• KEITH URBAN WELCOMES CBS SUNDAY MORNING TO HIS TOUR REHEARSALS.

    Keith Urban welcomed the cameras from CBS Sunday Morning to rehearsals for his upcoming Ripcord World Tour 2016 in Nashville. Keith talked about performing live on stage, writing and recording his new album, Ripcord, his father and much more. His wife, Nicole Kidman, dropped in and chatted about his songwriting.

    “He will have worked all day and he’ll come home and go, ‘I haven’t got the song,’ and then suddenly the song will come together,” she said. “And he’ll be writing, and music is so much a part of our family now. The great thing about being artists and being — I’m an actor, and he’s a musician/songwriter –”

    “I was aware of that,” reporter John Blackstone said.

    “A lot of people may not be!” she laughed, then continued, “– that you have an innate understanding of what it takes to do the work, especially if you want it to be authentic and true.”

    Keith’s new album Ripcord is now available. It features two No. 1 singles — “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and “Break On Me,” as well as his latest smash hit, “Wasted Time.”

    Video / Keith Urban on CBS This Morning

  • KEITH URBAN AND JIMMY FALLON FORM DUO, TITLED FML.

    Keith Urban appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday night (May 6th) – the same day his new album, Ripcord, was released. He joined Fallon for a funny segment, taking posts from the website, FMyLife.com, and turning them into a country song. Folks posting on the site tag it with “FML,” which Fallon says is also the name of his duo with Keith.

    Video / Keith Urban and Jimmy Fallon FML

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    Video / Keith Urban performs Wasted Time on Tonight Show.

  • KEITH URBAN’S WIFE NICOLE KIDMAN JAMS TO HIS LATEST SINGLE, ‘WASTED TIME.’

    Keith Urban‘s fans aren’t the only ones jamming out to his new album, Ripcord. His wife Nicole Kidman posted a video of herself getting glammed for a role in the television series Big Little Lies and singing along to her husband’s current single, “Wasted Time.”

    She wrote — “Getting ready to shoot Big Little Lies, jamming to my man listening to Wasted Time. Congrats on ‪#‎RIPCORD‬ baby!”

    Keith responded by sharing his wife’s post and saying, “Don’t u just love Celeste’s taste in music ?!! (thx babygirlxx) ‪#‎biglittlelies‬‪#‎RIPCORD‬

    He referenced her role as Celeste Wright in the upcoming television series, Big Little Lies, which also features Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood, Battleship), Reese Witherspoon (Wild, Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde) and Laura Dern (Wild, Jurassic Park).

    “Wasted Time” is the third and latest single from Keith’s new album, Ripcord, and the follow-up to his previous two No. 1 hits, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and “Break on Me.”

    Video / Nicole Kidman singing along to Wasted Time

  • KEITH URBAN OFFERS A ‘RIPCORD’ FOR ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL.

    Keith Urban just released his new album, Ripcord, and he has joined with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by allowing Keith fans and radio listeners the opportunity to purchase a copy of his new album, Ripcord, for themselves AND a patient at St. Jude. Each purchase is for two albums for $15.

    Keith Urban, Ripcord Track List:

    1. “Gone Tomorrow, Here Today” (Written by Jeff Bhasker, Samuel Tyler Johnson and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson and Keith Urban)
      2. “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (Written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      3. “Wasted Time” (Written by Greg Wells, J. Hart and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Greg Wells and Keith Urban)
      4. “Habit of You” (Written by K-Kov and Jackson Morgan/Co-produced by K-Kov and Keith Urban)
      5. “Sun Don’t Let Me Down” (Written by Nile Rodgers, busbee, Armando Christian Perez and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Nile Rodgers, busbee and Keith Urban)
      6. “Gettin’ in the Way” (Written by Emily Weisband, Jordan Reynolds and David Hodges/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      7. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (Written by Steven Lee Olsen, Hillary Lindsey and Clint Lagerberg/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      8. “The Fighter” (Written by busbee and Keith Urban/Co-produced by busbee and Keith Urban)
      9. “Break on Me” (Written by Jon Nite and Ross Copperman/Co-Produced by Nathan Chapman and Keith Urban)
      10. “Boy Gets a Truck” (Written by Ash Bowers, Aaron Sherz/co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      11. “Your Body” (Written by busbee and Keith Urban/Co-produced by busbee and Keith Urban)
      12. “That Could Still Be Us” (Written by Jason Duke, Jesse Lee and Jonathan Price/Co-Produced by Jonny Price and Keith Urban)
      13. “Worry ‘Bout Nothin’” (Written by Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson and Josh Kear/Co-Produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)Keith has supported St. Jude for nearly 20 years with sales of his annual calendar going to the Children’s Hospital.

    Use the link below to get two copies for only $15 — one for yourself and one that will be sent to a family at St Jude on your behalf.

    https://gumroad.com/l/SDMf

    Video /

  • ERIC PASLAY SHOWS OFF HIS DANCING SKILLS HE LEARNED IN SCHOOL.

    Eric Paslay has been showing off his dancing skills on stage and in the video for his latest single “High Class,” and for some fans, it’s the first time they’ve seen the 6’6” performer let loose. However, he is used to “shaking” it from his days of being in theater in school.

    “Honestly, kind of the way I dance is from mixtures of between being in theater from like the ‘Grease Lightning’ (from Grease) moves to moonwalking on stage as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, you know, to all kinds of just random things,” says the Texas native. “Honestly, all those random moves [laughs] have come together and I’m lanky. I just move how my body goes, have fun with it.”

    “High Class” is the first release from Eric’s forthcoming album, Dressed in Black, due out later this year.

    Eric is hitting the road with Toby Keith on the Interstates and Tailgates Tour July 8th in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

    Audio / Eric Paslay explains how he learned those cool dance moves he uses on stage and in the video for his latest single, “High Class.”

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    Eric Paslay (dancing in school) OC: …a little better too. :37
    “Honestly, kind of the way I dance is from mixtures of between being in theater from like the ‘Grease Lightning’ moves to moonwalking on stage as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, you know, to all kinds of just random things. Honestly, all those random moves [laughs] have come together and I’m lanky. I just move how my body goes, have fun with it. The honest thing about dancing is I just believe you’re having fun – just gotta have fun, cut loose and shake it where the music takes you. I mean, that’s what my lanky legs do for me, I guess, and my pretty wife. She helps me dance a little better too.”

    Video / Eric Paslay High Class video

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Keith, Chris, Kacey, Vince, David, Church, Lady A, Kip and more

    Don’t forget to catch Keith Urban perform on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (11:35p ET) on Friday (May 6th), the day his new album, Ripcord, is released. Keith will also be profiled on CBS Sunday Morning this Sunday (May 8th).

    Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson are set to headline the 15th Annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, taking place over two consecutive weekends – September 30th – October 2nd and October 7th – 9th – at Austin’s Zilker Park.

    Vince Gill and David Nail are among the artists taking part in the 26th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game during this year’s CMA Music Festival. The players will put on their gloves June 7th at 3pm and play against each other at the new First Tennessee Park in Nashville. Tickets for the game are available at Ticketmaster. More names will be announced in the coming weeks. Proceeds will benefit City of Hope’s mission to eradicate cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

    This year’s Faster Horses Festival will feature performances from Eric Church, Lady Antebellum and Jason Aldean on the main stage. The lineup for the second stage includes Kelleigh Bannen, Haley Georgia, Aubrie Sellers, LanCo, Mo Pitney and many others. The festival is taking place July 15th – 17th in Brooklyn, Michigan.

    It seems Kip Moore may have gone back into the studio following his European trek to lay down some cool lyrics and funky beats. Check out his Instagram video below. In the meantime, he’s making his way up the country charts with his latest hit, “Running for You.” Kip is set to go on the road on Miranda Lambert’s Keeper of the Flame 2016 Tour, along with Brothers Osborne, in just a couple of weeks.

    Video / Kip Instagram video in the studio

    Gettin funky with the slowhearts

    A video posted by kipmooremusic (@kipmooremusic) on

  • KEITH URBAN IS READY TO PULL THE ‘RIPCORD’ AND LET FANS SOAR WITH NEW MUSIC.

    Keith Urban releases his new record, Ripcord, the follow-up to his 2013 album Fuse, tomorrow (Friday, May 6th). The collection features special guests Carrie Underwood, Pitbull and Nile Rodgers and a who’s who of creative writers and producers.

    “This album’s journey began back in January, 2015 and took me to a lot of unexplored people and places,” Keith has said. “The end result was the recording and exploring of more songs than I’ve ever done before and carving that down to what I felt constituted Ripcord.”

    They include new collaborations with Jeff Bhasker, busbee, Greg Wells and Nile Rodgers, as well as those who Keith has worked with before on his previous No. 1 album Fuse, including Shane McAnally, Ross Cooperman, Dann Huff and Nathan Chapman.

    Keith has said when he first started working on his new album, he thought it was going to be a continuation of Fuse. However, that all changed once he started recording last January (2015).

    “I went into the studio and recorded two songs, and I heard them. We recorded them and I lived with them for about a week, and every time I listened to them, I thought ‘Why aren’t I satisfied with these songs?’ The songs sounded like they would have been on Fuse, and I thought that’s what I was wanting,” says Keith. “So it’s interesting, even the thing in my head that I think I want, being in that setting, suddenly there’s something else. No, this is not what you want, you want something else. Just go back into the forest where there’s no road and just go. Have the faith and go and go for it.”

    Keith’s eighth studio album has already produced two No. 1 hits – “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and his 20th No. 1 song, “Break On Me.” He also has a third hit on the way with “Wasted Time.”

    To celebrate, the Grand Ole Opry member will play a FREE outdoor lunchtime show in Nashville on the plaza at the Bridgestone Arena (home of the Nashville Predators) on Monday (May 9th). He also has performed a show last night in New York City and will put on another show in Los Angeles on Tuesday (May 10th).

    Keith will definitely be playing several songs from his new album when he launches his ripCORD World Tour 2016 June 2nd in Kansas City, Missouri. He’s going to take Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris along for the ride.

    Keith Urban, Ripcord Track List:

    1. “Gone Tomorrow, Here Today” (Written by Jeff Bhasker, Samuel Tyler Johnson and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson and Keith Urban)
      2. “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (Written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      3. “Wasted Time” (Written by Greg Wells, J. Hart and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Greg Wells and Keith Urban)
      4. “Habit of You” (Written by K-Kov and Jackson Morgan/Co-produced by K-Kov and Keith Urban)
      5. “Sun Don’t Let Me Down” (Written by Nile Rodgers, busbee, Armando Christian Perez and Keith Urban/Co-produced by Nile Rodgers, busbee and Keith Urban)
      6. “Gettin’ in the Way” (Written by Emily Weisband, Jordan Reynolds and David Hodges/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      7. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (Written by Steven Lee Olsen, Hillary Lindsey and Clint Lagerberg/Co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      8. “The Fighter” (Written by busbee and Keith Urban/Co-produced by busbee and Keith Urban)
      9. “Break on Me” (Written by Jon Nite and Ross Copperman/Co-Produced by Nathan Chapman and Keith Urban)
      10. “Boy Gets a Truck” (Written by Ash Bowers, Aaron Sherz/co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)
      11. “Your Body” (Written by busbee and Keith Urban/Co-produced by busbee and Keith Urban)
      12. “That Could Still Be Us” (Written by Jason Duke, Jesse Lee and Jonathan Price/Co-Produced by Jonny Price and Keith Urban)
      13. “Worry ‘Bout Nothin’” (Written by Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson and Josh Kear/Co-Produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban)

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about changing the direction of his new album, Ripcord.

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    Keith Urban (change of course on Ripcord) OC: …you gotta go. 1:04
    “I think of that probably in terms of when I recorded in January. I went into the studio and recorded two songs and I heard them. We recorded them and I lived with them for about a week, and every time I listened to them, I thought ‘Why aren’t I satisfied with these songs?’ The songs sounded like they would have been on Fuse, and I thought that’s what I was wanting. So it’s interesting, even the thing in my head that I think I want, being in that setting suddenly there’s something else. No, this is not what you want, you want something else. Just go back into the forest where there’s no road and just go. Have the faith and go and go for it. And part of me was like ‘Ah, not again!’ Like making Fuse was so arduous and complicated and such a process and I would have given anything to just go into a studio with one producer and record thirteen songs and be done. That would have been just bliss for me.  And I could have done that, but I would have so been so denying the inner voice that was saying to just go where you gotta go.“

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about the title of his new album, Ripcord.

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    Keith Urban (Ripcord title) OC: …the tour. :32
    “The name Ripcord comes from a play that’s opening in New York soon. But the image of a ripcord, I like it. I like the sound of the word. I like the energy that it denotes, but metaphorically I also love that it’s a thing that you grab to save your life, and that’s a really beautiful thing. And I was thinking about the various things in my life that I reach for, like family, faith, music, all manner of things. So, Ripcord took on a whole new meaning, but it really, for me, fits the music. It definitely fits the tour.”

    Video / Keith Urban Wasted Time video

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  • LUKE BRYAN TAKES CARE OF HIMSELF ON THE ROAD.

    Luke Bryan has certainly upped his game from when he was playing bars and clubs in his early days to now where he’s selling out arenas and stadiums. The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year says when his first album was released, he didn’t know the proper way to take care of himself before and during a tour.

    “I didn’t even know how to get myself necessarily ready for five shows in a row or take care of myself and even exercise properly or eat right to even feel healthy enough to get out there and work my tail off,” says Luke. “When you’re out there opening for years, you know, you’re doing 20 minutes. You’re doing 40 minutes. And NOW, I do four or five shows in a row and I’m doing almost two hours, and it’s a different animal. So, just learning how to do all that and learning what it takes. I mean, I’ve even learned on what time of the day is probably the best to work out, take care of my voice and be ready to sing.”

    The next stop on Luke’s Kill the Lights Tour, featuring Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch, is May 12th in Omaha, Nebraska.

    Catch Luke and R&B star Jason Derulo on CMT Crossroads May 21st at 10pm ET. The two will trade vocals on each other’s songs during the show.

    Luke is up for Top Country Artist and Top Country Album for Kick the Dust Up, which has spawned three No. 1 songs, at this year’s Billboard Music Awards. The show will air live from Las Vegas May 22nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Luke Bryan explains what he’s learned as a performer from his debut album to now.

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    Luke Bryan (evolution as a performer) OC: …good feeling. :60
    “From first album to now is, you know, back then, I didn’t even know how to get myself necessarily ready for five shows in a row or take care of myself and even exercise properly or eat right to even feel healthy enough to get out there and work my tail off. When you’re out there opening for years, you know, you’re doing 20 minutes. You’re doing 40 minutes. And NOW, I do four or five shows in a row and I’m doing almost two hours, and it’s a different animal. So, just learning how to do all that and learning what it takes. I mean I’ve even learned on what time of the day is probably the best to work out, take care of my voice and be ready to sing. The only time when I get depressed in this business or down is when I can’t sing and do my job like I want to. As long as I can get up there and sing like I feel like that people deserve, and I gave them my best, and that’s a good feeling.”

  • LUKE BRYAN AND JASON DERULO HAVE A DATE…FOR THEIR CMT CROSSROADS EPISODE.

    Luke Bryan, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, will be joined by R-&-B star Jason Derulo, for the latest installment of CMT Crossroads premiering May 21st.

    While the two actually had a viral smash hit on Jason’s “Want to Want Me” because of the Sing! App, the two never performed together onstage…until now.

    The pair sang and danced their way through a number of Luke hits, such as “That’s My Kinda Night,” “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “Strip It Down” and “Move,” as well as Jason’s “Want to Want Me,” “Talk Dirty to Me,” “Trumpets” and his new single “If It Ain’t Love.”

    The CMT Crossroads episode featuring Luke and Jason will air May 21st at 10pm ET on CMT.

  • MOTHER’S DAY 2016: Charles, Clare, Darius, Dierks, Church, Paslay, Jon, Kacey, Lauren, LBT

    Audio / Clare Dunn talks about the support and undying devotion her mom has for her and her sister.

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    Clare Dunn (Mother’s Day) OC: …in the world. :41
    “She is unrelenting in her love and her support, and even when we’re crazy kids and we screw up, it doesn’t matter. Her love knows no bounds. And her undying devotion to her kids – to my sister and I – always believing in us a million percent, always backing us up a million percent and helping us navigate life and navigate our dreams and helping us go towards that goal – those are some of the qualities that I hope to have some day as a mother, you know? And I’m so grateful I have THE best mom in the WORLD!”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about not disappointing his beloved mother, who passed away a few years ago.

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    Darius Rucker (Mother’s Day) OC: …killed me. :17

    “I think that’s the main reason I am how I am…an innate fear of disappointing my mom.  My mom’s not even alive, and I have a fear of her looking down from heaven and going, ‘Man I’m just disappointed in my son.’ She could have said anything in the world to me, but if she would have said, ‘Son, you just disappointed me,’ That would have killed me. It would have killed me.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker recalls one of his favorite memories of his mother.

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    Darius Rucker (favorite memory of his mother) OC: …my Mom’s song. :34
    “Oh goodness! A lot of great memories of her, but probably one of my favorite memories, I was a young kid, probably eight or nine, and she was in the kitchen cooking and listening to the gospel station and Shirley Caesar’s ‘No Charge’ came on and she was singing ‘No Charge.’ I just remember I ran into our living room which was adjoined to our kitchen and I just sat there and I just listened to her sing that song, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow! What an amazing voice.’ That’s just always a memory I’ve always had, and that song still to this day when I hear it just moves me because that was my mom’s song.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about Mother’s Day in regards to his wife, Cassidy.

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    Dierks (Mother’s Day) OC: …for sure. :20
    “When it’s your actual mom, you know, there’s some slack there, but when with your wife – any touring husband, anyone who tours who has kids and a wife back home, it’s tough man. It’s a lot of work. So, I definitely need to step up to think of something great to do this Sunday, for sure.”

    Audio / Eric Church says he’s learned quite a bit from his mom.

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    Eric Church (Mother’s Day) OC: …as a man. :57
    “My mom, even though my dad won’t like this, my mom is by far the toughest person that I’ve met. She’s tough. One of those people that’s been through a lot in her life, adversity wise and never complains, always really resilient with anything that’s happened to her. And it’s just that attitude, the positive attitude, regardless of what has happened that I think is the one thing that I got from her. With career, she’s always been a person that’s been really positive through times that I couldn’t find a positive streak, [laughs] and she was always really positive, and very much believes in tough it out, keep working hard, and that’s her motto with stuff like that. I’ve always been impressed with that stuff. Then musically, she’s where I get my talent from, musically. She sings great, always has, her mom sang great. I owe my musical chops to her. And she still sings some. So, career-wise, I owe her everything. And just in life-wise she’s given me a lot of the qualities that it has taken for me to get me where I am. Not only as a musician, but as a man.”

    Audio / Eric Paslay talks about his mother, Donna.

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    Eric Paslay (Mother’s Day) OC: …it’s good. :21
    “I wanna thank my mom for giving me faith, laughter and pride in the family I came from. She’d be the fun Mom, just goofing off in the sprinklers outside or we’d go out and play in the rain and all that stuff growing up. She’s always good to be around; always happy, and it’s good.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi says his mother, Shelly, is an angel.

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    Jon Pardi (Mother’s Day 2015) OC: …worrying about me. :29
    “My mom’s always been there for me. First of all, she’s a great mom. She’s an angel. She takes care of people that aren’t even in the family. She’s always been like that, and she’s a great mother. She’s always proud, and she’s always there supporting and being a great mom. She’s just a good human being. There’s not one mean bone in her body. And she cries about every time I talk to her. She always worries about me. I have to tell her, ‘Stop worrying about me.’”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves comes from a very creative family, and here she talks about the women in her immediate family and their talents.

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    Kacey Musgraves (creative women) OC: …taking pictures. :16
    “My mom’s an artist – all different kinds of mediums, paint, but she’s always working on something different. My Meemaw, she’s a soap maker. She makes soap and they’re beautiful and they smell really good and they’re all natural. My sister has an etsy store, and she’s constantly creating something, sewing pillows and taking pictures.”

    Audio / With Mother’s Day on Sunday, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley explains he and his brothers – Josh and John -- owe their mother a lot for all of their childhood antics.

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    Charles Kelley (Mother) OC: …playing music. :23
    “We were honestly, at times, pretty hard to handle, both of us. We used to play our music loud up above on the second floor [of the house], bang on the drums and the guitar. And my mom’s just one of those people, she’ll do anything for her family and she sacrificed a lot for us boys. Anytime we needed something, she made it happen. And so, we owe her a lot. She’s definitely the reason we’re playing music.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina says she can count on her mom for just about everything.

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    Lauren Alaina (Mom) OC: …same for her. :19
    “I honestly would not be able to do it without my mom. I get overwhelmed sometimes, and if she wasn’t there to comfort me or tell me, ‘Look just realize what you’ve got going for you,’ I’d be up the creek [without a paddle]. She’s got my back. My mom would walk through a fire pit for me, and I’d do the same for her.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says she always dreamed of being a mother…and her dream came true nearly nine years ago when she gave birth to daughter, Daisy (July 27, 2007).

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    LBT (Mother’s Day) OC: …for my mother. :34
    “Being a mother is a life-long dream for me. When I was a kid, that’s what I wanted to be is a mama. It took a long time. I wasn’t ever sure that I would be, but I am now, and it’s the greatest gift of my life. And as I’m a mother now, I see what my mother gave up and her sacrifices and her love and how she made us the most important thing in her life, and that’s what I strive to do for my little girl. It’s the most important job I have, and it’s the most responsibility that I have, and I try to live up to a great example that I had for my mother.”