Easton Corbin is getting ready to head out on the road with The Band Perry, and while he waits to hit the stage, you can usually catch him watching a couple of his favorite television shows, including Gator Boys on Animal Planet. He says while he’ll watch the show, he certainly wouldn’t be caught dead trying to emulate the show’s stars.

“Gator wresting, I watch ‘Gator Boys,” says Easton. “I grew up in the state of Florida, [and] there are a lot of alligators down there, and where I’m at, they’re pretty wild. They won’t bother you, but I am not going up to one and try to wrestle it. I’m gonna leave it alone, believe me. I’ll let them do that, [while] I’ll keep singing.”

Gator Boys features Paul Bedard and Jimmy Riffle, two alligator trappers, who risk injury and death to hand-capture nuisance alligators that have invaded the back yards, swimming pools, garages and bedrooms of Florida Everglades residents.

The show returns with new episodes Sunday (January 5^th) on the Animal Planet at 9pm ET/PT.

Easton will return with new music in the coming weeks!

Easton Corbin (Gator Boys) OC: …to play.
“Gator wresting, yeah, yeah. I watch ‘Gator Boys,” Easton explains. “I grew up in the state of Florida there are a lot of alligators down there and where I’m at, they’re pretty wild. They won’t bother you, but I am not going up to one and try to wrestle it. I’m gonna leave it alone, believe me. I’ll let them do that, I’ll keep singing. I need my fingers and hands to play.”

Scotty McCreery has enjoyed Christmas break from work and school (he’s a communications major at North Carolina State University), and before he headed back to class, he thought it would be a good time to get his pesky wisdom teeth removed. So, on Wednesday (January 2nd), he underwent minor oral surgery to remove his wisdom teeth. Prior to going under, he tweeted, “On the way to the doctor…Hopefully, there aren’t any strange tweets from me, ‘cause I will be out of it.”

When he came out of the anesthesia around 10am ET, the doctor and nurse had a big laugh. They said Scotty told them in a groggy voice, “I needed that little rest…got a big show tomorrow.” However, Scotty doesn’t have a show until next month.

Post-surgery, he typed, “Wheeeeeeew wee…feelin’ good. It’s gonna be a Sports Center and couch day for me. Bring on the yogurt/jello/and most importantly, ice cream.”

Scotty has already received some care packages from fans with soup, Lucky Charms and Advil, which will help him get through the next few days.

The singer will be fully recovered when he returns to classes on Monday (January 7th), and he’ll be back on the road performing in February.

We wish Scotty a speedy recovery.

Kip Moore, who recently topped the country charts with his latest single, “Beer Money,” will not be making any New Year’s resolutions for 2013. It’s not really because the Georgia native doesn’t believe in making and achieving goals, but because he consistently works toward them on a daily basis. “I have never made a New Year’s Resolution. I feel like I am always trying to work on things, and I always set goals for myself,” says Kip. “I have never said on New Year’s that I am going to do this and that. It’s more about if I wake up one day, it might be on the second, where I’m like ‘I wanna fix this, or do this better,’ then I’ll do it.”

Kip took time off for the holidays to spend time with family in Georgia, and has been in Hawaii backpacking and surfing before heading back on the road. His first date back is January 17th in Norfolk, Virginia, and he’ll kick off the Hell On Wheels Tour with Brantley Gilbert January 31st in Independence, Missouri.

AUDIO: Kip Moore says he doesn’t make any New Year’s resolutions.

Kip Moore (No New Year’s resolutions) OC: …plan on starting. :22
“I have never made a New Year’s Resolution. I feel like I am always trying to work on things, and I always set goals for myself. I have never said on New Year’s that I am going to do this and that. It’s more about if I wake up one day, it might be on the second, where I’m like ‘I wanna fix this, or do this better,’ then I’ll do it. But I have never had a New Year’s Resolution, and I don’t plan on starting.”

Dierks Bentley’s video for his latest single, “Tip It On Back,” was shot in Athens, Georgia at the famed Georgia Theatre, a year after re-opening from a devastating fire in 2009. The Arizona native says the venue is one of his favorites. “I played there three times before I sold it out, and my brother went to school down there,” says Dierks. “I’ve always loved that theater, and there’s certain clubs along the way when you’re playing those club dates that when you sell them out, it’s a big deal. Selling out the Georgia Theater is a milestone for any country singer. When it burned down, I’m not from Georgia, but I really love that place and it really affected me.”

Dierks, who is closing in on the Top 10 with “Tip It On Back,” will begin rehearsals soon for his Locked and Reloaded Tour with Miranda Lambert January 17th in Columbia, South Carolina.

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley talks about shooting his “Tip It On Back” video at the famed Georgia Theatre in Athens, Ga.

Dierks Bentley (Tip It On Back video) 3 OC: …shoot it there. :31
“The Georgia Theater’s like one of my favorite venues. I played there three times before I sold it out, and my brother went to school down there. I’ve always loved that theater, and there’s certain clubs along the way when you’re playing those club dates that when you sell them out, it’s a big deal. Selling out the Georgia Theatre is a milestone for any country singer. When it burned down, I’m not from Georgia, but I really love that place and it really affected me. I went down there and visited and just the walls were standing. When it came time to make this video, we knew we wanted to shoot it somewhere kind of college-y, and really just Athens [Georgia] and knowing that place was back open again, I wanted to shoot it there.”

Kelleigh Bannen sure knows how to mix up a delicious cocktail. For New Year’s Day, she has whipped up the perfect hangover cure — a bloody mary.  She gives you step-by-step instructions on how to make your own, especially if you imbibed a little too much on New Year’s Eve!

Keith Urban has compiled a playlist of his favorite songs of 2012 on his website, keithurban.net.

Hi everybody. What a phenominal year this has been. As we come to the end of 2012 and the new year is yet to explode open..AND IT WILL!!..I thought I’d attempt to single out some songs that I really loved this year for all kinds of reasons! Impossible to narrow it down to 12 without leaving out equally great songs for 2012….BUT in no specific order, here we go!! 12 songs that lodged in my head and inspired me this year!!

• Springsteen (Eric Church)
• Somebody That I Used To Know (Goyte)
• Dirt Road Anthem (Jason Aldean)
• Pontoon (Little Big Town)
• Wide Awake (Katy Perry)
• I Love It (Icona Pop)
• Fastest Girl (Miranda Lambert)
• Cruise (Florida Georgia Line)
• I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor Swift)
• Titanium (David Guetta feat Sia)
• Doom and Gloom (Rolling Stones)
• Brother (Matt Corby)

Wishing everybody a magical and safe New Years Eve…..and here’s to “THE YEAR TO BEAT ALL YEARS…. 2013”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Peace, love and forgiveness to each and everyone of you. -Keith.

If you want to listen to his playlist on Spotify, go to http://open.spotify.com/user/keithurban/playlist/3p9yi89Ktc1F3mO7VJjo8G.

Eric Church’s Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour stop at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom on March 14th (2012), made the New York Times list of “The Best Concerts of 2012, as Seen by Times Critics.”

“A mean show, as these things go. Mr. Church has clawed his way into the country mainstream with a series of post-outlaw anthems, and he delivered them with verve and tension, as if he might not be allowed to for much longer,” according to the Times critic, Jon Pareles.

Eric is the only country artist on the list, which also includes The Rolling Stones, Mary J. Blige, Nicki Minaj, Radiohead, Jay-Z, Neil Young and Crazy Horse and Mumford & Sons.

Darius Rucker is nominated for a CMA Award for Music Event of the Year with the legendary Lionel Richie for their duet on “Stuck on You” from his hit duets album, Tuskegee. It’s Lionel’s first-ever CMA nomination.

“I am thrilled to receive my first nomination from the CMA. I am so grateful to the country music community for embracing this project and making me feel so at home,” Richie said in a statement following the nominations announcement. “To share this nomination with my friend Darius Rucker makes it even more special. I have a CMA nomination and a friend for life. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Darius picked up his first CMA Award for New Artist of the Year in 2009. Check out the video below beginning at 4:56.

AUDIO: Darius Rucker talks about what it was like to record with his idol, Lionel Richie.

Darius Rucker (recording with Lionel Richie) OC: …he’s funny. :58“I
remember it like it was yesterday. We walked into the studio and, you know, I’d met Lionel once years ago, but it was like a one thing at a bar where we just said hey and never really talked. And so, you know, here we are, meeting one of my idols, one of the guys who I’m, why I’m sitting here, Lionel Richie…He was funny, great, telling stories. I’m a songwriter and I meet Lionel Richie, and within the first 10 minutes he asked me if I was working a lot. I was like ‘Yeah, I think I’m gonna play 210 dates this year or something.’ He’s like, ‘That reminds me of when I was in The Commodores.’ I was like, ‘Really?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, somebody brought me this 365 page book once, and it was every day of the next year for The Commodores.’ And he said, ‘You know what I did?’ And I said, ‘What?’ And he said, ‘I sat down and wrote ‘why in the world would anybody put chains on me/I paid my dues to make it/everybody wants me to be/what they want me to be.’ I realize he’s sitting there telling me the story of how he wrote ‘Easy.’ You know? And I’m like, I’m freaking out. As a songwriter I’m like, ‘Wow, this guy’s just sitting here telling me the story.’ And that’s what every time I’m with him, that’s what it’s like. He’s awesome, he’s fun, he’s funny. “

AUDIO: Darius Rucker says he was blown away by Lionel Richie’s graciousness when it came to recording their duet, “Stuck on You.”

Darius Rucker (Stuck on You) 1 OC: …was awesome. :29“H
“He said something that blew me away, most guys that do duets records, they’re doing it for themselves, and the guy who’s with him is just coming on because of your name and they want you on there and they’re gonna tell you what to sing and you do it. Lionel Richie, the first thing he said to me was, ‘So man, what part you wanna do?’ And I thought that was unbelievable. I thought, he’s asking me what I, you know. I thought I was gonna come in here and [producer] Tony Brown was gonna tell me, ‘Sing this note,’ and I was gonna say, ‘Yes sir, Mr. Brown.’ You know? But it didn’t-he came and asked me what I wanted to do. I thought that was awesome.”

AUDIO: Darius Rucker reveals what he told Lionel Richie when asked what part he wanted to sing on “Stuck on You” for the legendary performer’s duets album, Tuskegee.

Darius Rucker (Stuck on You) 2 OC: …what I do.” :10
“I wanna do your part (laughs). That’s what I told him, I’m doing your part. That’s the only part I know, I’m doing your part. I’m a lead singer man. That’s what I do.”             

Keith Urban loves that American Idol creates superstars and has the power to influence the music industry. Find out what he loves most about being an American Idol judge in the video below.