Filed under: Country News

They’re both gorgeous blondes with waves of glorious musical talent. They’re also two of the most famous female stars ever to be spun from the ranks of ‘American Idol.’

But sometimes their adoring public can’t seem to remember which is which … Is it Kellie Pickler? Or is it Carrie Underwood?

Bubbling with laughter, Kellie tells OK magazine that a lot of fans will call her “Kellie Underwood ” and likewise, a lot of fans will call Carrie “Carrie Pickler!” But Kellie points out that she and Carrie are “totally different — night and day.”

Why? It’s simple. Kellie says she’s “crazy,” while Carrie is “a lady.”

Filed under: Charts, Country News

Billy Currington’s ‘Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer’ has taken over the top of both the Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase country charts this week. Lady Antebellum’s ‘Our Kind of Love’ comes in second place, followed by Lee Brice’s ‘Love Like Crazy’ at No. 3.

Billy already hit gold once before with songwriter Troy Jones, and he turned to him again for another hit song. “When I first heard it, I heard it on the same CD [demo] as ‘People Are Crazy.’ It was written by the same guy,” Billy tells The Boot. “I don’t know. He connects well with the people who love to drink beer and party. I had played ‘Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer’ a hundred times, and then I started playing it for other people, and I had seen the reaction that it got. So, that was the reason I recorded it. I really believed in it by the time we had to record an album. So, I’m still in love with it when I play it live. It’s a good anthem, I think.”

Filed under: Albums, Legends, Country News

Loretta Lynn, the ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’ has enjoyed a 50-year career and in the process has become a true American icon. To celebrate the Kentucky-born legend’s 50th anniversary, a diverse group of artists has contributed tracks to ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn,’ an album set for release November 9 on Columbia Records.

Personally chosen by Loretta herself, the list is a who’s-who of country and rock favorites including Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Allison Moorer, Paramore, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, the White Stripes, Lucinda Williams, Gretchen Wilson and Lee Ann Womack.

“I am so happy that these singers wanted to do this record,” says Loretta. “I love ‘em all, and it was so great to hear all the different ways they did my hits,” she said, referring to how each artist recorded with their own choice of producer and musicians. “I hope people like it as much as I do and we sell a bunch of records!!”

Filed under: CMA Awards

Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum lead the initial list of 2010 CMA Awards nominees. A partial list of nominations was read Tuesday morning during a press conference at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Chris Young and Justin Moore were on hand to read the names in seven CMA categories: New Artist, Vocal Duo, Vocal Group, Musician, Single, Song and Music Video of the Year.

Miranda is the leader of the nominee pack so far with five nods, competing against herself for Single and Video of the Year, as both ‘The House That Built Me‘ and ‘White Liar‘ are nominated in those two categories. Lady A trail with four nominations, three of them for their huge crossover smash, ‘Need You Now.’

See the full list of nominees in the seven categories announced Tuesday below. The remaining categories will be announced tomorrow (September 1) on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’ The 44th Annual Country Music Association Awards will air live from Nashville on November 10. Brad Paisley (a nominee for his ‘Water’ video) and Carrie Underwood (a shoo-in for a Female Vocalist nod) will co-host the show for the third year in a row.

Filed under: Movies and TV

Every Monday, The Boot updates fans on where to find your favorite country stars on TV throughout the week. Here’s what’s happening for the week of August 30.

Tuesday, August 31:

Merle Haggard performs on the ‘Late Show With David Letterman,’ which airs CBS at 11:35 PM ET.

Wednesday, September 1:

Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert appear on ‘Good Morning America,’ where they will announce the nominees for the 2010 CMA Awards. The nominations will be revealed around 8:30 AM ET on ABC.

That same morning, Miranda will also stop by the ‘Today‘ show on NBC.

The moving Mindy McCready interview on ‘The View‘ from March will re-air on ABC at 10:00 AM ET.

ABC will air their special ‘CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock’ program, highlighting performances from this year’s fan extravaganza in Nashville. Performances will include Jason Aldean, Trace Adkins, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and more. The show airs at 8:00 PM ET.

Filed under: Exclusive, Country News

Every Saturday, The Boot brings you the week’s top tweets so you can see what your favorite stars are chirping about! This week’s funniest Twitter posts come from Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, James Otto, Blake Shelton and more. And don’t forget to follow The Boot (@thebootdotcom).

Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley): “Those crazy nutty CMAs have asked Carrie [Underwood] and I to host again. Here we go. The comedic stylings of Carebrad. Or Paisleywood. Or Underpaisley.”

James Otto (@jamesotto): “Where does all this poop come from?!?!?! She’s only drinking milk.” [On adjusting to becoming a first-time father to newborn daughter, Ava Katherine.]

Kellie Pickler (@kelliepickler): “Watching ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ Johnny Depp can’t look bad, even if his character does have bozo orange hair and big lime green eyes.”

Jimmy Wayne (@JimmyWayne): “I’ve been thinking: I should become a pool boy for a young lady who’s married to an old old! old! OLD!! gazillionair man with a bad cough!”

Filed under: Exclusive, CMA Awards, Country News

The third time is the charm for Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, as the pair team up once again to host this year’s CMA Awards. Brad and Carrie attended a press conference Thursday morning, August 26, at a studio located north of Nashville as they were announced as the hosts with the most again.

The co-hosts have developed a certain chemistry as they have hosted the past couple of years, and this year promises be even better than previous, especially when it comes to joking around with each other, which they already have started to do, perhaps rehearsing for the big day. “I was one of the first tours [Carrie] ever went out on, and we became friends then and have gotten great almost ever since,” says Brad. “A couple of rough patches there for a little while. [Carrie laughs] It’s fine. Let’s not talk about that today.”

“There were no rough patches that I knew of,” Carrie responded, “unless you were mad at me and I didn’t know that.”

“It’s your dog,” Brad explained.

“Oh, our dogs don’t like each other!” Carrie agreed.