Blog Posts by Wendy Geller

What could be more fun than spending a holiday weekend afternoon with Mercury Prize and Grammy-winning trio Muse? The band played London's Shepherd's Bush Empire--and we had the entire set streaming live for you to enjoy.

Muse played the show in conjunction with the 2013 BRIT Awards Concert (the band is nominated for British Group and British Live Act this year), and in support of the charitable organization War Child, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. War Child, as its name suggests, has the unique mission of protecting, saving, and caring for the youngest victims of war-torn countries; to date more than 800,000 children have benefited from their outreach.

Muse frontman Matt Bellamy was pleased to be involved with such a great cause: "We are proud to have a continuing association with War Child, who have been doing amazing work over the last 20 years," he noted. "It's great to see their efforts being recognised at this year’s BRITs and we are really looking forward to playing

(Photo: Charles Eshelman)Say my name! It’s become a household term at this point—but have you ever wondered what was the inspiration behind Beyonce’s unique moniker?

No need to be mystified any longer. According to Bey’s own family, there’s actually a quite logical explanation. At Tuesday’s premiere of Beyonce’s biopic documentary, Life Is But A Dream, her maternal uncle Roland Beyince gave the scoop.

As you've probably already guessed by now, the name was a twist on Beyonce's mom's maiden name. “My sister Tina [Knowles] didn’t think we had enough boys in the family to keep the name going, so she gave Beyoncé our last name as the first name,” Uncle Roland explained.

Of course, it’s not an exact match, but we think "Beyoncé" has much more of a lilt to it than "Beyince"—don’t you?

LeAnn Rimes (Photo: Paul Redmond)There’s more drama in the air for LeAnn Rimes—but this time, it doesn’t have anything to do with her marriage, her figure, or Brandi Glanville. The country singer is now embroiled in a legal battle with, of all people…her dentist!

Rimes filed a malpractice suit against Dr. Duane C. McKay on Thursday, claiming that the services he’d provided over the past three years have affected her career.

How’s that? Well, apparently, McKay fitted Rimes with crowns and veneers with the intent of treating painful TMJ, as well as just plain old improving her smile’s appearance. However, Rimes states that his work was subpar enough to put her in worse pain, plus endure nine root canals, bone grafting, a temporary bridge, and even physical therapy as a result—with the sum being that she’s felt unable to perform at times due to the ordeal.

One of country music's most eagerly anticipated albums is finally on its way this spring! It's siblings trio the Band Perry's sophomore effort, which follows up their platinum-selling 2011 debut. The hot new set now has an official title and release date.

The collection is called Pioneer, and it'll land in stores April 2--that's just in time for the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards which hit five days later, and where the band is up for Vocal Group of the Year.

Hill and McGraw (Photo: Lester Cohen)Tim McGraw is no doubt enjoying Valentine's Day this year for the obvious reasons--16 years of marriage to his sweetie, Faith Hill--but also his No. 1 debut on the country albums chart this week for new set Two Lanes Of Freedom. Still, even with all of this exciting stuff to consider, McGraw insists that he prefers a low-key family-oriented approach to the holiday.

"For us, having an evening at home with the kids, a quiet evening is probably the best Valentine’s we can have," he told 99.5 WYCD.

McGraw added that he very rarely goes over the top with Valentine's Day gifts or gestures. "I get lucky every now and then and do something right," he told the radio station.

Still, don't write McGraw off as a total non-romantic. The superstar singer does enjoy getting in the mood with the right music on this most cuddly of days. Surprisingly, his favorite tune for the holiday is not country at all: "There’s this one song that always works, and that's 'Samba Pa Ti,' off [Santana's] Abraxas album."

Gary Allan (Photo: Sara Kauss)For some, the number 13 is unlucky. But for Gary Allan, at least, 13—as in the year 2013—has been nothing short of charmed. It’s been nearly three years since Allan released his last album, and clearly music fans were ready for a new one from him. His latest work, Set You Free, debuted at the top of both the country albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200 and has been receiving glowing praise from critics.

Allan stopped by Ram Country on Yahoo! Music recently to give us a taste of his stellar new material, as well as sit down and chat about what he's been up to in preparation for this new endeavor.

The new record has a distinctly sunnier tone than his last set—2010’s critically acclaimed but cathartic Get Off On The Pain. Allan—who weathered one of most painful experiences imaginable, the suicide of his wife in 2004--explains that it was a bit of a challenge to create a more optimistic collection.

Faith Hill (Photo: Jon Kopaloff)Faith Hill may be all of 45 years old, but the blond beauty is making waves for something usually reserved for teenagers—namely, braces on her teeth! After proudly flashing her bracketed smile at the Grammys, searches online rocketed for “Faith Hill braces.”

Turns out Hill’s had the braces for some time. They were in full evidence at November’s Country Music Association Awards, and she told reporters she’d had them for about four months at that point. The singer had worn braces as a kid, but, as she explained to radio station KNIX, “"I forgot to wear my retainer--kids, wear your retainer!”

Hill’s cheerfully matter-of-fact attitude about fixing her shifted teeth—and, probably as well, the resulting implication that you’re never too old for self-improvement--charmed many out there. The country superstar is happy she was able to make such a positive statement.

“I've seen your posts and the news coverage on my braces....woah!!” she tweeted on Tuesday, adding, “Wear your braces proudly. Thanks everyone for all of the kind words!”

Eric Church (Photo: Lester Cohen)The nominations for the 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards have been announced, and Eric Church is 2013’s lead nominee, with seven nods to his name—including the prestigious album of the year category for his platinum-selling Chief.

Church is also up for male vocalist, single, song (as both writer and performer), video of the year, and vocal event of the year.

He didn’t make the top category of entertainer of the year, however. Competing for the night’s ultimate honor are Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, and—interestingly—Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, who will compete against each other as spouses.