EPISODE 19

When Stormy Weather, a country character in her own right, watched the first episode of ABC’s NASHVILLE, she knew it was just the kind of show on which she wanted to dish online at opry.com each week. “Fashion. Young love. Old enemies. The potential for a catfight at every turn. Music born in the songwriting rooms of Music City. What’s not to love?” Stormy asks. Visit this page for Stormy’s unbridled thoughts on each episode as the series takes off and as we’re all introduced to Rayna James, Juliette Barnes, and the rest of the characters that make up NASHVILLE.

The first season of ABC’s Nashville has come and gone. And all of our new friends have gotten quite a workout. From zig-zagging the country on a big tour to bussing tables in Music City, these characters have found a special little place in Stormy’s heart.

Remember when Ray-Ray was happily married to Teddy? Of course you don’t, because she never was. Ray-Ray spent the whole season denying her feelings for Deacon, not to mention denying the paternity of her teen-aged daughter Maddie. Now Ray-Ray’s life hangs in the balance because she couldn’t drive AND battle her baby-daddy’s drinking demon at the same time. Darn those busy intersections and high-profile SUVS! What’s a girl to do? Stormy predicts this hospitalization will reveal Ray-Ray’s true father. Listen very carefully.

You see, sister Tandy queued this one up just right. Remember when Lamar informed Tandy that she’d been demoted? Tandy turned on her heels and announced that Lamar could only have a good relationship with one of his daughters at a time. Pivotal moment. Currently, Ray-Ray is in Lamar’s good graces, and he’s about to receive the phone call that every parent dreads–that his daughter has been injured in a horrible traffic accident. Ray-Ray must surely suffer some catastrophic injury. She’s going to be in that mangled SUV all summer so, come fall, she’s going to need a blood transfusion. Perhaps even a kidney? At which time her doctor will order a CBC (that’s standard television medical talk), and Lamar will look puzzled when he discovers he’s no match. All because Ray-Ray’s mother had an affair with Watty, and Watty is indeed Ray-Ray’s daddy. Introducing an entirely new subplot for season two.

Now speaking of Deacon. Poor thing, he’s been cheated. Been mistreated. When will he be loved? In the season finale, Deacon seeks and finds comfort in the bottom of a glass–not to mention several subsequent glasses and multiple bottles. Who remembers just how many times this man has trashed his house in just one season? And who keeps purchasing more home decor for him to smash and bash? Deacon has toured with everyone at some point this season. Does he visit Ikea while he’s on the road and have new lamps and tables shipped to Nashville? Does sweet Scarlett replenish her Uncle Deacon’s furnishings after every venting session? How does this man do it? There should not be a stick of furniture left in that house at this point.

And sweet Scarlett. What a big year she’s had, hmm? She’s gone from waiting tables at the Bluebird to signing her first record deal with Ray-Ray’s Highway 65 Records. And she really didn’t suffer that much, unless you count her cheating boyfriend Avery, who made a weak attempt to win Scarlett’s heart in the season finale. Of course, Scarlett fought her own emotional battle as she waged a war against her feelings for Gunnar. When she finally succumbed to them, Gunnar’s recently incarcerated brother gets killed. If that weren’t enough, new roommate Will moves in–and makes a move on Gunnar. Gunnar decides to become an outlaw, but it’s short-lived. Will Scarlett accept Gunnar’s proposal of marriage? Can she devote herself to this man AND pursue her recording career as Nashville’s rising singer/songwriter? Not likely. That all seems a little too calm and predictable for a young lady who has a front-row seat on life’s emotional roller coaster.

Aside from Ray-Ray’s stellar duet with Brad Paisley, the CMA Awards were a real let down. Where was all the glitz and glamour? It was replaced by drama, and lots of it. Backstage is where Deacon learns he has a daughter, and Juliette comes to realize that she needs to deal with her mama Jolene’s untimely demise. Instead of the typical graveside sitdown, Juliette, still dressed in her CMA gown, bid her mother a tearful goodbye as she sat beside her casket in the funeral home. Creepy, yes, but all the more effective. The scene showed Juliette at her most vulnerable and her most human. By the time Jolene’s parting letter arrives at Juliette’s house, you can’t help but feel sorry for the CMA’s newly-crowned Female Vocalist of the Year.

Dare we venture to guess how many episodes deep we’ll get into season two before that crystal award gets smashed against the wall? Stormy is betting three. Three episodes before that glass bullet shatters. Now, devoted viewer Stormy has one burning question to ask: Exactly where does Juliette live in Nashville? Stormy is puzzled only because Juliette lives in an ultra-modern uber-chic all-white mansion. Quite contemporary, to say the least. However, each time someone came to the door in last night’s episode, the view revealed a couple of traditional ranch-style houses across the street. Juliette’s house must stick out like a sore thumb?

As if Teddy didn’t have enough to deal with (his not-yet-ex wife has been in a terrible accident and now the world knows his oldest daughter isn’t his biological daughter), now that pesky business deal down at the Music City Credit Union has reared its ugly head again. And to make matters exponentially worse, Ol’ Peg is knocked up. Get out! What’s a mayor to do? Three, count them three scandals: a daughter who isn’t his, allegations of embezzlement, and a pregnant former mistress. Four if you count the fact that Ray-Ray is lying on the side of the road in a mangled SUV with the true love of her life. Stormy predicts that troubled Teddy will actually be Maddie’s biological father after all. That paternity test was 13 years ago. Unless Teddy, Ray-Ray, and Deacon were featured on “The Maury Povich Show”, where paternity tests are obviously part and parcel to what they do, here’s betting someone somewhere made a clerical error, and Deacon’s not the daddy.

September can’t come soon enough for Stormy–much less Ray-Ray and Deacon who have to dangle upside down in that overturned SUV.

Patty Loveless is set to celebrate her 25th Opry anniversary the weekend of June 14 & 15. Joining Patty all weekend will be her fellow Opry member and frequent musical collaborator, Vince Gill. Also joining the celebration that Saturday night is Patty’s distant cousin and 50-year Opry star Loretta Lynn, as well as other friends and special guests.

Click here to reserve your tickets today.

Here’s Patty with her friend Vince performing “Out Of My Mind” together on the Opry.

Opry.com’s Guide To What’s New In Country.

True Believers

The newest member of the Grand Ole Opry is continuing to reach new heights in his country music career as his third album, on which he co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs, was released this week.

Darius Rucker’s True Believers is evidence that the singer has found a home in country music. He tells Billboard, “On the second album (2010′s ‘Charleston, SC 1966′) I was still trying to solidify my place in country music. With this one, I feel like part of the family, but I also still feel like I have so much to prove. There’s still the naysayers or whatever out there, so I’ve still got to make great records. It’s kind of like once you’re in the family you don’t want to disappoint the family.”

So far, he hasn’t done anything to disappoint. His second single from the album, a remake of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” is his most successful hit to date, reaching number one faster than any prior single. He collaborated with Lady Antebellum on the ultimate crowd sing-along, not expecting the song to receive the attention and praise it has.

“I didn’t know that, like, every college student of the last eight years knew that song. I just cut it thinking it would be a great song for my record; I didn’t cut it thinking it was going to be a big single for me,” Rucker tells Billboard. “But then when we got Lady A on it, it was like, ‘Wow, that song could be a monster,’ and, sure enough, it was.”

True Believers also embodies a deeply emotional side of Rucker, more so than either of his two previous albums. Mallary Hope accompanies Rucker in the melancholy “I Will Love You Still,” and Sheryl Crow, a fellow crossover artist, helps emphasize the heartbreak found in “Love Without You.”

“Every time I make a record, it’s make or break time,” Rucker says to Rolling Stone. “I hope I always have that mentality – that’s what keeps me fired up. I’ve got to solidify my place in Nashville, and to do that I’ve got to keep making records that people want to listen to.”

Track List (Click Here to purchase)

1. “True Believers”
2. “Miss You”
3. “Wagon Wheel” (with Lady Antebellum)
4. “Love Without You” (with Sheryl Crow)
5. “Radio”
6. “Lost in You”
7. “I Will Love You Still” (with Mallary Hope)
8. “Take Me Home”
9. “Shine”
10. “Heartbreak Road”
11. “Leavin’ the Light On”
12. “Lie to Me”

Darius Rucker is in the opry.com NEW MUSIC SPOTLIGHT:
CLICK HERE to listen to the entire album on Spotify, enter to win an autographed copy, and more!

Trace is the all-star “Celebrity Apprentice” champ!

For a heavyweight slug-out, this was the kindest battle royale in history.

Trace Adkins took on Las Vegas magician Penn Jillette in the finale of the first all-star season of Donald Trump’s TV series Celebrity Apprentice.

Oh girl, you shoulda heard the smack talk between these two in the middle of the battle!

“There could not be a harder opponent who has dignity, who has respect for other people,” Penn said. “Trace has all those things.”

Do what?? C’mon! Where’s the trash talk? Trace?

“Penn Jillette has dignity and integrity. He’s a gentleman who played a clean game,” Trace said.

Sigh.

There was plenty of tension, though. Each player has to host a fundraiser VIP bash to introduce an ice cream he created for a national pharmacy chain.

And Trace – with help from NFL quarterback Tim Tebow and country stars Wynonna and Thompson Square – raised slightly more than Penn, bringing in $564,000 for the American Red Cross.

However, Penn outsold Trace this past week in pints of those new ice creams sold, giving Penn a $100,000 bonus that moved him past Trace in fundraising for the finale.

No matter: Trump declared Trace the winner, giving him the victory that eluded Trace five years ago when he lost in the finale to British media personality Piers Morgan.

In all, Trace raised more than $150 million this season for the American Red Cross.

But Trace’s biggest victory might’ve come when he performed “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” at that VIP party. With that performance, Trace actually got The Donald to dance a little – or at least sway his billionaire badonkadonk some.

And Taylor Swift is the Billboard Music Awards champ!

Taylor Swift scored eight trophies, one performance and one backstage controversy at the Billboard Music Awards Sunday night (May 19).

Those trophies included the top prize, artist of the year, at the all-genre awards show that included lots of wins for pop stars Rihanna and Gotye (“Someone That I Used To Know”).

“Thank you for making my music the soundtrack to your crazy emotions,” Taylor told fans after winning the top trophy.

“You are the longest and best relationship I’ve had.”

And Taylor did her first-ever live performance of her new hit, “22.”

And she got caught backstage making a yuck face when her pop pal Selena Gomez gave her other pop pal Justin Bieber a kiss on the cheek.

Yup, Billboard itself posted the two-second video that has caused an uproar online. During the smooch, Taylor actually scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue.

Some Justin fans were really upset with Billboard.

“Really?” Justin Bieber Army posted on Twitter. “Out of all outlets, I’m surprised you had to jump in on the drama. Disappointed.”

The episode didn’t seem to dampen Taylor’s spirits.

“Best. Night.” she tweeted afterward.

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland is putting out a solo record

OK, so by now, you’ve heard that Kristian Bush of Sugarland has put out a solo record.

Now his Sugarland partner is doing the same. New mom Jennifer Nettles is working with legendary rock producer Rick Rubin to release her own album.

That album is expected to come out in the fall.

Watch Sugarland perform on the Opry stage.

EPISODE 18

When Stormy Weather, a country character in her own right, watched the first episode of ABC’s NASHVILLE, she knew it was just the kind of show on which she wanted to dish online at opry.com each week. “Fashion. Young love. Old enemies. The potential for a catfight at every turn. Music born in the songwriting rooms of Music City. What’s not to love?” Stormy asks. Visit this page for Stormy’s unbridled thoughts on each episode as the series takes off and as we’re all introduced to Rayna James, Juliette Barnes, and the rest of the characters that make up NASHVILLE.

Bummer, Jolene.

It was the night that the lights went out in Music City for Dante. You see, mama don’t miss when she aims her gun.

What becomes of young Juliette now that her mother is dead? Stormy truly felt Juliette’s former boyfriend/manager turned extortionist was expendable. But to script Jolene a murderer and to take her own life was a bit of a shocker. Will Juliette bounce back in time for the CMA Awards next week? Likely, she will. After last night’s episode of Nashville, we’re certain Juliette is in for one heck of a roller coaster ride in the just-confirmed second series. Let’s hope the guilt of blaming everything on her mother just prior to Jolene’s untimely death doesn’t consume poor Juliette. She’s got to be strong for the next leg of the tour, whether or not she takes that Female Vocalist of the Year trophy home next week.

Innocent Scarlett’s career is taking off. She made her Grand Ole Opry debut only to send Gunnar packing after the show. Unfortunately, she had to bail Gunnar and neighbor boy Will out of jail before she told him to hit the road. Looks like Scarlett is fair game for season two. Does she go running back to the familiar arms of Avery or will she find new love?

Speaking of Gunnar, he seems a bit obsessed with his being an outlaw. He played in a downtown bar, the same downtown bar where he drank too much and eventually got into a barroom brawl that landed him and his sparring partner Will in jail. If you ask Stormy, they’re off to a great start with their country careers. All they need now is a divorce or two, a pickup truck and they’re good to go. Ah, but not before we watch Gunnar run from his demons for a few more episodes. The boy’s gotta learn. You see, his sweet girlfriend has landed a record deal with Ray-Ray’s newly announced record label Highway 65 Records. Scarlett has places to go, people to see and things to do. She has a future and right now, Gunnar has no place in it. Gunnar hath really screwed up this time. Now who will take Scarlett to the big CMA Awards show next week? Uncle Deacon? Or will Uncle Deacon and Ray-Ray take their romance public on the awards show’s red carpet?

Well, not if Ray-Ray’s soon-to-be ex-husband has anything to do with it.  Ray-Ray is rockin’ the side ponytail in her kitchen when Deacon shows up for dinner, a “beautiful” pie in hand. Teddy surprises everyone during family night at the house and the mood quickly sours. Teddy gets his revenge in the form of a temporary restraining order preventing his daughters from being within 100 feet of Deacon. Mess with her daughters and Ray-Ray wastes no time in going to her daddy Lamar for a little favor, asking him to meet with the judge. Now, what amazes Stormy most, aside from the fact that Ray-Ray would actually ask her daddy for help in keeping this little custody battle quiet is how effortlessly Ray-Ray transitions between her bedazzled stage attire to her more subdued, yet not matronly, courthouse wardrobe. Ray-Ray rocks that high-neck blouse with the big bow! And don’t even get Stormy started on that Pinterest-worthy pencil skirt she was sporting.

Stormy loves the fact that the sneaky snake Lamar is back in business. His other daughter Tandy questions his ability before meeting with the board where she plots to overthrow him. Lamar may be cardiac compromised but don’t count him out just yet. Tandy takes her seat at the head of the boardroom table just in time for Lamar to reclaim it. Stormy is liking Lamar a little more each day. Take that, Tandy! Lamar’s got a little life left in him, and let’s hope he uses it to mess with Teddy, too.

Now when last we saw Teddy, he was concerned that his daughter Maddie would find out that Deacon is her daddy. And as luck would have it, Maddie is on the phone in the show’s closing moments saying she thinks her daddy might not be her daddy. What has Maddie learned about her daddy? And does it rhyme?

Stormy simply cannot wait for the season finale’s cliffhanger next week. Will Deacon discover the truth? Will the deception drive him and Ray-Ray apart? Will Juliette numb her liver to get through the awards show? Will Scarlett man up when it comes to the men in her life? The speculation is surely to leave Stormy facing a few sleepless nights as she tries to unravel the plot twists that are sure to unfold next week.

CLICK HERE for all things NASHVILLE ABC:
www.opry.com/nashvilleabc

TUNE IN THIS WEDNESDAY FOR AN ALL NEW EPISODE AT 10|9c ONLY ON ABC

“Nashville” TV series gets renewed for another season

Fans will get to see fictional country stars Juliette Barnes and Rayna James slug it out for another season on ABC series NASHVILLE.

The show got picked up for another season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

But ABC wasn’t quite as kind to Reba: Her latest sitcom, Malibu Country, has been cancelled.

The shame of it is that the sitcom got a very respectable seven million viewers for each episode.

How sweet: Trace Adkins is making ice cream in “Celebrity Apprentice” finale

Vegas magician Penn Jillette better watch out: Trace Adkins has vowed to make a boot disappear somewhere in the hind quarters region of his competitor on the finals for the all-star season of Celebrity Apprentice.

And Penn is that competitor.

“I’m gonna go out on that stage and put a boot in”, well, you know where, Trace vowed to Donald Trump when The Donald asked Trace why he should be in the final two.

“That’s a very good answer,” Trump replied.

Apparently it was good enough to put Trace in the finale against Penn, who, at the start of the show, was Trace’s first pick for Trace’s team.

The two-part finale ends with a live episode Sunday (May 19). Trace and Penn have been asked to come up with a new ice cream flavor for a drug-store chain, and then come up with a video and VIP party to promote it.

By the way, you can do your part to help Trace win by heading to a Walgreens and buying his Maple Macadamia Mashup ice cream starting today (May 13).

His wife, Rhonda, already has, and she posted a pic of herself and Trace enjoying the new flavor.

Either way, Trace is a winner: All this extra attention comes as Trace releases a new album, Love Will…, on Tuesday (May 14).

I’ll have a shot and a phone charge at Dierks’ new bar

Dierks Bentley is the latest country star to open his own bar, but this won’t be just any jukebox joint.

Naw, Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, in upscale Scottsdale in his home state of Arizona, will have phone charging and USB charging stations at the bar.

And the VIP tables will have pour-it-yourself taps right at the table.

And the high-tech video system, featuring a 24-foot television, can be operated by an iPad from anywhere in the place.

And there’ll be a 360-degree stage right in the middle of the place.

Despite all the modern touches, organizers promise a 1920s style saloon.

Dierks says he looks forward to helping break in the place.

We just hope he’ll want to come back out.

It’s always fun to see what the stars are saying on Twitter, but there’s too much tweeting going on to keep track of it all. Each week, the opry.com staff selects its favorite star “Tweets of the Week” and posts them here to make sure fans don’t miss anything really, really good.