Earlier this year, Lady Antebellum held a nationwide contest called Own the Prom. The winner of the contest would have scored a private prom concert from the trio but, as luck and country fans would have it, Henryville High School won out something even more. 

Students and fans from across the US submitted videos online that rallied behind Henryville, a school that was hit hard by powerful tornadoes early last month. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, Lady Antebellum won’t be attending Henryville High’s prom. Instead, they’ll be holding a Rebuilding Henryville benefit concert in Louisville, Kentucky next month. Henryville High’s juniors and seniors will get to attend an exclusive private reception before the big concert. Now that’s what I call making up!

-Jamal Bell

What’s In a Name? The Shania Twain Edition

As nice as it would be to believe that Shania Twain was born into this world with a name handcrafted especially for her by the country gods themselves, that’s not the whole story. Just who is Shania Twain really? Let’s break it down:

Name: Eileen Regina Edwards

Birth Date: August 28th, 1965 (Virgo)

Born In: Windsor, Ontario, Canada (sounds aboot right)

So where did they get “Shania Twain” out of that mouthful of a name?

Shania: When her record company got bored of making “Come on Eileen” jokes, they decided that little ol’ “Eileen” wasn’t a name fit for a country legend…or a girl in a leopard-hooded onsie (perfect for your everyday hitchhiking-in-the-desert needs). No, she was no Eileen. The bigwigs at the record company gathered and it was decided that their girl would pack up her “Eileen” in a leopard suitcase and henceforth be known as Shania. Fun fact: the name Shania means “I’m on my way” in a Native American dialect.

Twain: You might think the record company gave her this name because they didn’t want to call her Shania Twang or because she came into the music biz with an affinity for Mark Twain. However, you’re wrong. Shania actually came to Nashville with the name Eileen Twain. You see, before she had even set foot in Nashville, Eileen legally changed her last name to Twain to adopt the name of her step-pappy who had raised her.

And THAT, kids, is how you turn a small-town girl into a country superstar.

-Josh Wexler

Photo courtesy of GETTY

A 2012 Bromance to Remember: From ACM’s to a Sunny Summer Tour

“Tim and I have been great friends since we first toured together, and I can’t wait to get back on the road with him. He’s one of my closest friends in music and in life, and I know this tour is going to be something special.” - Kenny Chesney on his first tour in 10 years with his bro.

“Our friendship was forged on the road, so it’s going to be a blast heading out with Kenny again. We’ll be having as much fun on stage as the fans will be having in the audience.” - Tim McGraw

If you watched the ACM’s on April 1st then you were treated to the debut of Kenny and Tim’s brand spankin’ new “Feel Like a Rock Star” duet. The song debuted this week on the country airplay chart at No. 13, making it the second-highest country single debut since 1990 when Nielsen started monitoring the chart! Congrats, boys.

You can find “Feel Like a Rock Star” on Kenny’s upcoming album Welcome to the Fishbowl (June 19th). Last but not least, you can and should go see Chesney and McGraw this summer on their Brothers of the Sun Tour. You know that tour is going to come with some interesting road stories… Oh, to be a fly on that bus.

- Josh Wexler

Photos courtesy of GETTY

Jason Aldean completed his latest album, and told reporters he expects it to be released by the fall. The even better news? He says to look forward to the summer, when he drops his first single. Yee-haww!

Image courtesy of GETTY

Happy birthday, Kenny Chesney! The country crooner turns 44 today. If you ask us, he doesn’t look a day over 25!

Photo courtesy of GETTY

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Shooter Jennings

1. Shooter made his film debut playing his father, Waylon Jennings, in Walk the Line. His mother is also a famed country star, Jessi Colter.

2. Shooter has a daughter named Alabama Gypsyrose and a son named Waylon Albert ‘Blackjack’. Both children are with his longtime love, actress Drea de Matteo, whom he proposed to onstage at a gig in 2009.

3. This Country man got his start playing in bands like .357s and Stargunn

4. The name on Shooter’s birth certificate? Waylon Albright Jennings

5. Shooter hosts a radio show!

Shooter Jenning’s new album Family Man is available now!

-Josh Wexler

Photos courtesy of GETTY

Happy 29th birthday, Carrie Underwood! (Or should we say Mrs. Mike Fisher?) The country crooner has been spewing out hits since winning the fourth season of American Idol, but our favorite memory of the “Cowboy Casanova” singer is the saucy pic above. Oh and by the way, we’re lovin’ the curls!

Image courtesy of Getty

Cowboy Hat of the Week: Jason Aldean

Yee-haw, y’all! That’s a good-looking hat.

Images courtesy of GETTY

Brad Paisley is known for his talented guitar playing, but we couldn’t help but notice that he’s also got a pretty incredible set of guitars to work with.

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In honor of the upcoming release of the Demolition String Band’s fifth album, Gracious Days, we’re serving you up a plate of fun facts on the country-rockers you should be keeping an ear out for.

1. Not as Southern as they seem: Elena Skye and Boo Reiners met in Hoboken, New Jersey and got their first jam on in Elena’s bookstore there. Elena was on the mandolin and Boo played the banjo (oh, to be a fly on that wall).

2. Elena, who grew up in Chicago and went to school in Vermont, started traveling into NYC to play at CBGB with her then-rock band.

3. Elena and Boo have appeared with comedy troupe the Upright Citizens Brigade (with Amy Poehler!), both on Comedy Central and Late Night with Conan O’Brien… See if you can spot Elena and Boo jamming out on the UCB’s sketch show.

4. At the turn of the millennium, the Demolition String Band released a cover of
Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” that helped spread their name and their fame.

5. The Demolition String Band’s fifth album Gracious Days comes out Tuesday, March 6th, 2012. If you enjoyed that last cover, you’ll love the covers on their new album, which includes Blaze Foley, Woody Guthrie, and The Ramones. Don’t miss it!

-Josh Wexler

Image courtesy of GETTY