Zac Brown is no slacker when it comes to championing awesome musical talent, and the latest release from his Southern Ground Artists label--Sonia Leigh's 1978 December--is as good proof as any.

Leigh, who is about far from your average cookie-cutter glam female country artist as you can get, exudes an extraordinary raw charm just from her straightforward (almost punk) image and deep, smoky-smooth vocals. However, there's way more to the girl than just how she looks and sounds. She's a self-made and very self-determined musician who left home at 17 to find her fortune, writing all her own music along the way. Her new album, in fact, is largely self-written except for some cowriting from Brown on a couple of tracks.

If you haven't heard of Leigh yet, Brown himself has a mission to spread the word about her--the star took to his website on Tuesday to blog solely about Leigh's undeniable talent and charisma. "When I first saw Sonia Leigh perform, I knew she was a star," he stated. "I, for

Randy Travis gave a roomful of doctors an unexpected scare on Sunday when the singer--who was playing a benefit show for a Texas medical center--fainted in the middle of a song.

Travis, who is 52, was attended to immediately by two doctors in the audience (not to be flippant, but it sure was a fortunate place to have a medical emergency, right?) and was able to walk offstage by himself. His doctors later issued a statement saying that Travis passed out due to dehydration, combined with effects from allergy medicine, caffeine usage, and the heat of the stage lights.

Travis was taking over-the-counter medication to alleviate larynigitis caused by his chronic allergies. After an examination on his tour bus, he was sent home and told to take it easy for a bit.

"Mr. Travis's vital signs were all stable," noted the doctors who evaluated him.

Travis's record label, Warner Music Nashville, is also advising that he's doing fine and should be able to continue his current tour, which is in

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- "The Playboy Club" star Eddie Cibrian has an issue with the criticism of his wife, LeAnn Rimes, and her figure. "It bothers me because, obviously, I know she's healthy. She eats more than I do sometimes," Eddie told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Monday's Access Hollywood Live. "She's just a very [conscientious] eater, as far as what she eats. She eats pretty healthy, but she works out pretty hard too and she actually takes pride in the way she looks and it's a shame that people will jump on the bandwagon just because she is fit. And she's far from unhealthy."

PLAY IT NOW: Access Hollywood Live: Eddie Cibrian Defends LeAnn Rimes - 'She Eats More Than I Do!'

Eddie said his country superstar wife compliments her eating routine with a lot of physical activity.

"She works out like crazy. She works out hard. She boxes. She trains," he said.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Shows & Stars of Fall Television 2011

The actor said some of the photos that have surfaced of his wife, have been

Hate to be cliche...but isn't it ironic? LeAnn Rimes, after a four-year break from recording, has released what is probably her most countrified album ever.

Lady And Gentlemen is a concept record featuring covers of the creme de la creme of classic male country artists...Jones, Haggard, Kristofferson, Jennings. She's basically rewritten a history book of country music for her younger audience. She worked with Nashville royalty Vince Gill and Darrell Brown to produce the project.

In short, this is a very, very country record. And, most importantly, she sounds wonderful on it. Fans who loved Rimes back in the day when she was a child prodigy will be hard-pressed to find issue with her still-rich, still-powerful vocal style on her newest effort. She even includes a slightly jazzed-up anniversary version of her breakout hit "Blue."

So, where is the irony? Well, you know where I'm going. Does LeAnn have the fans who loved her back in the day, anymore?

Even broader: Does she have the

Country fans will be cuttin' loose and kickin' off their Sunday shoes today--because the soundtrack to the new 2011 remake of Footloose is available, and it's a country-heavy release, to say the least!

The new Footloose (the film, that is) stars Julianne Hough as lead gal Ariel Moore. So, with that country marker already in place, the soundtrack follows suit with music from Blake Shelton, Zac Brown, Big & Rich (yay! They've been gone for a while), and a handful of newer country artists to boot.

If you're wondering how the new soundtrack compares to the 1984 soundtrack--the new effort covers four tunes from the original--and I have to say, it's these covers that I found to be the most enjoyable of all on what is a pretty upbeat soundtrack (yes, I was around in 1984...I wasn't that old, mind you...but I remember the original songs).

Of course, the first cover everyone's talking about is Shelton's party-time take on the title track. But it's also pretty fun to hear Jana Kramer's

If you're one of the artists hot enough to be invited to play the inaugural iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas this weekend--billed as "the largest live concert event in radio history"--it goes without saying that you better bring everything you've got. After all, a festival that brings together the biggest names from every popular musical genre (Jay-Z, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, anyone?) is no ordinary show.

Carrie Underwood, for one, took this advice to heart. She not only blazed onto the MGM Grand stage with a five-song set including some of her most rockin' hits--she used the occasion to debut a brand-new hairstyle, featuring blunt layers and eyecatching bangs, that caused fans to forget about the music (at least for a minute).

Check it out--Carrie, we hardly recognized thee!

Underwood's hard-edged, ultra-fashionable 'do is reminiscent of Taylor Swift's hair experiment at the 2010 American Music Awards, when the ordinarily curly-maned superstar changed her look completely with a

When Taylor Swift made her stop in Bossier City, which is in the great state of Louisiana, on her Speak Now tour Tuesday night, she continued her practice of covering a song by a hometown-hero musician during the show. (Past covers include Justin Bieber, Eminem, and Gwen Stefani).

But who did she cover? There's plenty of talent out of the Pelican State.

Now. My first (and obvious) guess was that she'd cover Louisiana's own Tim McGraw--heck, the girl used him as the title for one of her songs, after all. But I guess that would be a tad too obvious--and perhaps a bit of overkill, since McGraw made a special appearance at her show in Nashville just a couple nights prior.

My second guess, then, came from the fact that Swift did a bang-up job rapping Eminem while in Michigan. So, I figured, maybe she'd try her hand at something by Lil Wayne. But I was wrong about that as well--Weezy is from New Orleans, and Swift will be returning to the state October 5 to play that very city. So perhaps

Miss the Dixie Chicks? Well, good news for you--if you happen to be able to get to Austin next month, that is. The trio is reuniting for a one-night all-star benefit concert October 17, which will be held to raise money for victims of the recent Central Texas wildfires.

The show--which also features some other not-too-shabby guests such as Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and Asleep At The Wheel--is slated to take place at Austin's Frank Erwin Center. Kyle Chandler, star of NBC's Friday Night Lights, will host the event. In addition to the music, there will be a silent auction offering items autographed by the artists; plus commemorative T-shirts for purchase.

Tickets went on sale Friday and range from $25 up to $250. All proceeds will go to the Central Texas Wildfire Fund at the Austin Community Foundation.

I can't think of a better cause for Texan legends such as the Chicks and Willie to be a part of--the central Texas wildfires have destroyed more than 1,500 homes so far, and caused an