Blog Posts by Chris Willman

On paper, it was Carrie Underwood's night at the American Country Awards, as she led the pack by earning six awards at the brand new music kudocast. But if you were watching the show on Fox, or even live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, you might have blinked and missed her. She didn't sing, and there were so few awards given out during the performance-heavy telecast that Underwood wasn't even a presence on the show until the closing moments, when she picked up her sole on-air trophy.

What viewers did see: a parade of country stars and up-and-comers that was mostly youngish and mostly male. The poster boy for the event might have been freshman Easton Corbin, who performed his breakthrough hit "A Little More Country Than That" on top of coming away with three awards.

If three trophies sounds like a lot for a guy with only one album out, consider that the ACAs determined to up the freshness quotient by having three categories expressly for new artists instead of the one traditionally doled

The Band Perry have one of the unlikeliest No. 1 singles in the recent history of country music with "If I Die Young." It's a feel-good song about mortality, which, in the trio's hands, is not quite as oxymoronic as it sounds. Far from being a bummer, it's the song that's taken them to the top of the charts and very possibly established them as the genre's next real stars. Here's an act you can truly hope you get to see grow old in the country music limelight.

Currently they're out on tour opening for Alan Jackson, but if you don't have tickets for those dates, you can see them this Monday on the American Country Awards on Fox, following their appearance on the American Music Awards and the CMAs just before that.

We caught up with the family act—Kimberly Perry, 26; Reid Perry, 21; and Neil Perry, 19—before a show in L.A. Here's our interview with the threesome: 

Q: If I were going to guess the song that would put you over the biggest, I would have guessed "Hip to My Heart," your

Just call them the little rascals. On second thought, don't. But if they're not quite kids again, there's no mistaking that superstar country trio Rascal Flatts are feeling a renewed vigor in this, their 10th anniversary year. They've moved over to a new record label (Big Machine, the home of Taylor Swift and Reba McEntire) and feel like they have a new attitude to go with it on Nothing Like This, their just-released seventh studio album. 

The band came by Yahoo! Music's west coast studio to offer exclusive live performances of three brand new songs and a pair of popular oldies for Ram Country. After their set, the threesome also sat down to talk about what the last decade has brought about for them. Check out their video interview, here:

The first song they performed for the Yahoo! cameras was, inevitably, their current single, "Why Wait." In one sense, the song represents a slightly new wrinkle for Rascal Flatts, if the difference may be subtle to most listeners. "We've never cut a

You've got to love the annual Grammy nominations concert/telecast, if only because, at one hour, it's the shortest and most digestible "awards" show of the year. Five categories announced, seven performances offered, 2,000 CBS shows plugged...and then off to an early bed, with no after-parties!

Surely more than a few viewers were up past their bedtime, as the 10 ET/PT show had, as its chief ratings draw, a live performance by Justin Bieber. (Maybe "live," anyway—it was past 3 a.m. in London, the location from which he'd earlier bantered awkwardly with host LL Cool J.) If Bieber was the prince of the hour, the designated kings were B.o.B. and Bruno Mars, each of whom was awarded a coveted two performing slots (one of them shared).

At the program's start, it was like deja vu—or decolletage vu—all over again. Katy Perry kicked off the proceedings, just one night after appearing on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and a scant nine days after the American Music Awards. (At this

Well, if this relationship with Julianne Hough goes anywhere, that's going to be one heck of a pre-nup.

Ryan Seacrest is the $60 million dollar man, having just signed a three-year renewal with his radio sponsor, Clear Channel Communications. His expiring deal with the media conglomerate was worth a mere $35 million. That may seem like mad money to be paying someone whose principal (some would say only) talent is a gift for genial gab. But if Clear Channel had lost Seacrest, there would have been no nearest-runner-up for them to go after and build up. As the only game in town when it comes to pop hosting ubiquity, Seacrest can set his own price. And, apparently, he did.

Even allowing that there might be some common business sense in this deal, though, there's still been some risible hyperbole when it comes to justifying his rising price tag.

Robert Pittman, Clear Channel's chairman of media platforms, led the brigade of laughable statements. He told the New York Times that Seacrest

Was the big story of the CMA Awards Brad Paisley's first win in the top category, Entertainer of the Year? Or was it Miranda Lambert finally getting her first three wins all in one night, including the prestigious Album of the Year contest? The nation's headline writers couldn't quite agree which of these was the real news flash.

It was both, of course. Long live Braranda! (With apologies to Kimberly and Blake.)

Yahoo! Music and Ram Country's cameras were on the scene backstage at the CMAs to get Lambert's and Paisley's immediate reactions from their respective triumphs. Click on the video to see and hear what these two had to say:

Backstage at the CMA Awards, as you might expect, there were a lot of jokes about how much power couple Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton might be celebrating their mutual wins in the hours—or days, or decades—to come.  

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush were talking to the press when they looked over at a monitor saw Blake Shelton's name announced as Best Male Vocalist, the biggest surprise of the night. "Shake it up, CMAs!" said Nettles. "Ooh, it's gonna be fun at their house tonight!" chortled Bush.

But the wins seemed to have a different effect than expected on Lambert herself. "I don't know what's going on," Lambert told the assembled, picking up one of her three trophies shortly after her fiancee got his. "I just told Blake, I think we need to go to church."

The couple's friends in Lady Antebellum saw more than just a night of partying or day in the pews ahead for Lambert and Shelton. "It's time for them to get married and have a kid," said Lady A's Charles Kelley,

If you wanted to feel old--and you're, say, 20 or 21--tuning in to the American Music Awards was the way to do it. "I don't know how this is possible, because I've been singing Eminem since I was 3," said Justin Bieber, picking up a trophy in a category that had pitted him against the aging (?) rapper. Ultimately the 16-year-old moptop was named Artist of the Year in the fan-voted awards, leaving him with fewer achievements to look forward to when he finally advances into late adolescence. Bieber was the king of the AMAs, and he also picked up a few of our awards, which are based on the telecast itself:

P.D.A. AWARD
No contest here: Justin Bieber sweetly hugged nearly everyone standing between him and the podium (wisely passing over Russell Brand, though) when he was announced as Artist of the Year. The public displays of affection didn't end there, as Bieber invited Usher--"not only my mentor but my best friend and my big brother"--to join him onstage. You can try to hate Bieber, but