Blog Posts by Wendy Geller

While many of Nashville's finest have been spending the past few days in Las Vegas gearing for Sunday night's Academy Of Country Music Awards, Alan Jackson's been cooling his boots in Los Angeles instead. For a very important purpose, however--the country icon received his very own star on the legendary Hollywood Walk Of Fame Friday morning.

Jackson was joined by his wife and daughters for the ceremony at 11:30 a.m. to unveil his star, which is located at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Hard Rock Hollywood. A crowd of fans and spectators attended.

Jackson, who despite having sold more than 50 million records over the course of his career, remained true to his unassuming, low-key personality upon receiving one of Hollywood's greatest honors.

"Everybody, whatever you do, likes to be appreciated and acknowledged by the industry and fans, but this is a whole different category," he told the Los Angeles Times. I can't hardly put myself in the same line with some of them great

Thanksgiving is behind us, December is just around the corner, and the holiday season is upon us in full force! To help ease you into the spirit of things, we're compiling a series of original performances spotlighting seasonal tunes from up-and-coming artists. All come courtesy of ABC's Music Lounge, and we sincerely hope they'll get you into a holiday frame of mind.

Last week we introduced you to Jules Larson, whose music can best be described as "soulful alternative." She originally was in a Los Angeles-based band called Overnight Lows, went solo in 2009, and since has made her mark with music placed in many television shows and commercials--don't be surprised if her voice sounds familiar!

Have a listen to another one of her original tunes, "You Know It's True," to get you in a mellow frame of mind while you wrap your Black Friday spoils or put up your Christmas tree. Hope you enjoy!

Just a few short months ago, Nashville's heart of country music--the historic Grand Ole Opry--was submerged under several feet of water as a result of record flooding in the area.

Music City mourned, then in true-grit style rolled up its sleeves and got to work. The building was cleaned; damaged areas were restored. The famed circle of wood from the Opry's original Ryman Auditorium home was placed back in the middle of the stage.

Then, on Tuesday night, the doors were opened, and a major celebration commenced--a blowout, star-studded party honoring both the past and future of the American landmark.

For the past, country legends such as Little Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson, and many other long-loved names arrived to join modern-day stars performing at the venue.

And for the future? Well, that was the big surprise of the night: In a fun twist for an organization seeped in history and tradition, the Opry took a decidedly modern turn near the end of the evening.

After performing his hit

The 2010 American Music Awards, which took place on November 21, were ostensibly all about musical talent. However, even several days later, it seems that all everyone can talk about is hair.

And, that would be Taylor Swift's hair, to be exact. The country megastar showed up at the awards program with a stunning, straight new style that couldn't be further away from her trademark tousled curls, sparking news items about her mane worldwide.

Swift's experimented here and there with straightened hair in the past, but on Sunday night the addition of striking statement bangs to an extreme blowout actually made her difficult to recognize. (And I don't have to tell you that Taylor Swift is generally not hard to identify. In fact, in terms of recognizability, I'd put her up there with President Obama.)

Oh yeah--she also won an AMA award for favorite country female artist. But pshaw, another award for Taylor? It was the hair that made news, folks!

Given this, it comes as no surprise that

The 2010 Country Music Association Awards had plenty of things to distinguish it from other years past: New blood (the nominees list was one of the freshest in ages), old blood (a welcome appearance from Loretta Lynn), and Hollywood blood (Gwyneth Paltrow, holding the distinction of the night's most anticipated performance). Yet, one aspect of the show ruled the roost--the crowning of country music's new official power couple.

That would be Miranda Lambert, who swept the evening by winning three of her nine nominations; and her fiance Blake Shelton, who claimed the coup of the night by unexpectedly scoring the coveted male vocalist of the year award.

Lambert was a shoo-in for the CMA's top winner this year, having already set a record solely for the number of nominations she picked up. She won Album of the Year (for Revolution), Video of the Year ("The House That Built Me"), and Female Vocalist of the Year. Additionally, "The House That Built Me" was named Song of the Year, an award

As everyone knows, Thanksgiving is just around the corner next week--so, it stands to reason that when Garth Brooks appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Friday night, food was a top subject of discussion.

When asked what special traditions the Brooks family observes for the holiday, Garth, who was in a jovial mood throughout his appearance, deadpanned, "We have a tradition that I don't think anyone else has...we overeat."

He and the audience broke into raucous laughter when Jay fired back, "I noticed back there"--gesturing backstage--"you're celebrating a little early!"

The superstar acknowledged that he doesn't do much in the way of Thanksgiving cooking. "I have a wife who has two New York Times best-selling cookbooks," he noted, giving props to Trisha Yearwood. "I stay the h--l outta the way!"

Jay then took the opportunity to flip through Trisha's latest cookbook and question Garth about a recipe titled "Garth's Breakfast Bowl," showing the audience a photo of the dish--a

Hey music fans! We hope you've been digging our series of original performances spotlighting modern holiday tunes from up-and-coming artists. All come courtesy of ABC's Music Lounge, and all are guaranteed to get even the grinchiest coworker/pal/relative--hey, even you!--in a seasonal state of mind.

Up for your holiday playlist this week is neotraditionalist folk artist Tristen, who's been writing and performing music since she was in middle school. After college, the Illinois native decided to move to Music City--that is, Nashville, Tennessee--where she immersed herself in the town's diverse artistic community and began recording tunes in earnest. Her debut record, Charlatans At The Garden Gate, will be released in February 2011.

Tristen says that "O Holy Night" was one of her favorite Christmas songs to sing as a kid, and here's her all-grown-up version for your pleasure. Enjoy!

Jason Aldean certainly has plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. His fourth album, My Kinda Party, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this month, marking a new record in his five-year career. He delivered one of the most talked-about performances--a emotive duet with pop queen Kelly Clarkson, whose voice blends beautifully with Aldean's--at the Country Music Association Awards shortly after. And he's up for two awards at the American Music Awards on November 21.

It's always a pleasure to observe an innovative country artist maintain a steady upward climb, which Aldean easily has done--and them some. We at Yahoo! Music have been devout fans ever since he blew our minds with the rollicking "Hicktown" and performed a smoking set at our corporate headquarters back in 2005.

We took the opportunity to chat with him about his recent career highlights, as well as take a look at some of his personal interests--as a musician, hobbyist, and family man (at the time of