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Kenny Chesney is Billboard Artist of the Millennium. Since 2000, Kenny Chesney has had the most listened-to song on country radio nearly 10% of the time. Here’s another – over his amazingly successful 17 year career, Kenny has recorded 15 albums, all 15 of which have reached gold or platinum-selling status.

 

Kenny Chesney also has what Billboard calls the most memorable country song of 2011. Billboard.com has complied a list of the ten most memorable country songs of 2011 and put Kenny Chesney's "You And Tequila," duet with Grace Potter as the musical highlight of 2011."  Miranda Lambert's "Baggage Claim" makes the list as "the year's sexiest country recording." Ronnie Dunn's "Cost of Living" is dubbed "simply one for the ages." Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup," is "one of the most imaginative songs of his career." 

Billboard also singles out Dierks Bentley's "Home", Thompson Square's "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not", Blake Shelton's "Honey Bee", Martina McBride's "Teenage Daughters", Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood's "Remind Me" and Sunny Sweeney's "From a Table Away" as the best songs of the past year.

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton are "do gooders."  The website "Dosomething.org" has listed the couple as one of the top 20 Do Good Celebrities of 2011.  As a couple, Miranda and Blake are listed along with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for having big hearts and working together to bring good to the world around them.  Lady Gaga topped the list of do gooding celebrities, by the way. 

 

2011 Country Music Highlights: #4
The most-publicized wedding of the year took place May 14 when Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton tied the knot near San Antonio. The ceremony and reception took place at the 125-acre Don Strange Ranch. The couple exchanged vows on a cowhide rug under an arch made of antlers in a lantern-lit barn. Miranda wore her mother's wedding dress and cowboy boots. Blake wore a suit jacket and vest with Wrangler jeans and a pair of Lucchese boots that Neal McCoy gave him. Neal McCoy was the official wedding singer at the reception where deer meat was the highlight of the meal.

 

The Band Perry will kick off the Cotton Bowl Classic when Kansas State battles Arkansas next Friday night, January 6th. The Band Perry will sing the national anthem for the sold-out crowd at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. They are pretty excited, "Cowboys Stadium is one of the biggest and best venues in the entire world when it comes to country music," says lead singer Kimberly Perry. "We are excited and honored to be singing our country's anthem on such a national stage." The AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic will air live on FOX, January 6 at 7:00 PM CT.

Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and Toby Keith are the top touring country stars according to Billboard's Top 25 Tours of 2011 list. Taylor Swift raked in nearly $98-million in ticket sales from 1.3 million fans.  Kenny Chesney grossed $84.5 million in tickets with 1.1 million fans seeing his concerts in 2011. Jason Aldean had the 3rd biggest country concert tour with nearly $28 million in tickets sold to 790,530 fans.  And, Toby Keith was just behind him with just over $27 million in tickets sold to 674,000 fans.

Trace Adkins completed work on the film "The First Ride of Wyatt Earp," which focuses on Wyatt Earp's early years. Trace says he has the role of Miflin Kennedy, who is "the father of a young man who supposedly killed a woman Earp was fond of in Dodge City." He adds that it's his understanding that Earp "led the posse that went after him." Trace says the project just took one day to shoot, and adds that his character doesn't get killed in the film. "The First Ride of Wyatt Earp" stars Val Kilmer as Wyatt Earp. The movie is expected to open in theaters on March 30th.