After 19 years of marriage, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have reportedly separated. According to TMZ, Urban has moved out of the family home and acquired his own residence in Nashville. Back in July the couple raised eyebrows when Nicole applied for residency in Portugal without Keith. At the time he said it was just a conflict with his touring schedule. The couple hasn't been seen publicly since June.

photo credit: Galeria de burningkarma

Grammy award-winning country singer/songwriter Brett James, whose string of top hits includes “Jesus, Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood and “When the Sun Goes Down” by Kenny Chesney, died in a plane crash in North Carolina. He was 57. The small plane crashed Thursday afternoon “under unknown circumstances”.  The Cirrus SR22T, registered to James, left Nashville and went down in a field west of a local elementary school. James' wife and stepdaughter also perished in the crash. James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. His first No. 1 hit was “Who I Am” by Jessica Andrews in 2001. “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which he co-wrote for Underwood, earned the 2006 Grammy for Best Country Song, among other honors.  James had more than 500 of his songs recorded for albums with combined sales of more than 110 million copies. Other artists who sang his songs include Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Nick Jonas and Meghan Trainor. Additional hits include “Cowboy Casanova” by Underwood, “Out Last Night” by Chesney and “Summer Nights” by Rascal Flatts.

photo credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/D. Myles Cullen

 

 

 

 

 

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Reba McEntire and actor Rex Linn are engaged. People Magazine confirmed the news after a reporter called the couple "fiancés" during Sunday night's Emmy Awards. The couple met back in the 1990's but reconnected in 2020. Reba has been married and divorced twice. She was married to rancher Charlie Battles from 1976 to 1987 and married her second husband, (her former steel player) Narvel Blackstock in 1989.  They divorced in 2015.

photo credit: Gage Skidmore 

Three of country music's favorite women lead the field for this year's CMA Awards.  Megan Moroney, Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley each landed six nominations.  Moroney and Wilson are each up for Album of the Year while Langley and Moroney are both nominated for Single of the Year.  The nominees for the highly coveted Entertainer of the Year include Wilson along with Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen.  The 59th CMA Awards will take place November 19th.