CBS This Morning host Gayle King helped Mickey Guyton realize her dream of meeting her idol Dolly Parton, and it was very overwhelming for the “Better Than You Left Me” singer. You see, last year Gayle interviewed Mickey on being a newcomer and asked her who her dream duet partner would be. Mickey immediately said her No. 1 choice would be the Country Music Hall of Famer. Well, Gayle recently surprised her with an appearance by Dolly, which she’d been planning for nearly a year.

“When Dolly Parton walked into that interview, I completely freaked out. I had no clue that Gayle had been planning for me to meet Dolly for the past nine months, and I was overwhelmed with such shock that it brought me to tears because then I realized what was going on,” recalls Mickey. “Before I even walked into the interview, I was told that this was just going to be a follow-up interview and just talk to Gayle and catch up, and it just did not even cross my mind about where I was or who I was waiting for. So, I was just in complete shock, and it was a dream come true. I met a legend. I can walk away and from here on out, I can say that I met a legend, and it is such an awesome feeling.”

Mickey says meeting Dolly was a complete blur. “I heard absolutely nothing that Dolly was saying to me. It wasn’t until I watched the video later that I realized everything that she said. It was a blur. It was a complete blur, an out-of-body experience, like my life flashed before my eyes.”

Country Music has lost a legend. Merle Haggard, who turned 79 today, died Wednesday (April 6th) in California, surrounded by friends and family. The Country Music Hall of Famer had been in failing health for quite some time, diagnosed with double pneumonia in December, which led to the cancellation of several dates, including a two-night stand at the Ryman Auditorium.

Haggard had 40 No. 1 songs, including “Mama Tried,” “Workin’ Man Blues,” “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” and wrote many classics, some of which had been recorded by folks such as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill, who is a lifelong fan of the iconic entertainer.

“I‘ve been a [Merle] Haggard nut my whole life,” says Vince Gill, who along with his pal Paul Franklin released Bakersfield album in 2013 (a collaborative tribute of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens songs). “And I’ve played country music, recorded country music my whole life, and I’ve tried to emulate what I loved about Merle Haggard on a lot of occasions.”

Many of country music’s brightest stars took to Twitter to offer their thoughts:

For Eric Church, he wrote and recorded “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” for his Sinners Like Me album. The song also featured the subject of the song, Mr. Merle Haggard.

Eric Church ‏@ericchurch 
Rest in peace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00IEK9KdWgE …

Alan Jackson ‏@OfficialJackson 
“We lost one of the greatest singer/songwriters since Hank Williams. Inspiration to millions, great American, thank you Merle. I’ll miss you.”

Luke Bryan ‏@LukeBryanOnline 
“A true hero was lost today. Thank you for your contribution to not only country music but all music. @merlehaggard”

Keith Urban ‏@KeithUrban 
“One of the gr8 concert memories I have is seeing Merle and the Strangers at the Ryman in Nashville. We had a ‘live’ album of his when I was growing up and I felt like I’d fallin’ inside my Dad’s stereo speakers. One of my all time favorite voices – and a master songwriter. Blessings to your soulful spirit Merle & all of you family & loved ones.” – KU

Hillary Scott ‏@HillaryScottLA
“You are a cornerstone of country music @merlehaggard…u will be missed greatly. Praying for the Haggard family.”

KACEY MUSGRAVES ‏@KaceyMusgraves 
“I think I’ll just stay here and drink.”

Billy Currington ‏@billycurrington 
“rip @merlehaggard thank you for all the great music u blessed us with. we will play it forever.”

Dierks Bentley ‏@DierksBentley 
“Literally just fell to the floor. can’t believe we lost the hag. rip merle haggard.”

Toby Keith ‏@TobyKeithMusic 
“The greatest singer songwriter of my lifetime is gone. Thanks for the music and friendship. R.I.P. Hag. – T”

GaryAllan ‏@GaryAllan 
“Merle was my all-time hero. Today we lost one of the greatest songwriters of country music and I will always regret not recording with him. He was a legend and I was honored whenever we got the chance to share a stage with him. Thank you for the inspiration, the advice and for always being you. I, as well as the entire music community, will miss you Merle.”

Darius Rucker ‏@dariusrucker
“Heaven’s band just got better! RIP to the LEGENDARY @merlehaggard. Your music will never die!”

Jon Pardi ‏@JonPardi 
“Sad day today @merlehaggard has passed. RIP to a true songwriter, a pioneer of California Country, and country music.”

Kip Moore ‏@KipMooreMusic 
“RIP Merle…you paved the way for so many. You had what we all hope for…a voice that matters and survives the ever changing trends.”

Josh Turner ‏@joshturnermusic  5m5 minutes ago
“Pains me to say that country music icon @merlehaggard has passed away. So honored to have known him and shared the stage with him. Thanks Merle for all you’ve done for us!”

Mickey Guyton ‏@MickeyGuyton 
“RIP Merle Haggard. Heaven’s choir just got a heck of a lot better.”

For David Nail, seeing Merle in concert was a life-changing experience. “The night I saw Merle At the Golden Nugget, it was the single greatest combination of seeing an artist/venue/city together, that I’ve ever witnessed.  It was a spiritual experience.  I looked at my buddy multiple times in disbelief that we were actually there.  I teared up on a few songs.  I knew the greatness I was seeing/hearing.”

George Strait was a huge fan of Merle Haggard’s. He says, “When I was in the Army and stationed at Schofield barracks in Hawaii, you know Merle came there, and he played Conroy Bowl.  And I remember I was playing an NCO club that night, and before my little gig, I got to run over there and I kinda snuck in and saw Merle and it just blew me away. That’s what I wanted to be like, you know, I wanted to be like the Hag. And so, I can’t tell you how big of an influence he was on me, just huge.”

Strait also posted a reaction on his socials: “It’s a very sad day for all of us Hag fans. He was a true icon of the music world and it’s hard to believe we won’t be able to see him anymore. I honestly think that had it not been for him, I would not have chosen the path that I chose.” – G

Mickey Guyton will make a guest appearance on CBS’ The Talk as the Top Talker of the day on April 1st (2pm ET 1pm PT/CT).  Mickey was nominated for her first ACM Award for New Female Vocalist.  She will be attending the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards on April 3rd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

The Texas native who Billboard calls the “best female voice to come along since Carrie Underwood” and NPR touts as the “kind of voice that gives people hope,” will release a new single in May.

In the last year, Mickey has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Essence.  She made her television debut on ABC’s Good Morning Americawhere she performed her powerful debut single “Better Than You Left Me” and was most recently profiled for an in-depth interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning. NPR, Billboard, Rolling Stone and Time Out NY have touted Mickey on Best Of and Who To Watch lists. After wrapping up her first tour on Brad Paisley’s Crushin’ It World Tour last fall, Mickey recorded and released her version of “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” from Disney’s Frozen.

“Better Than You Left Me” is featured on Mickey’s self-titled EP and powerful performances of the single and “Why Baby Why” can be viewed here and here.

Mickey is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on her debut album which will be released later this year.

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Keith Urban performed at a private 40th birthday celebration in L.A. on Saturday (March 19th) for Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon. He teamed up with Taylor Swift on her hit “Shake It Off,” and later accompanied Reese and the rest of the party-goers on a rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” the same title as her 2002 film. Other guests included Jennifer Aniston and her husband, actor Justin Theroux, Matthew McConaughey, Katie Hudson, Courtney Cox, Robert Downey, Jr. and Keith’s wife, Nicole Kidman.

Lady Antebellum, Sam Hunt and Kacey Musgraves will perform during the Windy City LakeShake festival June 17th – 19th in Chicago. Joining them will be Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett and Martina McBride, among others.

Mickey Guyton, Canaan Smith and Lauren Alaina are featured in the new issue of NASH Country Weekly magazine in their Spring Fashion article. They, along with Granger Smith, modeled different looks for spring and talked about their style on and off-stage.

Darius Rucker will host his seventh annual Darius and Friends benefit concert at the Wildhorse Saloon June 6^th (as the unofficial start to the CMA Music Festival). Tickets for the show, with proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, go on sale Thursday (March 24th).

David Nail was in South Carolina over the weekend for the NeedtoBreathe Golf Classic. NeedtoBreathe is a Christian Rock band, who’ve won numerous Gospel Music Awards and topped the Christian charts.

The members of Little Big Town were apparently hanging out with superstar Justin Timberlake, writing songs . He shared a photo on his socials of him with LBT’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman and wrote, “NBD… Just writing with @littlebigtown This band is the truth!! So good!!!!”

Dierks Bentley is among the headliners for the first night of this year’s CMA Music Festival. He’ll be joined by Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert and Rascal Flatts Thursday, June 9th at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.

Keith Urban was recently named CMC International Artist of the Year at the CMC Music Awards in Australia, his fourth win in this category, and also CMC International Video of the Year, his fifth win in this category, for “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Eric Church.

Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley put on a different hat to produce Chuck Wicks on a version of Justin Bieber’s hit, “Love Yourself.” The song is available now on iTunes.

Mickey Guyton will perform during the fifth annual Rising Women on the Row in Nashville April 8th.

Sam Hunt is part of the Carnival Cruise Line’s fall 2016 Carnival LIVE performances, which also includes comedians Chris Tucker and Jim Gaffigan. The “Make You Miss Me” singer will perform on the Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Splendor in Cozumel, Mexico October 19th and 20th.

The final season of American Idol kicked off last week, and not only were the judges – Keith Urban, Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez – were blown away by the immense talent during the first round of auditions, but the rest of the nation, including Mickey Guyton, were as well. In addition to the other contestants, 15-year-old Tristian McIntosh from Nashville, stunned the judges with a piano version of Mickey’s song, “Why Baby Why” and then brought them to tears when her mother, Amy, who is deployed overseas, surprised her during the audition and gave her the golden ticket to send her on to Hollywood.

Mickey first heard of Tristan several months ago when the young girl posted a video of herself singing “Why Baby Why” on Instagram. “I actually heard of Tristan about six months ago when my EP came out while I was on tour with Brad [Paisley], and she posted a video of her singing ‘Why Baby Why.’ I actually posted it on my Instagram, and I was like this girl is really freaking talented, and the fact that she’s 15 is just insane,” says Mickey.  “Once I saw the actual audition, it was just so, so emotional, like I’m still a mess. I can barely talk about it now, because of how special it is…It was a really cool moment for me.”

American Idol airs Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8pm ET on Fox.

Mickey Guyton goes home to Texas for Christmas every year, and the thing that has to be on the dinner table is her mom’s Italian Cream Cake, which is also a staple at Thanksgiving.

“My mom makes this homemade, from scratch, Italian Cream Cake. It’s so freaking good, and every Christmas and every Thanksgiving, she makes this,” says Mickey. “Our families all come to my parents’ house, and we have a big dinner, and that’s the first thing that to go. That’s like the first thing that people eat the most.”

The songstress recently released her version of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” from the smash hit, Frozen. She says it, along with a classic, are her favorite holiday songs.

My favorite Christmas song is ‘O Holy Night,’ but I really love ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman.’ So, both of those are like my all-time favorite.”

Holiday liners from UMG Nashville artists, including Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Gary Allan, George Strait, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Kelleigh Bannen, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Mickey, Sam Hunt, Scotty McCreery and more!

Mickey Guyton is hosting a 12 Days of Christmas with giveaways each day. Fans can enter daily for various gifts from Yankee Candles, Vera Bradley, LSTN headphones and much more.

The Texas native has released a holiday single – “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from the animated film, Frozen.