One thing I can always be certain of whenever I write about Taylor Swift (and I write about her a lot!): I'm going to get comments discussing whether or not the girl has talent/can really sing/deserves her fame. Followed, naturally, by comments fiercely defending her honor.

I suppose you guys all know I'm in the pro-Taylor camp. For the record, I recognize she's had some off-key performances and isn't the most proficient vocalist out there. I also think she's got an unflappable charm and an inexplicable validity to her voice and delivery, which I believe mostly makes up for her technical shortcomings.

I'm certainly not alone in this opinion. Taylor Swift is not hurting for fans or positive recognition, to put it mildly. And, being a flawed vocalist certainly hasn't hurt many, many, many artists out there; indeed music history is filled with examples of lousy singers that have become quite legendary.

Given this, I can see where it would be fairly easy for her and her circle to shake

It's only been a couple of weeks since Taylor Swift made the big announcement she'd be delivering fresh music to her fans very, very shortly. Namely, a new album arriving in October--and a new single on the radio by mid-August.

But, even that short amount of time was too long to wait for Swift's eager fanbase. On August 4, an unauthorized low-quality version of the promised single, "Mine," was leaked online, leading Swift's label to rush an official delivery of the song to radio and iTunes nearly two weeks early.

The response was immediate: "Mine" has already shot up to the No. 1 position on the iTunes top songs chart. "[I] looked at iTunes and got tears in my eyes," Swift tweeted on August 5. Meanwhile, industry publication Billboard is predicting a "big debut" on its all-genre Hot 100 chart next week.

LISTEN TO TAYLOR'S NEW SINGLE HERE!

Last month, Swift discussed the song in a webchat with fans, saying it is about finding someone to make her believe in love."I'm never going to go

I've written numerous times over the past year about how country is the powerhouse of the music world these days. In an industry that's facing no shortage of challenges, country music continues to stand out and chug along.

Sure, Nashville's seen its own share of dips and valleys, but for the most part, it's continuing to churn out tunes, packed venues, and Taylor Swift-sized personalities with daunting regularity in the face of a recession.

And here's yet another piece of information to support country's strength. According to Nielsen BDS--the service which tracks and reports all airplay of songs on radio, TV, and Internet--a country musician had the most airplay of any artist, in any genre, in the past decade.

Which musician are we talking about? Well, there are certainly plenty of country entertainers with mega-amounts of airplay under their Stetsons, so this might be a tough one to guess.

However, in this case--the winner is Tim McGraw. The singer, actor, and husband to Faith

I'm sure nobody was too worried about the fate of Rascal Flatts when the band's label, Disney's Lyric Street Records, announced back in April that it would be closing down. The matter at hand was not if the mega-successful country trio would find a new label home; it was when.

And now, just a mere three months later, the Flatts have announced where they're landing. They'll be joining Taylor Swift on Big Machine Records.

And, even more exciting news--they'll have their first Big Machine single out this week, and a new album out in November.

The band's statement on the move brims with excitement, saying the new label is "a perfect fit," and that CEO Scott Borchetta "understands us, he knows what we're about and it's always a wonderful thing to have someone who believes in you and your music that much in your corner."

Admittedly, the Flatts are a pretty easy bet to believe in. With this latest acquisition joining the already ultra-formidable Swift, Borchetta's independent label (founded

When thinking of a short list of people who don't exactly strike me as "country"--in any way, shape, or form--I'd have to say actress Gwyneth Paltrow firmly lands in that particular group.

As she's a scion of Hollywood parents who seems to spend all her time in either Manhattan, Los Angeles, or London, it doesn't seem too offensive to assume Ms. Paltrow knows nothing about the country demographic. (For what it's worth, her husband, Coldplay's Chris Martin, doesn't strike me as much of a good ol' boy either.)

However, she is slated to play a country singer in the upcoming film Country Strong. And, she's doing it alongside one of the genre's biggest names--Tim McGraw, her costar. And, impressively, she took on the task of doing her own singing in the movie.

And--just one more and, I promise--here's the surprising part. Paltrow actually is quite a good country crooner.

LISTEN TO GWYNETH'S COUNTRY SONG HERE

Now, if you've heard her version of "Cruisin'," which she covered with Huey Lewis

Although technically filed as a "rock" band, Lynyrd Skynyrd has always had equally strong ties to the country world. First of all, the group was redneck to the core, rebel, and proud of it. Secondly, they're the undisputed grandfathers of that genre known as "southern rock," which means basically that nothing they've recorded would sound terribly out of place at your average honky tonk. And heck, the suriving Van Zant brothers even gave up all pretense a few years ago and put out two fine, pure-country albums.

Furthermore--and probably most telling--Skynyrd's influence can be best heard these days not so much in modern rock circles, but rather in today's upstart outlaw-country artists; ones who are not afraid at all to throw a hefty punch of hard swagger into their traditional twang.

A fantastic demonstration of this is a new tribute album that was released on Tuesday, Sweet Home Alabama--The Country Music Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd. The tracklisting includes Skynyrd covers by some of

I've always admired Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles--both for her effortless laid-back style and the also seemingly effortless impression she gives that she's always having a great time. Her whole attitude just screams healthy and down-to-earth--a rare commodity in her line of work.

It turns out I'm not the only one who's noticed this. Self Magazine recently spoke to Nettles (as part of a series of interviews with artists on the Lilith Fair 2010 tour, which Sugarland was part of) and got some of the singer/songwriter's brand of positive outlook to share with fans.

In terms of staying sane when facing the public eye a good deal of her time, Nettles takes a simple approach: "I try to keep the mayor of Crazy Town at bay, if you will," she says. "I love to eat and enjoy a glass of wine as much as the next gal, and I live my life so I don't feel slaved to what it is that I do for a living."

Nettles balances her love of food with regular exercise, saying that yoga is her workout of choice.

Everyone knows that Keith Urban is from Australia. And, everyone knows of his most famous Australian alliance--that would be his marriage to fellow country(wo)man Nicole Kidman, of course.

But, fans should keep their eyes and ears peeled for a new collaboration between Urban and yet another well-known Aussie export that's fast on the way.

This new project is actually quite a kick, given that one of Urban's main roles these days is proud pop to his young daughter Sunday Rose. He's cutting a song with famed children's group the Wiggles.

If you're a parent of a small child, I don't need to tell you who the Wiggles are. I'm very sure you are quite well acquainted with them (okay, pardon my sarcasm--but if, like me, you've got their songs burned permanently in your brain due to constant toddler demand...ya know what I'm talking about here, right?).

If you aren't--well, in a nutshell, they're four guys from Down Under who have managed to pretty much grab the preschool music market by the