Blog Posts by Wendy Geller

Following in the footsteps of numerous other gorgeous country gals who've inked contracts to represent cosmetic brands, Carrie Underwood was announced on Wednesday morning to be the new face of skincare giant Olay.

Underwood's new partnership makes her Olay's first North American celebrity ambassador. She'll be spotlit in the company's 2011 "Challenge What's Possible" campaign, as well as represent a line of skincare products for the brand.

The Grammy Award-winning American Idol, glowing in a pale one-shouldered dress at the press conference announcing the partnership, gushed that she is "very excited" to join up with Olay, adding that she's been using the products for "at least a decade." She noted that the brand is one that women trust, which makes her the perfect spokesperson--"People also trust me, because I can't lie," she added with a laugh.

"As a little girl I remember my mom always using the original Oil of Olay Beauty Fluid and encouraging my sisters and I to take care of

Billy Ray Cyrus is taking all sorts of interesting twists and turns these days. Not only did he dip his toes into the world of rock n' roll (with his new band Brother Clyde) this year, he's now teaming up with yet another one of his kids for a new television role.

Billy Ray and his son Trace have signed a deal to star in a reality series for the SyFy Network called UFO: Unbelievably Freakin' Obvious. The show will feature the father-and-son duo traveling around the country to investigate paranormal incidents, conspiracy theories, and general unexplained activity.

Billy Ray says he and his son have long been interested in the weird and eerie. "The existence of paranormal phenomena is something I've always wanted to explore further," he explained. "Getting the opportunity to take this adventure with my son, who has always had a keen interest in this area, is a dream come true."

I'm not too surprised at this latest endeavor for the Cyrus clan, and I'm willing to bet the show--zany a

Well, it's finally final--Brooks & Dunn's very last concert (billed as Brooks & Dunn, anyway) was held Thursday night, September 2, at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.

Needless to say, it stands out as a sad occasion. And that's about the simplest way I can sum it up.

Brooks & Dunn themselves did their best to add levity to the sold-out evening. Kix Brooks forewarned the audience, "This isn't a funeral," and the pair kept it light on stage, goofing around and joking about their reasons for splitting. A monster of a set including many of their 23 number-one hits, a guest appearance by Reba McEntire, and an encore number of their debut single "Brand New Man" all worked together to provide an audience-pleasing final blowout.

However, this final show genuinely marks the end of an institution, and it's hard not to be a little somber thinking it all over. B&D's many appearances since their initial announcement of retirement last August gave an impression of infinite fluidity. You know--ah,

Comedian Chelsea Handler is known for being--well, duh--funny. So, it's easy to wonder if she's joking or serious about her latest announcement: Handler, who's hosting this year's Video Music Awards on September 12, says she wants to get Kanye West and Taylor Swift together for the show.

Now, as we all know, West rocked the free world last year at the VMAs by unceremoniously grabbing the mic from Swift during her acceptance speech for the Best Female Video award, and announcing that Beyonce should have won. Unfortunately for him, most everyone seemed to be on Team Taylor (even President Obama infamously deemed West "a jackass"). However, Swift herself--who says West did apologize privately to her--never really launched an counterattack, save a few mildly acerbic/funny references to the incident here and there.

Apparently Handler would like to facilitate an official burying of the axe. Or, at least, just a formal meeting. "I'd like to get them together," she told Ryan Seacrest on his

Aside from the toll taken on human and animal lives, one of the most heartbreaking results of May's record-setting floods in Nashville was the damage done to the Grand Ole Opry. The American landmark, home to a staggering amount of country music history, sustained exensive water damage and was forced to relocate its shows to a variety of other area venues while repair work went underway.

However, there's finally happy news to report: The Opry will open again--and ahead of schedule! On September 28, the doors will open in grand style with an all-star concert dubbed "Country Comes Home." Scheduled to appear are Brad Paisley, Little Jimmy Dickens, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, the Charlie Daniels Band, Diamond Rio, the Del McCoury Band, Montgomery Gentry, Blake Shelton, Mel Tillis, and Josh Turner.

Paisley, who along with Dickens and a crew of construction workers, helped install the historic wooden circle in the center of the newly restored Grand Ole Opry house stage this

To make a grand understatement: Kenny Chesney doesn't seem like the kind of guy who gets overwhelmed easily. When you've scooped up, oh, about a billion industry awards and sit on the top of Forbes's list of top country-music earners for two years running, it's a safe bet you're pretty sure of yourself--it's easy to say that don't impress me much, know what I mean?

However, Chesney admits one thing does make him sweat. Namely, being in the presence of sports royalty--something he undertook while filming his football-related documentary, Boys Of Fall, which is scheduled to air Sunday August 29 on ESPN.

"When I sat down with Joe Namath at his home in Florida, I was like, "What am I doing here?'" Chesney related to the Tennessean in a recent interview.

He not only got to hang with Namath, he also interviewed a veritable stable of pro- and college-football greats, including Sean Payton (pictured with Chesney at right), John Madden, Brett Favre, Nick Saban, Peyton Manning, Bill Parcells,

A predictable fact about Taylor Swift (and all others who are at her level of fame): For as many people that love her, there's gonna be just as many who simply don't get her. And can be pretty rude about it, too.

The latest celeb to bash Taylor--unprovoked--is kind of out of left field. Black Crowes frontman and former Mr. Kate Hudson, Chris Robinson, is unabashedly honest about his dislike for Swift's music. "I find it embarrassing that adults are like, 'Taylor Swift is very talented,'" he said. "She's not. She might be cute, but she's horrible."

The quote, part of an interview for the September issue of pop-culture men's magazine Nylon Guys, was juicy enough to sweep various gossip sites, as well as inspire the publication to headline the interview on its cover as "The Black Crowes on Taylor Swift." (I haven't read the whole article, but apparently that was the most interesting thing he said.)

All I can say is--sheesh. Who peed in Chris's cornflakes that morning? Now, instead of

Some people may say country music is slow to change. Others may say, "If it ain't broke--don't fix it." Either way, so it is with today's announcement by the Country Music Association: Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will be co-hosting this year's annual CMA awards for the third year in a row.

The pair, who became friends while touring together, have proved a winning combination with the annual awards program, supplying an easy comedic banter on stage. "They each have a great sense of humor and timing, which are two essential ingredients for hosting a live awards broadcast," stated CMA Chief Executive Officer Steve Moore.

Indeed, both Paisley and Underwood have been responsible for some of the CMAs' funniest moments to date--for example, during last year's hosting duties, the two broke into a memorable duet of "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Kanye" (referring, of course, to the infamous Taylor Swift mic-grabbing incident at the Video Music Awards earlier that year).

Both