Last night's Oscars were a good time for the country fans out there. Ryan Bingham rightfully took home the award for Best Original Song. Jeff Bridges got Best Actor for his riveting portrayal of the washed-up Bad Blake.

But, well, I have to admit--my personal favorite Oscar moment didn't have to do with Crazy Heart at all. It was Faith Hill's arrival with Blind Side star/husband Tim McGraw.

I just love Faith Hill. For more than her obvious talent, and the fact that she apparently actually likes to watch football and cook nachos (two of my favorite things). I love her for something completely different than these things.

Faith Hill is one of those enviable types who don't have to do a danged thing to attract the spotlight. Quite simply, she's physically stunning; the kind of beauty that can walk into a room wearing Levis and a T-shirt, and easily outshine the most glittery crowd of couture wearers.

Ironically, however, she doesn't seem to enjoy relying on this God-given gift of

Pardon me for being overdramatic, but I'll just come out and say it. I'm waiting for Taylor Swift to run for president of the United States. At the rate she's going these days, she'll go down in history as both the youngest and the first female commander-in-chief we've had.

So, you say--what's Taylor up to now, in order for me to make such a grandiose prediction? Well, two new things. Neither quite POTUS material, but both pushing her into the public-visibility category in which she becomes not only a household name, but a somewhat mythical figure to boot.

Number one: She's been named to TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People" 2010 list, putting her in the company of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Phil Mickelson, Serena Williams, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Lady Gaga, Simon Cowell, Prince, and Elton John.

Among 87 other world-shaking personalities, of course.

Taylor was the only country music artist to make the list. Legendary Fleetwood Mac frontwoman

Okay, so I'm sure you Idol fans have already read Reality Rocks blogger Lyndsey Parker's thorough recap of last night's Top 6 show--or, as I'm sure all the country fans prefer to refer to it, Shania Twain Night, in which the country superstar mentored the final six contestants as they performed versions of her hit songs. 

However, if you're interested in what Shania herself thought of the experience, she took the opportunity to update her (very infrequently updated) personal blog with some thoughts about the evening's events.

For the most part, she played no favorites, noting only that she was happy to meet up with Crystal [Bowersox] and Lee [Dewyze] again, both of whom she was rooting for at the Chicago auditions while guest judging earlier in the season. Instead, she discussed the deeply moving experience she had while experiencing the finalists performing her songs.

"It was emotional for me to listen to every one of their gorgeous voices singing my words," she wrote. "I was moved

Plain and simple: The name "Point Of Grace" has meant pretty much one thing for nearly two decades--massively successful Christian group. The all-female pop quartet, which has been around since the early 1990s, has sold more than five million records, scored numerous Dove Awards, received two Grammy nominations, and won countless numbers of fans over the course of its career.

However, in 2008, things took a slight turn when founding member Heather Payne decided to exit the group to focus on her family--leaving Denise Jones, Shelley Breen, and Leigh Cappillino to move ahead on their own.

They did more than simply readjust themselves to a trio rather than quartet arrangement. The three women decided to take their interest in country music--two of their songs from 2008's How You Live, "How You Live (Turn Up The Music)" and "I Wish," had already broken some modest ground on the country charts--and go full-fledged in that musical direction.

The result is their latest effort, No Changin'

Pretty much from the moment Garth Brooks opened his mouth to announce he was setting up residency at the Wynn in Las Vegas, every show on his calendar was sold out. However, here's an interesting and unexpected new option for fans to possibly snag a seat to see the legendary crooner live.

Brooks will be performing on August 1 in collaboration with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Sun Valley, Idaho. The show, a fundraising event for the symphony's free concert and education programs, will feature Brooks playing both solo and with the orchestra. Sounds pretty cool, eh?

The collaboration came about with the help of billionare hotelier Steve Wynn, who initially drew Brooks out of retirement last fall. Wynn's a Sun Valley resident and supporter of the Sun Valley Pavilion, where the concert will be held.

No doubt many of Brooks's fans will be eager to attend. But will they actually be able to obtain seats at what is likely going to be an extremely smoking-hot event?

The local press

Hey country fans out there. Even if by some chance you haven't yet heard of Sarah Buxton, you probably are familiar with at least one of her songs: The evocative and melancholy tune "Stupid Boy"--which, of course, Keith Urban made a smash hit out of (and won a Grammy for!) a few years ago.

In addition to this, Sarah's been a pretty active presence--if a bit under the radar--in Nashville. A quick synopsis: She's been signed to Rascal Flatts' label, Lyric Street Records, since 2005; had a few charting singles, worked with various heavyweights around town, and was nominated twice for Best New Female Artist by the Academy of Country Music. Given all this, plus her infectiously un-selfconscious vocal style, it's a bit of a wonder that it's taken her so long to release a debut full-length record.

However--it's finally here. This week, Sarah's self-titled album hit the streets, and she's been enjoying quite a rush of critical acclaim, as well as a packed schedule (she's currently on tour

The nominations for this year's Academy Of Country Music Awards are out, and while Lady Antebellum--with an amazing seven nods--may be the band grabbing all the headlines this week, here's something from another artist that you're surely not going to want to miss.

Luke Bryan is up for Top New Solo Vocalist at the ACMs. This is one of three new-artist categories that fans can vote on to help determine the winner (visit http://www.voteacm.com/ until March 12 to cast your own ballot).

Luke really wants to win this award. A lot of his friends want him to win it, too.

In fact, his friends all want him to win so much, they created this fun little viral video to convince you all to get online and put in your personal support for Luke.

Disclaimer: I'm not going to play favorites, because Jamey Johnson and Chris Young are also up for Top New Vocalist, and I like them a lot, too. But, I will give you a few reasons to at least check out Luke's call to action.

1) It's funny as hell. I swear.

I've been talking quite a bit here about the new project from the Dixie Chicks sister-duo Emily Robison and Martie Maguire--a.k.a, the Court Yard Hounds. If you've found time to mosey over to their new official site and get a taste of their music, I'm sure you'll agree the girls are sounding in fine form. I'm really looking forward to their album release in early May.

Here's a little bit of something to get you all even more excited for the new record--Emily and Martie recently taped a series of behind-the-scenes videos documenting the making of their album. This piece is exclusive to Yahoo! Music, and has Emily telling us about the inspiration for the name "Court Yard Hounds," as well as other tidbits explaining their songwriting process. You'll get a glimpse of the sisters at work, plus hear yet more of their brand-new sound.

I hope you all enjoy it--please let me know what you think!

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