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

Country music purists can now rest easy, but fans of Country Strong may be disappointed--Gwyneth Paltrow is apparently not planning on cutting an album any time soon.

It was widely reported earlier in the month that the actress, who starred in 2010's Nashville drama Country Strong and performed music from the film at the CMA and Academy Awards, signed a nearly million-dollar deal with Atlantic Records. The project she was suggested to be helming was termed "country-pop."

However, guess it's not meant to be. Paltrow told the Hollywood Reporter this week that she is still in the process of figuring out if, when, and how she'd like to enter the recording studio.

"The truth is, I really would love to make a record," she explained. "But I don't know exactly how you do that so it's not cheesy."

Paltrow also put to rest the rumor that she'd be concentrating on country music, saying she'd likely make an album with an "indie" sound instead. (But, to be fair, that's pretty vague. Country can

Hmmm, well, I guess it's not too much of a surprise, given that everyone, their brother, and Gwyneth Paltrow is interested in wooing the country world these days.

Lady Gaga has released a "country" version of her massive hit single celebrating tolerance and acceptance, "Born This Way."

Before I launch into any analysis of Gaga's "Born This Way (The Country Road Version)," which she proudly announced via Twitter on Friday, here is the song for you to listen to first.

My thoughts? Gaga kept the Twittersphere (of which she engages an enormous share) hanging for a long time Thursday night and some of Friday morning waiting for the song. She herself tweeted that she needed a glass of wine eight minutes before launch, suggesting a momentous occasion. So...?

The tune sounds fine. The most country element I can discern in it, however, is the addition of some rootsy harmonica and the lyrics "If I want to make it country, baby, that's OK."

I really appreciate the idea of trying to engage the

Once upon a time, singer-songwriter Eric Church was a scared teenager who was worried that he'd gotten his girlfriend into a bit of "trouble." The experience--familiar, no doubt, to many--impacted him to eventually write the single "Two Pink Lines."

In the tune, the girlfriend says "Looks like we were lucky." In other words, the young couple weren't destined to be parents after all.

Well, how time changes things--Church announced this week that he and his wife, Katherine, got lucky. In other words, they are going to be parents after all!

"Katherine and I are very excited and are looking forward to becoming parents," Church, who's been married for three years, said. "This year has gotten off to an amazing start for us, and this news has made it so much better than we could have ever anticipated."

The new addition to the Church family is expected sometime in the fall. Congrats, Eric and Katherine!

Mr. Church is no doubt also pretty excited about his nomination for New Artist of the