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BACK IN THE SADDLE

Hear Chris' New Album, Track-by-Track

Chris Cagle, 'Back in the Saddle' Listening Party
Bigger Picture

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Our Cameras Follow Martina for a Fun-Filled Day

Exclusive Martina McBride Video
Universal Republic

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Your Favorite Stars Sing at Sessions

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Gino DePinto

FROM COUNTRY TO 'ROCK'

Julianne Talks New Movie, Music and Men

Julianne Hough Exclusive Interview
Jonathan Short, AP

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

Jake Takes Us to the Set of His New Video

The Making of Jake Owen's"The One That Got Away"
Rick Diamond, Getty Images

GLEN CAMPBELL PREMIERE

Country Legend Says Farwell to Fans in Last Music Video

Watch 'A Better Place'
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Kellie Pickler Wants a 'Hunger-Free Summer' for Children in the U.S.

Dean Dixon, ConAgra Foods Foundation

Kellie Pickler spent Tuesday morning (June 26) at the Nashville headquarters of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, where she and a group of middle-school children loaded backpacks to help hungry children in need. Her presence there was also a way to pay tribute to those who give selflessly to fight hunger on a daily basis. Now, the "Tough" singer finds herself "fired up" about the issue, announcing her participation in the Hunger-Free Summer program, which partners her with the ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America.

The staggering statistics, that nearly 400,000 children in Tennessee don't know where their next meal is coming from, have obviously had an effect on Kellie, who sat down with The Boot for an exclusive interview on Tuesday afternoon to talk about the program and the ways her fans can make a difference.

Continue reading Kellie Pickler Wants a 'Hunger-Free Summer' for Children in the U.S.

Hunter Hayes, O Music Awards: Country Star to Help Flaming Lips in World Record Attempt

Frederick Breedon IV, Getty Images

Hunter Hayes is trying to help break a Guinness World Record! The rising country star is set to join rockers the Flaming Lips in an attempt at beating the record of Most Live Concerts in 24 Hours (Multiple Cities). Hunter is one of several acts joining the band on its 24-hour tour, with his part taking place at Benny's Boom Boom Room in Hattiesburg, Miss., this Thursday (June 28) during the O Music Awards. His performance will broadcast live online at OMusicAwards.com, starting at 7:30 AM ET.

The Flaming Lips will play eight cities in 24 hours, beginning tonight. "It seemed absurd," frontman Wayne Coyne tells the Hollywood Reporter of his first thoughts on the idea, adding that he quickly warmed up to it. "I like the idea of folks traveling with us caravanning to each stop through the night, and I'm hoping that some of the craziness of being there will actually come through online."

Continue reading Hunter Hayes, O Music Awards: Country Star to Help Flaming Lips in World Record Attempt

Keith Urban: 'The Voice' Return Depends on Album Progress

Ryan Pierse, Getty Images

Keith Urban just wrapped his first season as a coach on the reality TV talent show, "The Voice" in Australia, and while he admits he was thrilled to be on the show, he says his first priority is still making music.

"My thing is making sure I have an album done, which is really what I'm doing next week," he recently revealed on Australia's Kyle and Jackie O radio show. "Mostly I'm just going to be in the studio for the next [few] months. If the record comes together the way I hope it does, I'll definitely be there next year, and if it takes longer, then I'll have to figure out how I can make it work."

Continue reading Keith Urban: 'The Voice' Return Depends on Album Progress

Chris Cagle Interview: 'Back in the Saddle' Looks Beyond Troubled Past

Bigger Picture

Chris Cagle has definitely been through some drama and fought his share of demons over the past decade, with a few of those situations making headlines in the press and eventually starting to nearly overshadow his notable music career. A hitmaker shortly after debuting on the scene 12 years ago on Virgin Records, Chris rocketed up the charts with hits such as "My Love Goes On and On" and "Laredo." But he eventually got snarled up in label changes and business challenges that very nearly derailed the creative train that had taken him to the top. Frustrated and angered by so many things out of his control, the singer began a downward spiral that eventually ended up at a place where often the best creativity happens -- near the bottom. Retreating into himself to find some peace and resolution, Chris went to Oklahoma, built a ranch, and threw himself into training horses and working the land. That sort of medicine is good for the soul and the heart, as he soon found when he met the woman who would become his wife, Kay. The two fell in love and had two daughters, and Chris, who had never stopped performing, soon found himself with a new record deal and a new lease on life. His new album on Bigger Picture, the aptly-titled, Back in the Saddle, out this week, has already yielded one hit, "Got My Country On." The Boot sat down recently to talk with Chris about his eager return to radio after his hiatus, what life is like as the only male in a house full of women, and how he's ready to repaint the landscape of his life with some brighter colors.

You experienced some frustrating and even destructive moments during the years following your time as an artist on Virgin Records. What was your turning point?

I started out this career living the dream. Six months in, the guy who gave me my dream was fired, and they shut down the label. Everybody I poured my heart and soul into, friends and family of mine I was working out on the road for and knowing I was feeding, at Virgin was gone. I was moved to Capitol Records, and my first meeting with the label head he said he never would have signed me. So I asked him to let me go, and he said he couldn't. So I'm out on the road, I'm doing good, I have a girlfriend of three years, we're gonna have a baby, the baby comes out, it's not mine. In the process of that, I find out my manager's duping me, I end up in a lawsuit with him, and I end up medicating myself because I don't want to deal with the sh--. I drank and became an angry person. Finally, one day I said to myself, "You're not even the guy that you can respect, you're not a guy you can look up to. You're not the guy that people fell in love with when you started this, and right now, they're still playing your music. So the best thing for you to do is go away and find that person again. And if you ever get a second chance, make the most of it. If you don't, you've already made it farther than most people told you you ever would." So I bailed, and bottom line is I didn't know if I'd ever have another chance. Then, thankfully, Bigger Picture got involved.

Continue reading Chris Cagle Interview: 'Back in the Saddle' Looks Beyond Troubled Past

Kenny Chesney, 'Welcome to the Fishbowl' Debuts at No. 1

BNA Records

For the 11th consecutive time, Kenny Chesney has bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. His latest collection, Welcome to the Fishbowl, sold 193,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

That total already makes Fishbowl the 15th best-selling country disc of 2012, and eclipses the first-week sales of the superstar entertainer's last three albums, including 2010's Hemingway's Whiskey, which moved 183,000 units its first week and ultimately scored five Top 3 singles, four of which went to No. 1.

Kenny, however, couldn't touch the top-selling disc on the multi-genre Billboard 200, as Justin Bieber's Believe sold nearly twice what Kenny's did this week, relegating Kenny to No. 2. Fishbowl is only the second of his last eight studio albums to miss the No. 1 spot on that chart.

Continue reading Kenny Chesney, 'Welcome to the Fishbowl' Debuts at No. 1

O Music Awards Nominees Include Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Tonight at 7:30PM EST, MTV kicks off its third annual O Music Awards, an event that will run for 24 hours and take the form of a live-blogged, live-streamed, live-you-name-it bus tour through the South. Given the route -- Memphis to New Orleans -- it's fitting that two country stars, Taylor Swift and Blake Shelton, are among the nominees.

Taylor is up for two awards: Fan Army FTW, which honors especially devoted artist fan bases, and Most Extreme Fan Outreach, which salutes stars who've found innovative ways to interact with the public. The superstar's nomination in the latter category is due in part to her YouTube Q&A session, which has thus far drawn more than 5,500 user comments.

Blake, meanwhile, is up for Must Follow Artist on Twitter, which won't surprise any of his fans. The singer and "Voice" judge is a prodigious, often hilarious tweeter, and while he faces some stiff competition -- hip-hop drummer Questlove and Yoko Ono, of all people, are among the other contenders -- he's got a fighting chance.

Continue reading O Music Awards Nominees Include Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift

Rascal Flatts Contest Earns Military Wife Opening Performance Spot at Va. Show

YouTube

A military wife and mother, who is also an aspiring country singer, earned the opportunity to sing at Rascal Flatts' concert last Sunday (June 24) at the Farm Bureau in Virgina Beach, Va. FOX News reports that Kimberly Morlino, 28, of Virginia Beach, was the Grand Prize winner in the nationwide Flatts Fest Karaoke Challenge.

Her soulful karaoke performance of the pop-country hit "Black Velvet" nabbed nearly 15 percent of the more than 35,000 votes cast via Facebook, giving Kimberly the chance to perform for the crowd just before the trio took the stage last weekend. (Watch her karaoke video below, followed by her performance at the Flatts' show.)

Continue reading Rascal Flatts Contest Earns Military Wife Opening Performance Spot at Va. Show