Tim McGraw stopped by ABC’s The View today, In addition to chatting about his acting career, being a father, his secret to a successful marriage, the superstar performed a song called “Better Than I Used to Be” from his upcoming album, Emotional Traffic. Check out his performance on my blog:

With all of the hype about the Royal Wedding, we got to thinking that we’re a lot more interested in what we’re calling “Country Music’s Royal Wedding”- the upcoming union of two of country music’s hottest stars, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. So between now and the big day May 14, 2011 we’ll share some of the details with you each day.

A few months ago we had a photo of HILLARY SCOTT and her boyfriend Chris Tyrell all wrapped around each other while swimming with a dolphin. 

 –They’re still together, so “Country Weekly” asked LADY ANTEBELLUM’S CHARLES KELLEY if he’s heard anything about a wedding.  He answered, quote, “You know what?  I don’t know. 

 –”I will say Hillary is definitely in love.  It’s a great thing to see.  You can tell she’s got butterflies in her stomach right now. 

 –”We’ll see what happens.  But DAVE (HAYWOOD) and I approve.  Her big brothers approve.  And that’s a good thing.”

WILLIE NELSON is bringing his annual Fourth of July Picnic concert to Fort Worth, Texas.  It was also there in 2004, 2005 and 2006.  Some of the other performers include Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and Craig Campbell.

Kellie Pickler took to her Twitter on Wednesday to announce that she’s releasing a brand new single to country radio. “We’re bout to ship my new single “Tough” to country radio,” the newlywed tweeted. “Hope yall like fiddle, steel, spoons, banjo….dirty country. ;-)”

JOE DON ROONEY has always been the cute one in RASCAL FLATTS.  And he’s played it up with his rock star hair that’s always messy on purpose.  But it looks to me like those cute days are receding along with his hairline.

–The band did an interview backstage at the “Girls Night Out” special . . . and Joe Don’s hair is drastically pushed forward to the point that it looks silly. Could he be hiding a receding hairline? You be the judge…the video is below

Fans of Martina McBride will have the opportunity to engage with the country powerhouse as she hosts a live chat later this week. Fans can log onto Livestream.com or MartinaMcBride.com on Thursday, April 28, at 4pm CT to take part in the chat.

Justin Moore is set to release his sophomore album, Outlaws Like Me, on June 21. The album features 13 tracks including Moore’s latest single, “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.”

ACM Top New Solo Vocalist Eric Church recently filmed a brand new video for his latest single, “Homeboy.” Portions of the video were shot earlier this month at an old state prison in Tennessee, the spot where Eric filmed his video for “Lightning” back in 2007. Church says the video is “really cool” and tells us that it’s not like anything he’s done in the past.

Eric is currently on the road with Jason Aldean. Later this summer, fans can catch him on Toby Keith‘s Locked & Loaded Tour. Click HERE for a full list of tour dates.

Nineteen-year-old Atlantic Records’ multi-talented performer, musician, writer and producer Hunter Hayes was recently named CMT’s “Next Big Thing.” He just released a brand new video for his new single “Storm Warning” and he’s gearing up to hit the road with Taylor Swift later this year. Watch the video below to learn more about Hunter…he’s a very talented guy!

LEANN RIMES and EDDIE CIBRIAN are now husband and wife.  They got married at a private home in Malibu on Friday . . . in front of around 40 guests, including Eddie’s two sons.

 –There were rumors this was going to happen, but nobody knew for sure.  Even the guests thought they were being invited to an engagement party . . . and weren’t told until AFTER they arrived.

 LeAnn wore a gown designed by someone named Reem Acra . . . and the couple exchanged personalized vows.  This is the second marriage for both of them.

A while back we mentioned that TAYLOR SWIFT had bought a new house for her parents . . . and one for herself.  Well, the one for herself is in Beverly Hills, and it cost $3.5 million.  Despite the hefty price tag it only has three bedrooms.

Listing information for Miss Swift’s (alleged) new Tinseltown digs shows the petite and private 1941 clapboard-sided Cape Cod Colonial–sits on multiple parcels that total nearly 1.5 acres. There are 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in the main house plus a detached one bedroom guest cottage with vaulted ceiling, fireplace and a compact but fully-equipped kitchenette.

Click Here To See Pics

How often do you see an audience so moved by a live performance that they’re in tears and honor the performance with a standing ovation almost a full minute prior to the song’s conclusion? If you tuned into the Academy of Country Music’s Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country last night then that’s exactly what you saw when Carrie Underwood teamed up with Vince Gill for the Christian hymn “How Great Thou Art.”

The entire TV special was filled with great performances but this seems to be the overwhelming fan favorite…

DARIUS RUCKER makes enough money to send his kids to the best private schools available.  But that’s not his style.  He explains, quote, “I try to keep life simple.  I live in Charleston, South Carolina. 

 –”Our kids go to public school.  I don’t want it any other way.  When it starts to get any other way, I get really uncomfortable with that.  I like to keep it low key.”

 –Being simple for Darius also means that HE has a routine his family can count on.  He continues, quote, “I try to be home Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, or three or four days a week when on tour.  I like dropping the kids off at school.

 –”In the summer, I like going to the pool.  I love my kids and love being with my family.  That’s why I worked so hard all these years!”

MIRANDA LAMBERT is having her bachelorette party at the Kentucky Derby. According to Louisville’s “The Courier-Journal”, Miranda is bringing “a handful of her best gal pals” to the Barnstable Brown Gala.

–It’s a big time black-tie party going down Friday, May 6th . . . the night before the Derby. It’s a HUGE DEAL. Other guests include the Jonas Brothers, Run DMC, Nick Lachey, and Joey Fatone of ‘N Sync . . . plus actors and politicians and such.

–And it sounds like Miranda and her friends will be staying the whole weekend. Miranda and BLAKE SHELTON are getting married on May 14th.

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CHRIS YOUNG has been voted the Hottest Bachelor by the readers of “Country Weekly”. It’s Chris’s second time being honored. He also won back in 2009.

Here’s Chris’s take, quote, “What can I say, country fans are the best! It’s thrilling to get any type of recognition and this one is even more fun since it comes directly from the fans. And thank you ‘Country Weekly’ readers!”

The full list of winners is in the current issue of “Country Weekly”, which is on newsstands now.

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Quick reminder: Tonight, CBS will be airing “Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country – The Concert of the Year”. It honors The Judds, Miranda Lambert, Loretta Lynn, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, Reba and Carrie Underwood.

And it features performances from Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Ronnie Dunn, Sara Evans, Vince Gill, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, and many of the honorees. Sadly, Loretta Lynn couldn’t attend because she was having surgery.)

Get a sneak peak of the show

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TAYLOR SWIFT, LORETTA LYNN and FAITH HILL are part of an upcoming exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s called “Women Who Rock”, and it opens on May 13th.

Lady Gaga recently released “Born This Way (The Country Road Version)” which was her attempt at a stripped-down ‘country version’ of her latest hit.

While on a recent tour stop in Johnson City, Little Big Town took a stab at the song for their latest installment of the “Scattered, Smothered, & Covered” series.

“We shot “Born This Way” on the campus of East Tennessee State University,” said Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town. “We like to refer to this as Ga-grass”.

LBT’s version of the song is awesome! Check it out:

“In Touch Weekly” is spreading the rumor that LEANN RIMES and EDDIE CIBRIAN are getting married this Saturday in Los Angeles. The couple is supposedly keeping it quiet so the press won’t bother them.

–According to a source, they’re inviting about 100 people, including Eddie’s two sons and his ex-wife Brandi Glanville.

In addition to planning a book tour, country superstar Shania Twain has also planned an extensive media tour to promote her upcoming autobiography, From This Moment On, and her TV series, Why Not? w/Shania Twain!
Shania will appear on the following…
Oprah- May 3
The Today Show- May 4
The Ellen DeGeneres Show- May 12
The Talk- May 18
According to her official website, additional appearances will be added in the coming weeks.

TIM MCGRAW STILL doesn’t know when his label is releasing his next album, “Emotional Traffic” . . . even though he finished it last fall. Tim says, quote, “It’s the last album that they have of mine, so they’re trying to hold on to it as long as they can.”

KENNY CHESNEY pulled a 14-year-old fan out of the crowd and serenaded her with his song “Summertime”. What he didn’t know is that she’s the Kansas Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s 2011 Girl of the Year. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoma leukemia back in 2008.

This year’s nominees for the “2011 CMT Music Awards” will be announced live NEXT Wednesday on “The Today Show”. It’s going down in the 10:00 A.M. hour, which is hosted by KATHIE LEE GIFFORD and HODA KOTB.

KENNY CHESNEY’S sculpted pecs and washboard abs are nice to look at. They better be, because he eats the same crap every day so they’ll look that way.

–UNCLE CRACKER was asked to name one thing we may not know about Kenny.

–Cracker answered, quote, “He still only eats chicken and broccoli Monday through Saturday. He has been doing that for years now. He also scrambles his eggs in a plastic bowl and microwaves them.”

TOBY KEITH is heading to the Middle East on his ninth USO / Armed Forces tour. He’ll visit three countries doing concerts and meet & greets. Toby has performed for more than 159,000 troops and their families since his first USO tour in 2002.

Two of country music’s hottest blondes cover health related magazines in May. Miranda Lambert graces the cover of Health and Julianne Hough is on the cover of Women’s Health (pictured above).
Inside Women’s Health (on newsstands now), Julianne dishes on her four easy food rules, her take on the paparazzi, and how she stays fit on tour. Plus, fans can also download and print Julianne’s workout HERE.

When it comes to staying fit, Miranda credits her trainer and a healthy diet.
“We do a lot of circuit training, lunges, and crunches,” Lambert tells Health. “And every morning we walk for 30 minutes.”
Miranda admits that she and her soon to be husband Blake Shelton are “both pretty good” at cooking. “We have a lot of catfish, and everybody knows the best way to eat catfish is fried,” she says. “I tried to be healthy and bake it once, which was horrible. We ordered a pizza!”
See behind the scenes of Miranda’s photo shoot HERE