Kanye West, we get it: You are sorry for what you did to Taylor Swift.

He even said it plain as day on Twitter this weekend: I'm sorry Taylor.

That is fine and well. However, over the past 24 hours, West has been tweeting a long, self-dubbed "stream-of-consciousness" diatribe about how he has been suffering over the past year--ever since he jumped on the 2009 VMAs stage, grabbed Taylor Swift's mic, and announced that Beyonce should have won in her place.

"I've hurt, I've bled, I've learned. I only want to do good. I am passionate I am human I am real," he pleaded on Twitter. "I wish I could talk to every hater face to face and change there a opinion of me one conversation at a time."

Again, fine and well. But. He didn't stop at explaining his personal development over the past year. West went on to point fingers at the media ("Who benefitted off of the moment? MTV? JAY LENO? BEYONCE? ALL FORMS OF MEDIA? TAYLOR? KANYE WEST? Who gained? Who lost?"), ponder why the incident was

The fact that Keith Urban's brand-new album, Get Closer, hit the streets on Tuesday may have been a bit overshadowed by the news that the Beatles are joining the iTunes catalog. However, Urban managed to find a fun way to make his new music top-of-mind--at least for a crowd of lucky east-coast commuters.

It all started with a tweet early in the morning: "Hey New York City, if you're in the Penn Station area right now, come by and see me for a bit..." accompanied by a shot of a mike, guitar, and amp set-up.

Morning commuters passing through Penn Station were then thoroughly surprised to experience an impromptu set from a sort-of-familiar looking busker...Hey, wait a minute! That really is Keith Urban!

"Thank you for missing your train today!" the singer joked with the crowd, which pressed in close enough to almost touch Urban. The intimate mini-concert included the first single from his new album, "Put You In A Song"; as well as the perennial fan favorite "Days Go By."

After the set,

The new country awards show on the block, the American Country Awards--which will make its debut in Las Vegas December 6--seems to be setting off on the right foot (or would that be boot?). The first round of performers for the program has been announced, and sounds nearly as packed full of A-listers as any established ceremony on the block.

First off, the performance list includes steaming-hot commodity Blake Shelton, fresh off his Opry induction and a very triumphant CMA Awards 2010 with fiancee Miranda Lambert. Considering how "it" Blake is considered these days, that alone would be enough of a teaser; however, the ACAs have also confirmed Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, and Josh Turner as well. And there's more to be announced in the coming days. Sounds like a pretty good start to me--especially considering this is a brand-new awards ceremony. 

The show also is parading an impressive list of artists who will be making "appearances"--with names including Lady Antebellum

Was the big story of the CMA Awards Brad Paisley's first win in the top category, Entertainer of the Year? Or was it Miranda Lambert finally getting her first three wins all in one night, including the prestigious Album of the Year contest? The nation's headline writers couldn't quite agree which of these was the real news flash.

It was both, of course. Long live Braranda! (With apologies to Kimberly and Blake.)

Yahoo! Music and Ram Country's cameras were on the scene backstage at the CMAs to get Lambert's and Paisley's immediate reactions from their respective triumphs. Click on the video to see and hear what these two had to say:

Leave it to Willie Nelson--he sure knows how to take a hit.

The 77-year-old legend was arrested and charged with marijuana possession on Friday while driving through Texas on his way to his ranch in Austin--but he's using this incident to spark a bit of activism dear to his heart.

Nelson, a longtime advocate of marijuana legalization, took action just two days after his arrest by creating a Facebook page devoted to this cause.

The page, titled "Willie Nelson's Teapot Party"--which is, of course, a humorous wordplay riffing off the famous conservative movement--is apparently a call to band together legalization supporters everywhere.

"Our motto: We lean a little to the left," it states. "Tax it, regulate it and legalize it."

Longtime fans of Nelson know these views are nothing new. Nelson has spoken openly about his views on marijuana to many mainstream outlets over the years. "Legalize weed. It's 50% of what's causing the problems along the border with the drug cartels," he told

While many of Nashville's finest have been spending the past few days in Las Vegas gearing for Sunday night's Academy Of Country Music Awards, Alan Jackson's been cooling his boots in Los Angeles instead. For a very important purpose, however--the country icon received his very own star on the legendary Hollywood Walk Of Fame Friday morning.

Jackson was joined by his wife and daughters for the ceremony at 11:30 a.m. to unveil his star, which is located at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Hard Rock Hollywood. A crowd of fans and spectators attended.

Jackson, who despite having sold more than 50 million records over the course of his career, remained true to his unassuming, low-key personality upon receiving one of Hollywood's greatest honors.

"Everybody, whatever you do, likes to be appreciated and acknowledged by the industry and fans, but this is a whole different category," he told the Los Angeles Times. I can't hardly put myself in the same line with some of them great

Just a few short months ago, Nashville's heart of country music--the historic Grand Ole Opry--was submerged under several feet of water as a result of record flooding in the area.

Music City mourned, then in true-grit style rolled up its sleeves and got to work. The building was cleaned; damaged areas were restored. The famed circle of wood from the Opry's original Ryman Auditorium home was placed back in the middle of the stage.

Then, on Tuesday night, the doors were opened, and a major celebration commenced--a blowout, star-studded party honoring both the past and future of the American landmark.

For the past, country legends such as Little Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson, and many other long-loved names arrived to join modern-day stars performing at the venue.

And for the future? Well, that was the big surprise of the night: In a fun twist for an organization seeped in history and tradition, the Opry took a decidedly modern turn near the end of the evening.

After performing his hit

The 2010 American Music Awards, which took place on November 21, were ostensibly all about musical talent. However, even several days later, it seems that all everyone can talk about is hair.

And, that would be Taylor Swift's hair, to be exact. The country megastar showed up at the awards program with a stunning, straight new style that couldn't be further away from her trademark tousled curls, sparking news items about her mane worldwide.

Swift's experimented here and there with straightened hair in the past, but on Sunday night the addition of striking statement bangs to an extreme blowout actually made her difficult to recognize. (And I don't have to tell you that Taylor Swift is generally not hard to identify. In fact, in terms of recognizability, I'd put her up there with President Obama.)

Oh yeah--she also won an AMA award for favorite country female artist. But pshaw, another award for Taylor? It was the hair that made news, folks!

Given this, it comes as no surprise that