on "After The Fire Is Gone." The performance drew the last of several standing ovations. Prior to the concert, Brooks played paparazzi by borrowing a reporter's camera to take pictures of the participating artists (see below). Details and video highlights here. » Hillbilly Gone: Blake Shelton is bringing the party to the West Coast during his first headlining run. The All About Tonight Tour kicked off Wednesday (10/15) in Denver, and will hit Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco through Oct. 21. "The best part [is], I get to see my fans in cities I haven't performed in for awhile like, Los Angeles," Shelton says. "I'm just glad they're letting a hillbilly like me back in town." Complete schedule here. » C-To-The-M-To-The-A: The prestigious CMA Awards are less than a month away and the industry pros who choose the winners are about to receive their ballots. And while many labels and managers send out promotional materials hoping to sway the voters, it's rare to see an artist openly campaigning for votes, as Female Vocalist of the Year nominee Reba seems to be doing in a very unexpected new video. Or is she? Watch the clip here. » Stage Left? Sugarland will headline Unstaged: An Original Series From American Express, an online concert event streaming live via Vevo Oct. 18 from New York City's Best Buy Theater. Kenny Ortega (Michael Jackson's This Is It) will direct the performance, during which viewers will be able to control camera angles, vote for the encore, watch an online pre-show, tweet questions to the band and enter to win a VIP trip to see the group on their Incredible Machine Tour. Learn more and follow American Express on Twitter for updates on upcoming surprise guests here. In other Sugarland news, they're also among those performing the 2010 VH1 Divas: Salute The Troops special Dec. 5. Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Keri Hilson and Paramore will also be featured during the concert, which will be staged in front of thousands of military members at MCAS Miramar in San Diego. Details here. » Point Blank: Keith Urban has teamed with Target to release a deluxe edition of Get Closer featuring three new tracks and four live recordings. The Target collection lands Nov. 16, the same day the standard album hits stores. Details here. » Live From The OK Chorale: Jack Ingram ("Once In A While") Lady Antebellum ("Something 'Bout A Woman") and Sugarland with Little Big Town (Mumford & Sons' "Sigh No More") showcase unplugged performances in their respective weekly online videos. Follow the links for the clips. » Who Will Save Your Show? Jewel's seven-minute Funny Or Die super-secret, sing-a-long video may have inspired a TBS-TV series. According to the Associated Press, the network has ordered a pilot based on Jewel's "Undercover Karaoke" sketch, in which she sang her hits for a packed Los Angeles bar while disguised as frozen foods salesperson "Karen." Read the full article here and watch the clip here. » In Case You Missed It: Label mates and touring buddies Toby Keith and Trace Adkins hit the late-night show circuit to plug their separate projects this week. Adkins kept up with potty-mouth Chelsea Handler on Monday's (10/11) Chelsea Lately, during which he gabbed about his alcohol allergy. "The symptoms of the allergy every time I drink, I sleep with somebody I didn't know and wake up in jail, which I can say that now because my momma quit watching this show 20 minutes ago," Adkins joked. Adkins also played "This Ain't No Love Song" on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. Keith also sat down for an extensive interview with Ferguson last week to promote Bullets In The Gun. Follow the links for the footage. »Hit List The heroes-themed We're All For The Hall benefit concert netted nearly $450,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Proceeds from the sold-out, Keith Urban-hosted event will go toward exhibits, collection care and school and public programs. The Hub network will premiere a documentary titled Taylor Swift's Journey To Fearless about the making of the tour Oct. 22-24 at 7pm ET each night. The shows will feature previously unaired footage. Read the full AP article here. Bo Bice was the first celebrity contestant to accurately sing all the rounds of Tuesday's (10/12) Don't Forget The Lyrics game show. Bice won the $20,000 grand prize to benefit MusiCares during the episode, which will re-air on FOX-TV Nov. 1. Steve Azar gets in the Halloween spirit by offering a free spooky version of "Sweet Delta Chains." Text "8325730" to 69937 to download the haunted ringtone of the Slide On Over Here album track. The tone is also available through Azar's Facebook page here.   Birthdays Kimberly Schlapman (Little Big Town) (10/15) Alan Jackson (10/17) Josh Gracin (10/18) On TV Friday (10/15): Darius Rucker, The Band Perry, Top 20 Country Countdown (GAC); Billy Currington, Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS). Saturday (10/16): Various Artists, CMA Music Festival: Country's Night To Rock! (re-air) (GAC). Sunday (10/17): Toby Keith, Conversations From The Road (re-air) (GAC). Upcoming Albums Craig Campbell Five Spot (10/19) Sugarland The Incredible Machine (10/19) Various Artists Original Songwriter Demos Vol. 1 (10/19) Various Artists Original Songwriter Demos Vol. 2 (10/19) » Music City Moment: Garth Brooks (l) channels his inner red carpet correspondent during Tuesday's (10/12) Grammy Salute To Country Music in Nashville. Pictured (front row, l-r) are Gretchen Wilson, Martina McBride, Loretta Lynn and Reba. Pictured (back row, l-r) are Jack White, execs George J. Flanigen, IV and Neil Portnow, and Kid Rock. » Takin' It To The Streets: Keith Urban (r) surprises Darius Rucker during their label's Nashville street party Wednesday (10/13). The pair performed Urban's "Raining On Sunday" and covered Steve Miller Band's "The Joker." "We're Music City, and I think we ought to be playing music in the street a lot more," performer Luke Bryan said before the event. "Music is our tourism, and when you see 15,000 people in the streets coming to see acts from one label, it's a fun thing." » Play On Cubed: Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson and industry execs pose for a class photo during the Triple Play Awards presentation at the CMA's Second Annual Songwriters Luncheon. The event recognized those who wrote three No. 1 hits within a year. Pictured (l-r) are exec Steve Moore, Bentley, Urban, Underwood, Rucker, Paisley, songwriter Victoria Shaw, Jackson and exec Gary Overton. © 2010 LH Publications, LLC