There's not too much about Eric Church that's not straightforward--and his latest single, "Smoke A Little Smoke," which champions, well, pretty much exactly what it says, is good proof of his honest take on life. If it ain't real, Eric isn't gonna sing about it.

And, country fans are increasingly responding to his brand of songwriting. We at Yahoo! Music ourselves have been supporters of the little-bit-outlaw, little-bit-balladeer rising star since his earliest days (he even came to visit us a few years ago in our offices and gave us an acoustic performance of "How 'Bout You" and "Two Pink Lines").

Eric's been busier than ever these days, playing packed shows on the road all year long (he'll be supporting Miranda Lambert on the CMT On Tour trek starting this fall), hitting the top 10 on the country charts, and even bringing his best Southern rock to a lesser-known cover on this year's Lynyrd Skynyrd country tribute album, Sweet Home Alabama. He did find a few minutes to sit down and

Last week we discussed how our pal Kenny Chesney is having a busy summer, newswise. Well, same is true for Ms. Shania Twain. After years of hearing nothing from the gal--she's suddenly all over the place.

Last year, of course, Twain's marriage to producer Mutt Lange broke up, allegedly due to his affair with the couple's longtime secretary. Twain responded to this by forming a somewhat unexpected love triangle (er...rectangle???), joining forces with the secretary's ex-husband, Fred Thiebaud.

Then, of course, just the other week we heard she's set to be a guest judge on American Idol. And THEN, just recently, rumors swirled that Twain was sporting a sparkling ring and engaged to Thiebaud (the rumors were denied by her reps).

So yes, there's been quite the whirlwind of things going on with Ms. Twain. Ya think? On one hand it's really nice to be hearing so much about her after such a long absence. We really missed you, Shania! On the other hand--this all sounds like a soap opera and

American Idol alum Kristy Lee Cook--otherwise known as the gal who was proud to be an American on the seventh season of the hit show--has just premiered a new reality show called Goin' Country.

The funny thing is, the program is not about buying boots and ten-gallon hats, or learning to sing like Patsy Cline, or anything that might logically pop into one's head when considering how to "go country."

Nope, it's about hunting--getting out in the woods and shooting wild animals. Are you sure Hank done it this way? Cook thinks so, explaining to Fox News, "I never used to like killing animals until I got out and experienced it."

Not surprisingly, the show, which airs on the Versus Network, has drawn ire from those opposed to hunting. As one might imagine, animal-rights organization People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) is at the forefront of this critical mass, and wasted no time blasting Cook's involvement in the project.

"Instead of angering thousands of would-be fans by

That LeAnn Rimes! Whatever anyone thinks of her--she certainly has chutzpah.

What has she done now? Well, for one, she's back on Twitter after declaring herself done with social media last month--a remarkably short break for such a public announcement. But that kind of pales to her latest ballsy move. This week, she stripped down to appear in just a bikini to perform her current single, "Swingin'," on NBC's reality show America's Got Talent.

Well, actually, saying she just "appeared" in a bikini kind of does her a disservice. She not only "appeared"--she cartwheeled, flipped, skipped, kicked a beach ball, and shook her tush--all looking unbelievably toned and hot. Nary a jiggle anywhere. Forget about any of her past transgressions, gals. I officially give you permission to hate her now...ha, ha!

Rimes cheerfully responded to fan praise on her Twitter account, saying she was "incredibly proud" of her performance, and noting with an emoticon wink that "performing in a bikini in front

Need a really good laugh today? I think I can help you out with that. There's this vid sweeping the web this week, simply titled "Crazy Guy Sings Carrie-Oke" and...well, just watch for yourself.

I don't even know quite what to say about this video--I'm actually almost laughing too hard to type over here--except to give you the facts. Kansas news station KSN-TV is currently running a "Carrie-Oke" contest, in which Carrie Underwood fans can score a pair of tickets to the star's October 19 Wichita concert date.

The rules are simple: Film yourself performing an Underwood tune, upload the vid to the station's site by the cutoff date of August 22--and may the best, uh, Oke-er win.

KSN even helpfully offered to record performances at a local mall earlier in the month, in case some folks might have problems filming or uploading by themselves. One guy who took advantage of this was 52-year-old Robert Wong, who hopped on the mall stage and roared out the truly awe-inspiring rendition of

For those fans who are eagerly anticipating the new project from Dixie Chicks sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison--I've got some great news for you!

Martie and Emily--a.k.a., the Court Yard Hounds--have unveiled an official website today introducing their duo status. You can listen to four of their new songs, preorder the album (which hits streets on May 4), see some updated photos of the gals, and even get a bit of perspective on the whole "Where's Natalie Maines?" situation.

According to the bio section on the site, the explanation is pretty simple: "All three Chicks enjoyed family time away from the media glare--but after a while Maguire and Robison felt refreshed and rarin' to go, which still left them one singer short of a quorum. The usually bold Maines' reticence to put herself through the grind again had the effect of pushing her slightly shyer bandmates out of the nest."

In case there is any question about the fate of the Dixie Chicks proper, the bio carefully notes:

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