2010 IN COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS
The last time we headed into a new decade, it was the beginning of a completely new millennium, and it kicked off with a bang: The Judds reunited in Phoenix; Trisha Yearwood and Kenny Rogers performed for President Clinton in Washington, D.C.; Kenny Chesney opened for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at the arena in Nashville; and Grand Ole Opry stars Marty Stuart and Connie Smith went to church in Mississippi.
As we enter 2010, country stars continue to shine: Shania Twain carries the torch for the Winter Olympics; and Garth Brooks, Rodney Atkins and the Eli Young Band will help transition into January on stage.
Taylor Swift has shown impressive acting chops in her music videos, so it was only a matter of time before the young superstar hit the big screen. Website thehollywoodgossip.com reports that Taylor will be in the upcoming romantic comedy, “Valentine’s Day,” due out Feb. 14, 2010. Joining Taylor in the ensemble cast is Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Anne Hathaway, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel.
Filming is already underway and the website also reports that Taylor’s been hanging on the set with “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner. Hinting at – and hoping for — a possible romantic relationship, the site gushes, “? our focus is entirely on Taylor and Taylor. How could it not be?!? He’s single. She’s single. He’s cute. She’s cute. And they share the same first name! Wouldn’t these two make an absolutely delicious couple?”
NEWS ABOUT BIG AND RICH'S FUTURE!
Based on the lawsuits, barroom brawls and barbed political commentary John Rich has made over the last year, it’s easy to think of the Big & Rich founder as a difficult personality, and it seems he would agree.
“Big & Rich is the most unlikely pairing of human beings you could possibly come up with,” he told The Press Of Atlantic City. “Kenny says, ‘I love everybody.’ I say, ‘Screw everybody.’”
Their personal differences — in addition to Big Kenny’s need to rehab a lingering neck injury from years back — led the duo to take most of last year off the road. John put together the album Son Of A Preacher Man, which came out in March, while Big Kenny assembled his own solo disc, The Quiet Times Of A Rock And Roll Farm Boy, due Oct. 27.
“You have to get the music you write out of your system,” John said. “I write songs like ‘Shuttin’ Detroit Down’ that are calling out the man. That would never be a Big & Rich song because Kenny would never say that.”
With their individual projects commanding attention, fans and industry observers are naturally wondering if the duo might pull a Brooks & Dunn and go separate ways.
“Any time you take that much time off the road, rumors are so crazy that it’s over,” John said. “If you would have seen the shows this summer, you would have understood Big & Rich is nowhere near being over.”
