It's been quite the busy year so far for Shania Twain. Not only has she gotten married, released her autobiography, and debuted a TV series about her life--the star just found herself immortalized with a real star this week.

That would be the 2,442nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Category of Recording, to be exact. Twain, who is the top-selling female country artist of all time, was presented with the star Thursday morning in front of the W Hollywood hotel at 6270 Hollywood Boulevard.

Her husband Frederic Thiebaud was present, and actress Bo Derek was slated as a speaker for the ceremony.

The singer tweeted after receiving her star, "Thank you to all my fans and everyone who came out to the ceremony today!"

In other Twain news, it was announced this week that she'll be making a special appearance on the 2011 CMT Awards, which will be held June 8 in Nashville. Twain, who will serve as a presenter for the show, last appeared at the CMT Awards seven years ago.

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Poor LeAnn Rimes is the subject of Twittersphere gossip yet again. While honeymooning in Mexico over Memorial Day weekend (she and new husband Eddie Cibrian delayed their getaway for several weeks after their April wedding due to work schedules), the singer/actress posted photos of herself on Twitter which caused consternation among fans to bubble up.

What's the issue this time? Well, Rimes put up a shot of herself in a new bikini, ostensibly to thank the swimwear designer for providing her with the suit. However, she looked a little too thin for some of her followers.

One fan addressed Rimes on Twitter, saying the singer had "a lot of bones showing" in the photo.

Rimes--perhaps a bit testy due to the fact she already defended what some called her "drastic weight loss" earlier this year--snapped back, "Those are called abs not bones love." Later, she ameliorated, "This is my body and I can promise you I'm a healthy girl. I'm just lean," and added a thanks for the concern.

The

Sure, Memorial Day is one of those great holidays that requires very little effort beyond firing up the grill, smoothing on some sunscreen, and enjoying a nice day off from work or school. However, as we all know, it's also one of the most patriotic and heart-stirring dates on the American calendar--and that's something country musicians are particularly eager to remind us all to consider today.

Collected here are Memorial Day salutes from all your fave artists' Twitter accounts--some lighthearted, some serious, most grateful...and all mindful of the holiday celebrating the folks who served and currently serve to protect our homeland. Wave your Stars and Stripes, and remember our troops!

Little Big Town: Thanks to all the men and women who have served or are serving this country today. We're so grateful for your sacrifice!

Billy Ray Cyrus: Happy Memorial Day. Give thanks to those who have fought ...and still fight for our freedom.

Chely Wright: To all the veterans who have served in

Kenny Chesney enjoyed a surprise visit on his own stage a couple of weeks ago (from the legendary George Jones)--guess this got him in the mood to spring a little shocker of his own on yet another musical legend.

According to the fan site Chesneyworld, on Saturday night, Chesney delighted fans at Jimmy Buffett's Nashville appearance when he walked on the Bridgestone Arena's stage, shook hands with the band, and gave Buffett a hug.

"He's workin' cheap tonight!" joked Buffett to the crowd. The pair then sang Buffett's popular classic "Come Monday," which Chesney recorded a cover of back in 2004. They also took on Chesney's own concert staple "Back Where I Come From."

Now, doesn't that just make you want to crack open a cold draft beer? Well, why not? Happy Memorial Day--listen to some Buffett (or Chesney, or both) and enjoy the day off!

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Aw shucks, folks. It finally happened. Wynn Varble got cut on CMT's Next Superstar. The lovably goofy songwriter, who managed to inject humor into even the most serious episodes of the show ("Hump You" at Fort Campbell, anyone?), sang for survival last Friday and ultimately was asked to leave the show.

This event actually overshadowed pretty much everything that happened on the episode--despite a charitable challenge involving working with a food bank and playing for its volunteers, the extinguishing of Varble managed to make even me kind of forget what else happened during the segment. Such is the magnitude of the 50-year-old's personality. It just won't be the same without Wynn!

Varble isn't letting any grass grow under his feet after his elimination, however. When I called him this week to discuss the show, he was busy in the studio (Varble has a well-established songwriting career--some of the hits he's worked on include "Waitin' On A Woman" by Brad Paisley, "A Little More Country

Hey, I'll admit it. You know it. I'm a country blogger. So I had a bias right from the beginning when watching this season of Celebrity Apprentice. In addition to loving John Rich for his Nashville creds, I knew he had the brains, creativity, and fortitude to go all the way in Donald Trump's challenge.

However, as the weeks went on, I realized that more and more people I talked to--some of them devout country haters--were not just favoring but downright digging Rich's smart, levelheaded personality on the show. So, although Marlee Matlin put up great competition in the show's finale, it was no surprise to me that Rich ended up taking home the title (as well as a whopping million bucks-plus for his charity of choice, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis).

I spoke to Rich on Tuesday when he visited Los Angeles and was en route to taping the Ellen show. As you might expect, he was in an ebullient mood over his victory--in fact, he even serenaded me with a raucous

Well, it looks like Chris Martin will remain the only professional musician in the Martin/Paltrow family. Gwyneth Paltrow's foray into the country (and otherwise) music world seems to have come to a halt--her reported album deal with Atlantic Records apparently has fallen apart.

According to an item in the New York Post, Atlantic was "very interested" and "very supportive" of Paltrow's music, but then "the talks halted and the deal fizzled out."

The item noted that the nearly $1 million rumored to be offered to Paltrow by Atlantic was "a ridiculous figure" and that the label is still interested in signing her.

Paltrow's rep told the Post that Paltrow is still considering whether or not she wants to record an album--which is basically what Paltrow herself told the Hollywood Reporter a couple of months ago.

The Oscar-winning actress's foray into the music world, although the object of much critical scrutiny, has been far from unsuccessful. In the country world alone, she charted a

It's starting to get down to the wire on CMT's Next Superstar. With only half of the original 10 hopefuls still in the game, the series took a turn toward the practicalities of being a professional superstar--and for the most recent episode, that meant the contestants had to examine their physical image from head to toe.

At first, this seemed pretty fun. Everyone was taken to what could arguably be called the epicenter of image--Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, in Memphis--and given a good spit-and-polish by a team of expert stylists.

Hair was done, costumes chosen, makeup applied. Then, the contestants were posed around Graceland for a professional photo shoot. Following this, they were allowed into the legendary Sun Studios to choose, cover, and record a song from the Sun catalog.

Now, I don't know about you, but all this sounds pretty fun to me--clothes! Photos! Recording where Elvis and Cash once recorded! However, there was an ulterior motive to all this glitz and glam. The