Well, the whirlwind of Carrie Underwood's wedding is over. We aren't getting a whole lot of news about Miranda Lambert's upcoming nuptials. But never fear, country music fans--bride-to-be Kellie Pickler is starting to spill the details about her big day. And it sounds like it's going to be quite untraditional!

For starters, Pickler, who's a big supporter of animal rights, says she and fiance Kyle Jacobs hope to include their menagerie of non-human friends in their church ceremony. And, we're not just talking about having a dog dressed up in a mini-tuxedo, as Underwood did at her wedding. Pickler is talking about having her reptile buddies in the mix. "I'm thinking of having the python be the ringbearer," she told PEOPLE this week.

Of course, the furry pets won't be left out, either. "We've been talking about incorporating the dogs--they're like our kids. But we wouldn't want an accident to happen down the aisle," she quipped.

Another uncommon move Pickler's chosen for her wedding: A

Whatever the reactions to Taylor Swift's third full-length album, Speak Now, might be, there are two critics whose responses we can easily pin down in advance.

Taylor Lautner is going to love it.

John Mayer? Not so much.

The hotly anticipated album, which comes out Oct. 25, has been held tightly under wraps until now, with only a handful of songs made available for advance listening even to journalists who have been doing interviews with Swift. Now that her label is finally starting to play the album for select critics, it's easy to fathom why its contents have been closely guarded, all fears of leakage aside. Some of the lyrics are startlingly candid, even by the standards of Taylor "Naming Names, Taking No Prisoners" Swift.

And listening to "Dear John," the scorching song that is-from all appearances-aimed at Mayer, all we can say is: Joe Jonas, you got off easy.

When I talked with Swift last month after hearing a few of the new songs, she didn't hesitate to frame Speak Now as her

The superstar Cyrus clan has been undergoing some drastic changes over the course of this year. First, Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus wrapped production on the final season of Disney's fantastically successful Hannah Montana TV series. Second, Miley decided to make over her cute teen-girl image into a racier new persona. Third, Billy Ray changed a bit, himself--he took a turn away from his established country music career to record a more rock-oriented album (under the name Brother Clyde).

And now, sadly, another family institution is crumbling: Namely, Billy Ray and wife Tish Cyrus's 17-year marriage. According to People, the couple filed divorce documents on Wednesday, citing irreconcilable differences.

"As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family," the pair said in a joint statement. "We are trying to work through some personal matters. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers."

The Cyruses have been married for 17 years, have five children (the eldest two of which

Everybody knows by now that the riveting "Dear John," on Taylor Swift's new album, Speak Now, is about John Mayer. But did you know there's also one other song on the album we can now say with certainty is also about Mayer?

The second Mayer number of which we speak, "The Story of Us," is the song everybody thought was about Joe Jonas. Which is not to be confused with the one that really is about Joe Jonas, "Last Kiss." Or the numbers about Taylor Lautner or Owl City's Adam Young.

Photos: Dramatic looks for Taylor Swift

A lot of these little confusions and mysteries are cleared up by the lyric booklet for Speak Now. As usual, Swift has capitalized seemingly random letters in the printed lyrics for each song, and as usual, the capitalizations aren't random at all. They spell out sometimes cryptic, sometimes obvious "secret" messages, usually about who or what inspired the tune.  

Swift is notoriously coy about outrightly confirming any of these song subjects in interviews. She claims

Does Britney Spears' new single, "Hold It Against Me," rip off the Bellamy Brothers' 1979 country classic, "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body"?

You bet your life.

Sorry, that's not an actual judgment call. It's just a reference to the fact that the Bellamys have previously admitted copping their famous line—"If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?"—from Groucho Marx, as heard on his 1950s TV series, You Bet Your Life.

But that didn't stop the brother act from expressing (or at least feigning) outrage at Britney's re-use of their signature lyric, which she slightly alters and renders as: "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" 

"Hey, Brit, if I said you ripped off our song, would you hold it against me?" said Howard Bellamy. Added brother David, "If you listen to the lyrics of Britney Spears' new single, you'll find some major similarities... She's a talented gal. But professionally, well, in all honesty, we feel completely ripped off.

All hail in the first official country bride of 2011! Just (barely) weeks after publicly announcing her engagement, Shania Twain married Swiss businessman Frederic Thiebaud in Puerto Rico on New Year's Day.

According to People, the couple tied the knot in a small sunset ceremony, with about 40 friends and family members as guests.

Twain and Thiebaud have been dating since 2009, following Twain's divorce from husband Robert "Mutt" Lange in 2008. The pair grew close after their respective spouses allegedly had an affair (although, both exes deny that the affair was the cause for their splits).

[Photos: See more images of Shania Twain]

Twain had blogged to fans letting them know that her adjustment to divorce was not easy. "I needed to lean on others more often than I was accustomed to," she noted, then explained that Thiebaud's support was a key element. "[He] has been a true gift to me as a compassionate, understanding friend and over time, an amazing love has blossomed from this

I've been writing quite a bit over the past couple of years about how the genre of country music is fast becoming--or, more accurately, has become--the most desirable place to be in the entertainment world. Heck, in addition to recruiting countless bona fide rockers and popsters, we've even called Gwyneth Paltrow and Lady Gaga over the barbed-wire fence.

That said, there are still those folks who are stubborn holdouts when it comes to appreciating country music. Although Gaga herself said "If I want to make it country, baby, it's OK," there seems to remain a fear of seeming unfashionable by liking country.

Well, never fear, my scared friends. Here's a primer of country artists that it is always okay to like, and that you will never seem unhip for listening to/admitting you dig. Even your coolest friends will nod appreciatively when you reference this golden list.

The best part about the list? It rarely if ever changes, so you can use it for several years, at least. All of the artists

Last month, I wrote about Randy Travis's plans to celebrate his 25-year career by unlocking his personal vault of photos, videos, and other memorabilia for fans to browse online. That itself was cool enough, but it seems he's got yet another anniversary gift in store for those who love his music.

Travis will be releasing an all-star duets compilation, Anniversary Celebration, this summer--and the group of artists he's assembled for the project is nothing short of astounding. The superstar will be joined on some of his best-loved tunes by some of country's hottest names, including Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, the Zac Brown Band, Jamey Johnson, James Otto, Josh Turner, and Shelby Lynne.

Oh, yeah, and he managed to recruit a few extra-legendary pals in there as well: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, George Jones, and Don Henley. (And that's not even a complete list of collaborators.)

I believe it's safe to say that the country music world