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2/4/07
Keith’s in Cape Town, Tim and Faith
are Loaded and Jess Is In Love
It’s
been a rather slow week in the world of country music and all I can say is
‘bummer’. In the past year, the country music scene’s been at the
heart of many a sex, scandal and substance abuse tabloid headline and I
loved it.
You
may be thinking that’s a horrible thing to say, but heck, you’ve got to
admit that with Keith’s marriage to Hollywood “royalty” and various
transgressions, Sara Evans’ philandering husband and Faith’s behavior at
the CMA Awards, country music’s never been hotter.
So,
here’s what I managed to dig up for you this week.
 Keith
Urban is shooting his next music video, for his new song “I Told You So”
in Cape Town, South Africa as I write this. The casting call asked for a
“pretty, model type, free-spirited young woman, between the ages of 18 to
25 with long hair.” Humph! Why not cast a free-spirited
thirty-something like yours truly…or for that matter, his wife? Whatever!
With Keith’s track record, I’m betting she’ll be blonde.
Also
cast, were a young boy and an old man and Charles Mehling is set to direct
the shoot. I’m pretty sure this is the first time Keith and Charles work
together, but no worry, Charles is no newcomer to country music. In fact,
he’s nominated for a CMT Music Award for Video Director of the Year for
Dierks Bentley’s “Long Trip Alone” video. Way to go, Charles.
Keith
has garnered a couple of CMT nods of his own. He’s nominated for the 2007
CMT Music Awards for Video of the Year and Male Video of the Year for
"Once in a Lifetime". He’s also set to make his very first
appearance on Saturday Night Live, February 10th.
 One
last thing about Keith, then I promise to move on. The Wreckers have signed
on as openers for his “Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour”
which will hit 33 cities starting in Phoenix, on June 8. For the lowdown on
specific dates and pre-sale offers, visit The Wreckers’ and Keith’s
websites.
The
Wreckers totally rocked Nashville Star last week with their opening
performance of “Leave the Pieces”. But that wasn’t the only reason to
stay glued to the tube. Were any of you as surprised as I was by the
results? I can’t believe the voting public chose Whitney over Meg. I
can’t be the only one who thinks she’s tone deaf? Am I?
If
you missed the show, Elissa Lansdell was backstage for the excitement and
she wrote a great column about it for her South Central blog on CMT Canada. She
and I disagree on the whole Whitney thing, but we do agree on who should win
the competition. And no, I don’t think Zak will win. Not anymore.
 In
the weeks Taylor Swift has been out with the George Strait tour, she's only
talked to George once. Taylor told the Arizona Daily Star "He goes,
'It's really great to have you on tour. Everybody just loves you.’ That
was it. I was like, 'Oh my God. That was George."
This
spring, Taylor will tour with Brad Paisley, and come summer, she’ll play
ten dates on the Faith Hill and Tim McGraw "Soul II Soul 2 tour."
That song’s really paid off for her. Maybe I should write a song called
“Keith Urban” and see what happens.
But,
back to Tim and Faith. Those two are loaded. Not loaded as in “Honey, I
think I’ve had too many gin tonics”, but loaded as in filthy rich.
According to Forbes magazine, they made a combined income of $132 million in
2007. One hundred and thirty-two million dollars. In a year. Their
Soul2Soul II tour earned almost $89 million dollars. Tim sold $34.3 million
in albums and Faith sold $8.9 million.
 With
all that money you’d think they might cut their fans a bit of a break when
it comes to t-shirt or ticket sales. Not so. It costs $44.99 to be a member
of Tim McGraw’s fan club and for that you get a t-shirt and the privilege
of, you guessed it, being in a position to buy even more crap from his
website.
Other
country stars in the magazine's Top 10 list of moneymaking musicians include
Rascal Flatts ($110.5 million) and Kenny Chesney ($90.1 million). In
comparison, it only costs $24.99 to be a member of the Rascal Flatts fan
club and $25 to be a member of Kenny’s. And, in case you’re wondering,
the Rolling Stones ranked first on the Top Music Money Makers list of 2006,
earning $150.1 million, just ahead of Tim and Faith.
And
finally, I’ve got more John Mayer and Jessica Simpson news for you. Apparently,
the pair continues to share quality time together. According to People
magazine, Jess was seen dancing to John’s entire set and 20-minute encore
at his University of Miami show.
With a camera in hand, Jessica – who took in the show from the sound and
lighting area alongside stylist Ken Paves, Billy Joel and his wife, Katie
Lee Joel – snapped photos of herself and Ken, and of John and the crowd.
I
must admit, I’m not sure what to think of that pairing anymore. Rumors of
their relationship conveniently surfaced right around the time they both
started plugging new discs on the market. But, that time has since come
and gone, and lo and behold, they’re hanging in. Could it be that our
little Jessie’s found love again?
By
the way, check out her latest video if you haven’t yet. It’s nauseating.
Until
next time – “it’s not what they say about you, it’s what they
whisper.”
~ Goldie
Goldie@CountryStarsOnline.com
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