Darius Rucker took a moment to be a fan during Friday night’s date at the Grand Ole Opry. He tweeted a photo of himself with country legend Charley Pride after meeting the singer backstage. He posted the photo (see below) and wrote: “I met the legendary Charley Pride last night at the @opry Wow. What an honor!”

The 2012 Teen Choice Awards will be handed out on Sunday (July 22nd), and Luke Bryan is in the running for Choice Male Country Artist. He says he’s flattered he’s nominated because teens have such a wide range of musical choices. “They’re listening to all kinds of music. So, when you’re able to grab a slot into their iPod and they nominate you, it’s pretty cool stuff,” says Luke. “And they’ll grow up 10 years from now, hopefully, still be fans.” 

Lady Antebellum is also up for a pair of awards, including Overall Choice Music Group and Choice Country Group.  

The Teen Choice Awards will air live on Fox on Sundayat 8pm ET/PT. 

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about being nominated for a Teen Choice Award.  

Luke Bryan (Teen Choice Awards) OC: …be fans. :26

“As long as you’re popping and you’re hip and young, and you’re making them pay attention, I think that’s very flattering, because they’re listening to all kinds of music. So, when you’re able to grab a slot into their iPod and they nominate you, it’s pretty cool stuff. So, we love anytime we get the Teen Choice nominations, and yeah, we’re glad of it. And they’ll grow up 10 years from now, hopefully, still be fans.”

Dierks Bentley’s fans are having as much fun as the “po-po” will allow with the singer’s latest hit, “5-1-5-0.” However, a few of the reactions from the audience have Dierks quite puzzled. “People are doing the hand signals 5-1-5-0 and, you know, people wearing the t-shirts,” says Dierks. “I keep on getting handcuffs thrown up on stage — I’m not really sure how that ties into the song — but I got a pair of like handcuffs tossed up the other night that had like little pink feathers wrapped around them.” The song is currently poised to climb to No. 1 on the country singles charts. 

Dierks was just announced as a performer during the upcoming ABC special, CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock. The three-hour special is scheduled to air September 17th on ABC. 

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley’s latest hit, “5-1-5-0,” is inspiring a lot of fan reaction…but a couple responses are quite puzzling to the singer. 

Dierks (5150 reaction) OC: …possibly can. :29

“People are doing the hand signals 5-1-5-0 and, you know, people wearing the t-shirts. I keep on getting handcuffs thrown up on stage — I’m not really sure how that ties into the song — but I got a pair of like handcuffs tossed up the other night that had like little like pink feathers wrapped around them, I don’t know, the guys found something fun to do with them. The guys in my band are always, I don’t know, that story…yeah. It’s funny. They’ve been great, the song’s definitely taken a life of its own and that’s what you want. You want people to hear it and just, you know, bring as much out of it as they possibly can.”

NASHVILLE TN (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)– Grammy-nominated country group Little Big Town will release their fifth studio album entitled Tornado September 11, 2012.  The album was recorded in Nashville with producer Jay Joyce (Wallflowers, Eric Church) and features the band’s hit single “Pontoon.” 

“I am so excited for people to hear this new record,” said Jimi Westbrook. “We worked with Jay Joyce and he really pushed us to be in the moment. There was such an amazing energy between all of us in the studio and I think you can feel it.” 

The album’s lead single “Pontoon” was released to radio in April and is currently Top 15 on Billboard’s country radio chart.  This has been Little Big Town’s fasting rising single to date. “Pontoon” is #1 on the Soundscan Digital Country chart for the second week in a row and has sold over 520,000 tracks in only eight weeks. The official music video has been viewed over 1.7 million times. 

TRACK LISTING/WRITERS:

1. Pavement Ends    *Jason Saenz/Brent Cobb

2. Pontoon               *Barry Dean/Natalie Hemby/Luke Laird

3. Sober                   *Liz Rose/Hillary Lindsey/Lori McKenna

4. Front Porch Thing      *Chris Stapleton/Adam Hood

5. On Your Side Of The Bed   *Lori McKenna/K.Fairchild/J.Westbrook/ K.Schlapman/P.Sweet                 

6. Leavin’ In Your Eyes       *Brett Warren/Brad Warren/Jay Joyce/J.Westbrook/K.Fairchild/ K.Schlapman

7. Tornado                      *Natalie Hemby/Delta Made

8. On Fire Tonight              *Luke Laird/P.Sweet/J.Westbrook/K.Fairchild/K.Schlapman

9. Can’t Go Back               *Natalie Hemby/Kate York/Rosi Golan

10. Self Made                 *Natalie Hemby/Jedd Hughes/J.Westbrook/K.Fairchild

11. Night Owl               *Natalie Hemby/J.Westbrook/K.Fairchild/K.Schlapman/P.Sweet

For current tour dates, news and information on the new album please check out the bands brand new website at www.littlebigtown.com launched today!

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman reveals the group used their road band to play on their new album, Tornado. 

LBT (new album) OC: …and calculate. :42

“What I love this time is we used our road band. You know, Nashville has the most incredible musicians in the world, but this time we decided to use the guys that travel with us on all our shows, and it gave it such a fresh spirit. Everybody was just out there having fun and just putting out the very, very best that they had, and it was so creative. We rehearsed with them for four days – long hours – and then we cut for the next three in a row. And then of course, we did a little bit of work afterwards. But for those seven days, we worked our little tails off, and had so much fun, and I think you can hear the spontaniety and the energy and the freshness in the music. There wasn’t a lot of time to think and calculate.”

Dierks Bentley had the time of his life on the video shoot for his hit, “5-1-5-0.” The clip was shot just outside Savannah, Georgia in a mud-bogging pit, and while it wasn’t exactly a clean time, Dierks was able to “multi-task” during the making of the video. “I’m usually on the road and I have a truck and I have a four-wheeler and I don’t get to use it that often, so [it was a] chance to put the truck on the back of the bus and take it down there and just hang out with these people all day long and play music,” says the singer. “At the end I, you know, wanted to give my truck a shot at going through this big mud pit…they said I couldn’t do it and I gave it a shot, but halfway through I got stuck, so they had to come in and tow me out.” 

Check out the behind-the-scenes clip of the video, as well as the official music video in its entirety below.

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley talks about the crazy video shoot for his latest smash, “5-1-5-0.” 

Dierks (5150 video) OC: …in the mud. :44

“The song’s about — 5-1-5-0 — as you know by now, hopefully, is the police code for a crazy person. If you watch some of these mud-bogging things in real life or on YouTube, it’s just these people are having the time of their lives. So, we down and checked one out in Georgia just outside Savannah. For me, it’s just a good way to multitask because I’m usually on the road and I have a truck and I have a four-wheeler and I don’t get to use it that often, so the chance to put the truck on the back of its bus and take it down there and just hang out with these people all day long and play music. It was the most fun video shoot I’ve ever done. It didn’t even feel like we were even doing a video shoot. I mean they were singing along as loud as they could. It’s definitely the most fun shoot we’ve ever done. And at the end I, you know, wanted to give my truck a shot at going through this big mud pit…they said I couldn’t do it and I gave it a shot, but halfway through I got stuck, so they had to come in and tow me out. While they were towing me out, we jumped in the mud.”

Keith Urban takes over the cover of the August/September issue of Australia’s GQ magazine, which hits newsstands overseas on July 23rd.

On his marriage to Nicole Kidman: “Negativity and doubt are always creeping into my life and having to be kept at bay. Thankfully, Nic is great at calling me on it, and our marriage is at the stage where she doesn’t have to say anything. I hear myself prattling on with negative crap and her loaded silence shuts me up.”

On mentoring on Australia’s The Voice: “The best thing about it has been the chance for people in Australia to get to know me. My music doesn’t really get played here despite it having a lot of appeal elsewhere, so I’ve found myself without an outlet for my songs because of various narrow stereotypes and perceptions about me. That’s been a challenge. But The Voice has offered me an opportunity to connect in a different way and I hope now people check out the gigs because that’s the real show for me… and it ain’t played on a planet of 10-gallon hats.”

On being famous and being a father: “We try to keep a sense of privacy around us, while acknowledging that Nic and I both inhabit very public professions. Being a husband and a father is a horrendous responsibility but it’s a beautiful opportunity as well. I’m always balancing the need to encourage the girls’ freedom and not impose on their own journey with that primal need of the father and husband to protect and guide them every step of the way.”

On the future: “The creative flow is taking me down a new path, past the excruciating blankness of the empty page, to somewhere fresh where singing songs and playing guitar is fun – pure and simple.”

GRAMMY winning country trio Lady Antebellum took a break from the European leg of their headlining OWN THE NIGHT 2012 WORLD TOUR on Saturday to open for music icon Bruce Springsteen in London’s Hyde Park. The trio continues their run of European dates this week with another show in London tonight followed by stops in Birmingham, UK (7/17), Zurich, Switzerland (7/19), Frankfurt, Germany (7/20) and Munich and Germany (7/21). For a full list of  upcoming tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

Dierks Bentley is sitting at No. 2 on the country charts with his latest hit, “5-1-5-0,” and you can thank Van Halen for the idea behind the song. “I was at a birthday party, a 13-year-old birthday party, for this friend of mine, and he had an electric guitar and I didn’t have an electric guitar…Went back to his room and used power cords and listened to Van Halen,” recalls Dierks. “I just immediately dropped everything, and he let me borrow one of his Hondo guitars and Cray amplifier and that’s all I really listened to for a while was that stuff. And they had an album called 51-50 and the album cover, or at least the t-shirts and stuff were all the guys in strait-jackets, and I kind of dug around and found out that was a police code for ‘crazy person.’” 

Dierks has been tapped to perform at the second annual Johnny Cash Music Festival in Jonesboro, Arkansas October 5th. Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash and The Civil Wars are also scheduled to perform.

Dierks is set to take his “crazy train” to Davenport, Iowa on July 20th. 

AUDIO: Dierks Bentley talks about learning about the code “5-1-5-0,” and then writing his latest hit. 

Dierks (5-1-5-0) OC: …blown up. 1:09

“I was at a birthday party, a 13-year-old birthday party, for this friend of mine and he had an electric guitar and I didn’t have an electric guitar. Music had always been something I had kind of listened to and had never really participated in. Went back to his room and used power cords and listened to Van Halen. I just immediately dropped everything, and he let me borrow one of his Hondo guitars and Cray amplifier and that’s all I really listened to for a while was that stuff. And they had an album called 51-50 and the album cover, you know, or at least the t-shirts and stuff were all the guys in strait-jackets, and I kind of dug around and found out that was a police code for ‘crazy person.’ And one of my songs that I wrote by myself called ‘Country & Cold Cans.’ I had a line in there when I was in the studio called, I was like ‘Are y’all with me? Let’s get 51-50.’ And I told Jim [Beavers] about that, and he asked what 51-50 is and I told him. And the next day I saw him at the gym and he was saying ‘5-1-5-0, somebody call the po-po.’ So he came up with that line, and I thought it was just the stupidest thing I’d heard in my life but every time I’d see him, he’d sing that. He’d be like ‘Man, my kids can’t keep that out of their heads, it stuck. We got to write it.’ And so one day we were writing and we were stuck, and I was like ‘Alright, let’s pull out 5-1-5-0,’ and we wrote it, and it just kind of caught on. And Capitol picked it as a single so it’s doing pretty good so far; it’s kind of blown up.”