Hello? Any fans of Shania Twain out there?

Okay, that's a pretty stupid question. I know there are plenty of you, and also that you all must be very excited about the release of your favorite singer's brand-new single--her first in six years!

Twain debuted the uplifting and inspirational single, "Today Is Your Day," in full on the season finale of her reality show Why Not? With Shania Twain Sunday evening. It's now available exclusively at iTunes--click here to hear it and purchase.

And, if I weren't already convinced there were plenty of Shania fans out there, the song has shot to No. 2 on iTunes' country chart. That's some irrefutable proof right there that Twain is really still the one with the country (and otherwise) audience.

Now, if even that weren't enough to make the case--the fans have spoken, and I can't argue with them. The official site for Why Not? With Shania Twain is packed with glowing comments from viewers who love the new music: "It is so good to hear your voice in

How hard is the CMA Music Festival on artists, between the multiple live shows and the fan meet-'n'-greets that are required of the most popular country acts throughout the week? Demanding enough that some of them require medical attention—or even an operation—afterwards. 

"As you're standing there signing autographs through Fan Fair," explains Steel Magnolia's Josh Jones, "your face starts to cramp up, and you get perma-grin after a while. We might need a grin-ectomy after a while."

Not that they have to force those smiles, mind you: The lips do just tend to curl up when you're soaking in all that devotion. There's a massive exchange of energy in the give-and-take between country music aficionados and artists at the annual June gathering formerly (and to some people's minds, forever) known as Fan Fair.

You'll get a strong sense of that from watching Ram Country's video documentation of Steel Magnolia's week at the CMA Festival, which follows the red-hot duo from a breakfast

Backstage at Nashville's LP Field, when we learned that Scotty McCreery was about to duet with Josh Turner on "Your Man," I had one question for Turner. You guys aren't going to attempt to, like, harmonize, are you? Because if two voices that low could actually find a way to blend, it might throw the earth off its axis.

"No, I don't think you're going to hear us do any bluegrass harmonies," Turner assured me, acknowledging the absurdity inherent in the question. "We're going to be trading lines." 

The same went for the night's other Idol-meets-an-idol duet, which had Lauren Alaina alternating high notes—rather than offering any glass-shattering dual lines—with Martina McBride on the power ballad "Anyway."

Of course, these were songs that McCreery and Alaina already sang on their own on American Idol. And in McCreery's case, it may be forever the cover he's most associated with, since "Your Man" was his legendary audition song, and the tune that, fairly or unfairly, got him pegged as a

In country music, it is possible to have a bigger night than winning American Idol. (Or at least a comparable one.) That would be making your Grand Ole Opry debut, which season 10 winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina both did Friday night, facing one more milestone together using the buddy system.

I talked with them backstage after their performances, and while their hair wasn't quite standing on end, you could practically sense electricity still shooting from their pores. There is normally a distinct difference between how nervous Scotty and Lauren do or don't get before singing live. On this historic night, though, the two of them were of one anxious accord.

"Oh, I get nervous before every performance, and this was no exception—if not double-nervous," McCreery told me—even though, from his stage demeanor, you would have thought he was the calmest, most implacable guy in the South or the western hemisphere. "Once I get on stage, the nerves go away," he explained, "but

Oh, those sneaky kids--they fooled us all! But, the joke is really on all of us for believing stars of such magnitude as Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert actually spent their honeymoon in the be-it-ever most-humble of places: Their own Oklahoma home.

Folks can be forgiven for falling for this widely spread rumor. Shelton and Lambert are down-to-earth, as far as superstars go. And Lambert even tweeted a photo of herself holding up a freshly caught fish, with a rather unexotic-looking background.

However, the truth has finally come out. According to Us Weekly, the newlyweds did take an actual, bona fide bon voyage. A short while after their May 14 wedding (hey, they did stay at home for a few days) the Sheltons took off for Cancun, Mexico.

Shelton's pal Reba McEntire generously gave the couple the keys to her property there to use for their romantic rendezvous. In addition to being good buddies and sharing Oklahoma pride with McEntire, Shelton is managed by McEntire's husband, Narvel

Two things you can absolutely count on when it comes to country-music awards shows these days: At least a few people WILL be wearing cowboy boots, and the fashion otherwise will not be remarkably far-out (in other words, very few Gaga ensembles in the Nashville crowd). I think the last time I actually had fodder to discuss a gown was back when Faith Hill wore a somewhat racy lace number to the Oscars in 2010.

Well. Wednesday night, at the CMT Awards, actress Nicole Kidman showed up on the arm of hubby Keith Urban and managed to blow all that out of the water. A day later, she is a trending topic--with the main concern being the dress she wore that evening.

Okay. I admit it. The Proenza Schouler design was a bit busy, what with the green-and-blue geometric velvet goings-on, sheer brown skirt, and asymmetrical hemline (I got a little tired just writing all that down). I also admit the bluish/lilac/whatever-color-they-were shoes were a glaring focal point.

Am I crazy that I kind of

From "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" to "What heels made your knees buckle under?"—that was the story of Shania Twain's collapse on the way to the stage at the CMT Awards. No, this wasn't staged to have one more triumph-over-adversity obstacle to overcome for the finale of her reality show. Twain was obviously legitimately flustered after getting herself upright to present an award, and still dismayed about experiencing "one of life's most embarrassing moments" by the time she made this video back at her hotel room:

"I'm trying to get all this adrenaline out because I just made a fool out of myself," she told the camera. "I'm here to tell you that I don't need a stunt double, because I did my own stunts for the Thelma and Louise video clip"-referring to a taped parody sketch with Taylor Swift that opened the show-"and I didn't need a stunt double to wipe out on my way to the CMT Video Awards stage to present best male video of the year" (to an absent Blake Shelton, who later

The CMT Awards are well-known for being the wackiest, craziest night in country music; the "anything goes" show in a genre which tends to stick to the straight and narrow. In past years, the fan-voted award show's gone so far as to include elaborately written comedy routines, presidential nominees, and as many opportunities to goof on Taylor Swift as possible.

This year? Well, it was far less about the scripted funnies and all about the unexpected moment.

Taylor Swift--who ended up winning the coveted Video of the Year award-- did indeed open the ceremonies with a cute skit spoofing the classic Thelma & Louise with the inimitable Shania Twain (making her first appearance at the CMTs in seven years). However, it's pretty much guaranteed that the Shania moment everyone will be talking about is not this one. It's the fact that she took a really nasty-looking fall while walking to stage to present the Male Video of the Year Award.

The Twittersphere clamored with comments about "Okay,