Photo: Brian Tipton

James Otto and Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood all shared similar excitement Wednesday morning (Sept. 10) after a special live edition of CMT Insider at Nashville's Sommet Center. In addition to announcing part of this year's CMA award nominations, they also shared their first CMA award nominations.

Otto and Lady Antebellum were both nominated in the new artist category alongside Kellie Pickler, Jason Aldean and Rodney Atkins. Lady Antebellum also picked up a nomination for vocal group of the year, a field that includes the Eagles, Emerson Drive, Little Big Town and five-time winners Rascal Flatts.

All three members of Lady Antebellum were clearly excited over their very first CMA nominations.

"When we had looked at the categories, that was one that we were just hoping so much we could get in," Kelley told CMT Insider just moments after the new artist category was announced. "I think of us to have everybody's stamp of approval on us, it just feels so amazing, and there's just great talent in there."

Scott agreed, noting, "There's just so many people, so many new artists, that have come out in the past year to two years that, I mean, it's almost like a new ... kind of freshmen class. So it's exciting to feel like we're a part of that."

"The way they did it," Kelley explained, "they each gave us a card to call out the nominees for different categories, and right before we went on stage, they gave us the last card -- I guess so while we were back there, nobody would peek at it. It happened to be one that ourselves as well as James Otto was in -- so I guess they didn't want us looking."

"And they definitely gave it to Charles on purpose," Scott laughed. "They didn't give it to me for a reason because I'd have been like, 'Ahhhh! Oh, my gosh!'"

"She wouldn't have gotten past our name," Kelley joked. "It was genuine shock. It was. It was very exciting."

The trio didn't expect to be in the vocal group category.

"The Eagles, they were my first concert ever -- when I was 10," said Haywood. "So to actually be in a category with them, that's pretty amazing. Yeah, the three of us were flipping out."

Otto has been in the music business for several years, so he knew better than to take a nomination for granted.

"Man, I'm sweating now actually thinking about just how crazy it is," Otto told CMT Insider. "It's amazing, man. This is a lifetime of work coming together. ... You know, there's a lot of people that have been in that category that have a lot more hits than I do and people that really deserve the award, so it feels amazing, man. And yes, nerve-racking for sure."

"I've been in Nashville for 11 years," he added. "This is not my first record deal, but the thing is, this is the first opportunity I've really gotten that was 100 percent about trying to make this happen for me, and I'm just really honored that people look at me as a new artist. I feel like a new artist. I feel like this is my first real shot at this, and I'm just very excited man, very excited."

"I honestly didn't let myself think about being nominated for this. This was something that I saw -- too many big names in the category -- people that are established and already are large stars. So I didn't really allow myself to think about the fact that we might actually make the short list like this."

Kenny Chesney received seven nominations -- more than anyone this year. With entertainer of the year and male vocalist nominations, he is also up for album, single and video of the year, along with two vocal event nominations for his work with George Strait and Reba McEntire.

"You never know how these things are going to go," Chesney said in a written statement. "We work so hard on this music, the tours, the videos. It's so much the focus of what I do, how I live. It's always a thrill to see that people are not just noticing but recognize what we're all trying to do."

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush received five nominations, including their first-ever entertainer of the year nod. Nominated for vocal duo of the year, their hit, "Stay," is up for single, song and video of the year, and they are in the musical event category for their recording of "Life in a Northern Town" with Little Big Town and Jake Owen. Additionally, Nettles received a sixth nomination -- for song of the year -- for writing "Stay."

"I almost spilt my tea this morning as I was watching and the nominations kept being added," Nettles said in a written statement. "Being in the entertainer of the year category is such an honor. We've been lucky enough to be out on the road with Kenny Chesney for a couple of tours over the last two years. Looks like rock by osmosis really does work."

Bush added, "I just finished watching the nomination announcements on TV from my sofa at home, and it is simultaneously humbling and encouraging to be in such amazing company as we are in all of the categories. It is one thing to play shows every week of the year and imagine ourselves striving to become entertainers of the year and another thing all together to have the voting members of the CMA believe that it is possible. Simply awesome."

Strait also received five CMA nominations, including entertainer of the year and male vocalist. His latest album, Troubadour, is nominated for album of the year, and "I Saw God Today" is on the list for single of the year. Strait's fifth nomination this year is in the musical event category for his collaboration with Chesney on "Shiftwork."

"I'm sitting down here in South Texas, bracing for Hurricane Ike," Strait said in a press release. "This really brightens my day. I look forward to a great celebration of our great music. Thanks to all involved!"

Trace Adkins picked up two CMA nominations -- his first in 10 years -- for his hit single, "You're Gonna Miss This." Nominated for single and music video of the year, it also resulted in a song of the year nomination for songwriters Lee Thomas Miller and Ashley Gorley.

"'You're Gonna Miss This' has been such a special gift for me this year, so I'm really thrilled that the CMA and the industry recognized the strength of that song," Adkins said. "Not only was it one of the biggest hits of my career, when we performed it on the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, it helped raise a lot of money for my charity, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. So yeah, I'm really proud of this song."

Carrie Underwood is the recipient of two nominations, too. Her mention in the female vocalist division is complemented by an album of the year nomination for her second project, Carnival Ride.

"This is awesome!" Underwood said. "As an artist, you always hope the music you record will touch people's lives. There is nothing more rewarding than to be recognized by your peers and to know your fans are enjoying the same ride."

Taylor Swift was ecstatic when Rascal Flatts read her name among the female vocalist nominations during a segment of Good Morning America broadcast from New York's Times Square.

"This was definitely a day worth getting up really early for," she said. "Hearing my name called in the female vocalist category was a dream come true."

CMT Insider's writer/producer Terry Bumgarner contributed to this story.

View photos from the CMA award nominee announcements in New York and Nashville.

• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Trace Adkins
• Jake Owen
• Sugarland

Keyshia Cole's <i>Just Like You</i>
Photo: Geffen Records

For a second-straight week, it's country — not Kanye — that leads the latest Billboard top 200, following what was an unusually heavy day for new releases, with 40 chart newcomers in all.

Last week, Reba McEntire's Reba Duets trounced the two biggest hip-hop releases of the year, earning the former sitcom star the first #1 debut of her 30-year career. On next week's chart, Reba's latest slips five spots to #6, leaving the peak position open for country croonin' trio Rascal Flatts and their latest, Still Feels Good, which sold more than 546,500 copies, according to the latest SoundScan totals. The album becomes the band's third-straight chart-crowning offering, following the successes of 2004's Feels Like Today (which generated week-one scans of 201,000) and 2006's Me and My Gang (with sales reported at 721,700).

As for Kanye West and his archenemy of three weeks back, 50 Cent, both artists remain in the chart's top 10, but for one, that might change soon. West's Graduation slips three places to #5 on next week's chart with 133,300 sold, while Fif's Curtis dropped from #3 to #9, with 70,900 scans. Curtis has yet to pass the 1 million-sold mark, while West's latest has sold more than 1.3 million copies.

In between the Flatts and West are three of the five new releases to crack the top 10, but none came close to touching this week's #1. Bowing at #2 with 281,400 sold is R&B songstress Keyshia Cole's new one, Just Like You, the follow-up to 2005's The Way It Is, which debuted at #6 with 88,500 scans. Behind her is the latest from the Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, selling more than 168,200 copies. The band's mission for a #1 opening will continue, following failed attempts by 2002's One by One (which opened at #3 with 121,500 sold) and 2005's In Your Honor (#2 with 310,600). R&B, soul and jazz singer Jill Scott's The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 claims the chart's #4 position, having sold 148,500 units.

Right behind the soundtrack to Disney's "High School Musical 2," which sits at the #7 position with 84,900 sold, is the latest from R&B act Jagged Edge, Baby Makin' Project, which scanned more than 78,000 copies during its first week. Rounding out the top 10 is Kenny Chesney's Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, which plummeted five spots with 68,200 sold.

Debuting at #11 with 51,000 copies snatched up is Queen Latifah's newest studio offering, Trav'lin' Light, while Melissa Etheridge's The Awakening follows at #13 with 47,700 sold. Joni Mitchell's Shine claims the #14 position, selling 40,150 copies, and right behind Joni at #15 is Chaka Khan's Funk This, with sales reported at 38,500. Tony Bennett Sings the Ultimate American Songbook, Vol. 1 opens at #16 with 36,200 scans, while Atlanta rapper Gorilla Zoe's Welcome to the Zoo sits in the #18 position with 35,200 sold.

One of the week's biggest surprises occupies the chart's #21 slot: Dethklok, the animated band from the Adult Swim cartoon "Metalocalypse," and their debut disc, Dethalbum. The set sold more than 33,700 copies, which was just enough to keep the David Crowder Band's Remedy at #22 with 32,300 sold. Folk rocker Iron and Wine's The Shepherd's Dog opens at #24 with sales coming in at around 31,600, while Southern metallers Down's first album in nearly five years, Down III: Over the Under, finishes at #26 with 29,200 scans. Trumpeter Chris Botti's Italia takes the #27 position with 28,800-plus sold.

The solo debut from the Black Eyes Peas' Will.I.Am, Songs About Girls, opens at #38 on next week's chart, thanks to sales of more than 20,800. The Cheetah Girls' TGC follows at #44 with 18,900 sold, while rapper Hell Rell's For the Hell of It comes in at #55 with 15,600 scans. All Time Low's So Wrong, It's Right bows at #62 with 13,800 copies sold, and at #69, with 12,300 sold, it's Gucci Mane's Trap-A-Thon.

Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade opens at #79, having sold close to 9,600 units, while Swedish metallers Arch Enemy's Rise of the Tyrant follows at #84 with 8,900 scans. Hurt's Vol. II just misses the top 100, coming in at #101 with 7,200 sold, while Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, a two-disc compilation featuring John Lennon, Elton John, Joss Stone, Corinne Bailey Rae, Neil Young, Norah Jones and Ben Harper, finishes out the week at #104, selling 6,800 copies. Folk rocker Devendra Banhart's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon bows at #115 with 6,300 sold, and at #12 with 6,000 scans is The Best of Donell Jones.

The Very Best of the Doors, a career-spanning collection commemorating the band's 40th anniversary, finishes at #129, selling 5,700 units, while Swedish singer/songwriter José González's In Our Nature claims the #132 position with 5,600 scans. Wolfgang's Big Night Out, the seventh studio album from American swing revivalists the Brian Setzer Orchestra, opens at #141 with sales of 5,300 and change, while indie rockers the Weakerthans' Reunion Tour debuts at #181 with 4,100 sold. Lastly, opening at #186 with 4,000 scans, is the latest from Meshell Ndegeocello, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams.

• 2007 VMA: Foo Fighters And Guests Live From The Fantasy Suites

• Keyshia Cole
• Foo Fighters
• Rascal Flatts
• Kanye West
• 50 Cent

Kanye West
Photo: Michael Buckner/ Getty Images

For the last month or so, everyone in the music industry has been abuzz about Kanye West and 50 Cent — or more specifically, the epic sales campaign the two waged during the weeks leading up to the September 11 release of their latest LPs, 'Ye's Graduation and Fif's Curtis.

And last week the results came in, with West the undisputed victor (see "Kanye West's Sales Triumph, By The Numbers: He Thumped 50 Cent In Almost Every Market" and "Kanye West Pounds 50 Cent In First Week Of Album Showdown"). But who'd come out on top after week two? Would West's sales continue to eclipse 50's, or would the tables turn, resulting in a come-from-behind coup?

Well, neither ended up being the case, and the results stayed pretty much the same: Sales of Graduation were significantly stronger than those generated by Curtis, and interest in both sets waned. According to the latest SoundScan totals, sales for West's latest dipped 76 percent, while Curtis suffered a 79 percent sales cut. What this all means, basically, is there's a new name in the #1 position on next week's Billboard albums sales chart, and that name is Reba.

What's even more surprising than the bubbly, fire-fleeced country sweetheart and former star of the now-canceled CW sitcom "Reba" surpassing the two biggest hip-hop releases of the year so far? The fact that the album is the first #1 of McEntire's 30-year career.

McEntire's Reba Duets — which features collaborations with artists like LeAnn Rimes, Kelly Clarkson, Rascal Flatts, Don Henley, Justin Timberlake, Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney — sold more than 300,500 copies during its first week in record stores to claim the chart's peak position. Reba's previous best was a #2 bow for 1994's Read My Mind. That drops West's Graduation to #2 with close to 226,000 scans and 50's Curtis to #3 with 143,000 sold. (In just two short weeks, Graduation has sold nearly 1.2 million copies.)

Right behind 50 at #4 this week is the new one from Barry Manilow, The Greatest Songs of the Seventies, which sold 113,000 units. Along with Reba, Manilow was one of 30 newcomers to next week's top 200, and one of six to debut in the top 10. Following Chesney's Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (which falls to #5 with 112,200 copies sold) and the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical 2" (at #6 with 99,400 scans) at #7 is the latest from James Blunt, All the Lost Souls; the disc sold a reported 92,400 copies.

Next, bowing at #8, is Ultimate Victory, the new one from Chamillionaire, with 79,000 in first-week sales. The #9 spot belongs to KT Tunstall's Drastic Fantastic, with week-one scans clocked at 49,700, and, rounding things out with a #10 opener, it's Twista's Adrenaline Rush 2007, which sold 40,700 units.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder's first crack at going solo, the soundtrack to Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" flick, debuts at #11, selling 39,300-plus copies. With 38,300 scans, the latest from emotive Finnish metallers H.I.M., Venus Doom, follows at #12, while Motion City Soundtrack's Even If It Kills Me opens at #16, selling 33,000 copies. The Very Best of Diana Krall bows at #19, while Celtic punks the Dropkick Murphys claim the #20 position with The Meanest of Times, which scanned more than 28,200 copies.

Meanwhile, Gloria Estefan's 90 Millas comes in at #25, having generated more than 23,700 scans, and at #26, with 23,600 sold, it's former Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler's latest solo effort, Kill to Get Crimson. One Chance, the debut album from "Britain's Got Talent" winner Paul Potts, follows at #30 with 22,100 sold, and New Found Glory's cinema-themed covers collection, From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II, pops up at #42 with 15,500 sold.

Playlist, Babyface's latest, finishes in the #48 slot, having sold 13,700 units, while Between the Buried and Me's Colors trails in the #57 spot with sales of 12,600. Right behind them at #58 is Thousand Foot Krutch's The Flame in All of Us, which sold 12,500 copies. Rise to Power, the second studio LP by Miami rapper Rick Ross, follows at #62 with 11,600 copies scanned and bagged, while death metallers the Black Dahlia Murder's Nocturnal opens at #72 with 9,600 sold. Train frontman Pat Monahan's first solo outing, Last of Seven, bows at #82 with 8,200 scans.

The Donnas return to the top 200 at #89, having sold 7,600 copies of their new one, Bitchin', while metal act Suicide Silence's The Cleansing cleared 7,000 scans, earning them the chart's #94 opening. Gospel outfit Trin-I-Tee 5:7's T57 debuts in the #102 position with 6,700 sold, while Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew: Spirit If... claims the #113 spot with just over 6,000 copies grabbed up.

Gospel artist Byron Cage's Live at the Apollo: The Proclamation opens at #118 with 5,700 copies sold, while Ministry's swan song, The Last Sucker, comes in at #130, selling 5,000 units. Doom-metal force High on Fire's Death Is This Communion comes in at #142 with 4,500 scans, followed five spots down at #147 by German metallers Rammstein's live offering, Völkerball, which sold close to 4,500 copies. And last but not least, finishing out the week at #173, it's the debut solo album from Havoc, one-half of the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep; The Kush sold 3,900 units its first week in stores.

• Kanye Topped 50, But Who's The Real Winner?

• Reba McEntire
• Kanye West
• 50 Cent
• James Blunt
• Eddie Vedder

Brooks & Dunn
Photo: BMG

Brooks & Dunn have recorded "Everyday Heroes," a song written by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, for the movie "Joshua." "This is a song about regular people making a difference on a daily basis in the world we all really live in," said Ronnie Dunn in a statement. "Right now, I think empowering each other is a pretty good thing to do." As of now, there are no plans to include the song on any upcoming Brooks & Dunn project. Another Hatch song, "America Rocks," appeared in the movie "Rat Race." Hatch attended a recent fund raiser and jam session at Dunn's barn outside Nashville. ...

Release of Caught in the Webb, a 21-track tribute album to Webb Pierce, is set for January 8 on Audium Records. Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, George Jones, Charley Pride and Willie Nelson are among the contributors. BR549 do "There Stands the Glass" and the Del McCoury Band contributes "Walking the Dog." ...

The WB has extended Reba McEntire's sitcom, "Reba," for a full season of 22 episodes. The show airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fridays. ...

Texas honky tonk phenomenon Pat Green sees his first national release chart respectably. Three Days debuts at #7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Green has sold over 200,000 independently made CDs at his shows in Texas ...

A TV movie inspired by Brad Paisley's 1999 #1 hit, "He Didn't Have To Be," is in the works for the TBS Superstation cable channel. Paisley will have a supporting role in the movie, and all the music in the program will be composed by the country star. Paisley also is one of three executive producers for the project. The song is a tribute to stepfathers from the perspective of a stepchild. "He Didn't Have To Be" recently spawned a book of the same name by Paisley and the song's co-writer, Kelley Lovelace ...

The Country Freedom Concert raised over $5 million for the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund. The all-star benefit concert was the highest-rated program in CMT history. Six million CMT viewers watched the live concert and its encore presentation on Sunday night. The concert was also broadcast on over 700 radio stations worldwide. The Country Freedom Concert included performances by George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and others. (MTVi parent company, Viacom, also owns CMT) ...

Delbert McClinton will sail to the Bahamas with the Del McCoury Band, the Derailers, Jeffrey Steele, ex-NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson, Marcia Ball, Bonnie Bramlett and other roots artists on his eighth annual cruise, January 12-19. The floating music festival sets sail on the Regal Empress from Port Manatee in Tampa, Florida, and stops in Nassau, Eleuthera and San Salvador. Passengers will be treated to up to 10 hours of live music a day ...

Although they were announced as being on the lineup for Sunday's Country Freedom Concert benefiting the Salvation Army, the Charlie Daniels Band did not appear at the Nashville event. Daniels dropped out several days before the concert because producers asked him not to sing "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," an original song inspired by the September 11 attacks. "There was a creative difference of opinion," said CMT, which aired the concert live. "Charlie Daniels is an icon of country music and remains a fixture on CMT." ...

The Down From the Mountain tour, featuring many of the musicians on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack album, is set to begin January 25 in Lexington, Kentucky, and will wrap up February 20 in Berkeley, California. Alison Krauss and Union Station, Patty Loveless, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, the Whites and Norman Blake comprise the 14-date tour's nucleus. …

Capitol Records has mined its vaults to compile United We Stand, a 14-track collection of inspirational and patriotic tunes. Chris LeDoux's "I Believe in America," Glen Campbell's "God Must Have Blessed America" and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" are featured alongside recordings by John Lennon, the Beach Boys, Al Green and others. Proceeds benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The set will be released November 6. ...

Merle Haggard has been added to the concert lineup for Swampstock 2001, happening October 28 in Tim McGraw's hometown of Rayville, Louisiana. "I'm thrilled to welcome Merle Haggard to Swampstock 2001," McGraw said in a statement. "I've been singing his songs for many years, and there's not a better artist in country music. I'm especially honored to have a Country Music Hall of Fame member on the Swampstock stage for the very first time." The eighth annual concert will also feature McGraw, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and the Warren Brothers. Proceeds from the concert and celebrity softball game will benefit New York fire and police funds as well as Rayville's little league baseball program and various other charities. ...

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack producer T Bone Burnett is working on an album with old-time mountain music patriarch Ralph Stanley. The album is being recorded in Nashville and will be released on Burnett's own new label, DMZ Records, which he is forming with the Coen Brothers, the "O Brother" movie producers. ...

Garth Brooks will launch his new album, Scarecrow, with a series of live radio specials on the album's release date, November 13. Brooks will guide listeners through the album and take caller questions live on the air. The specials will air during morning and afternoon drive times in all time zones, and will be offered to all country radio stations on a non-exclusive basis. "Wrapped Up in You," the album's first single, debuted at #22 this week on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. ...

Following his performance on Sunday's Country Freedom Concert in Nashville, Clint Black will board a military jet to begin a tour of U.S. bases abroad. He'll join the Citizen Patriot Tour, which was organized by former Defense Secretary William Cohen's wife Janet Langhart Cohen. Taylor Dayne and others will be on the tour, details of which were not being released. ...

George Jones will perform at Sunday's Country Freedom Concert as well as at his own concert. The Freedom Concert is at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center, just down the street from the Ryman Auditorium, where Jones' own concert will be held. Opening for Jones there will be Jim Lauderdale, who portrays Jones in the current musical "Stand By Your Man." ...

Suzy Bogguss is fulfilling a longtime ambition by finally putting out a Christmas album. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas will be released on November 1 on her Web site, at Amazon.com and at select record stores. The album includes collaborations with the late Chet Atkins, Ricky Skaggs and Delbert McClinton. ...

Country Music Hall of Fame member Earl Scruggs, Diamond Rio and Montgomery Gentry have been added to Sunday's Country Freedom Concert, bringing the total of confirmed live acts to 16. As the list of performers has grown, so has the length of the telecast. CMT will air the commercial-free concert from 8-11 p.m. ET. The benefit for the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund originally was slated for two hours (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns CMT). ...

Toby Keith will guest star on the CBS TV series "Touched By an Angel" on November 10. The country star plays a performer at a 10-year high school reunion where a wealthy businessman and a famous football player revisit their past. ...

Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn have a pair of nominations each for the 2001 Radio Music Awards, October 26 at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. They contend with Alan Jackson, the Dixie Chicks and George Strait for Country Artist of the Year. Country Song of the Year nominees include Brooks & Dunn's "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You," Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day to Be Alive," Diamond Rio's "One More Day," Jessica Andrews' "Who I Am" and McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years." Martina McBride will perform on the show, and Rascal Flatts will be presenters. The show will be telecast live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. ...

The Dixie Chicks, who haven't played in public since their last tour ended in December 2000, plan to open the 2002 Houston Rodeo on February 12. George Strait will close the rodeo on March 3. It will be the last year for the rodeo in the Astrodome, which will be razed and replaced. ...

Sara Evans' husband's political ambitions are drawing scrutiny in his native Oregon. Craig Schelske announced on Monday that he will seek the Republican nomination for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives now held by Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley, who will seek a fourth term in the 2002 election. Democrats in the district have filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Schelske has been violating federal law by raising campaign funds from his wife's concerts, before he was an announced candidate. Schelske answered that his lawyers advised him that he was in the clear. Evans and Schelske maintain homes in Nashville and Aumsville, Oregon. ...

Buck Owens, 72, has placed a personal ad in several southern California newspapers in search of a fan he briefly met in September while taping an episode of "Family Feud," the Associated Press reports. The Country Music Hall of Fame member lost the woman's phone number and has placed ads that partly read: "Buck has lost contact, would like for you to call Mel Owens at (661) 326-1011. Please call, extremely important." The telephone number is for his offices in Bakersfield, California. The country legend, who is divorcing his wife of 22 years, admits his pursuit is a little unusual. "I know it sounds silly to some people, me looking for her this way," Owens told the AP. "But what if it works?" ...

Willie Nelson will sing with Sheryl Crow and the Dixie Chicks will come out of hibernation to perform on the 35th annual CMA Awards, scheduled for November 7 in Nashville. Crow and Nelson team up on "I'll Be There for You," a duet from Nelson's next album, The Great Divide, due in January. The Dixie Chicks, reigning Entertainer of the Year, have not revealed their plans for the show. Also, Martina McBride performs "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues"; Jessica Andrews sings "Who I Am"; Phil Vassar chooses "Just Another Day in Paradise"; Blake Shelton croons "Austin"; and Cyndi Thomson sings "What I Really Meant to Say." The awards will be broadcast live from the Grand Ole Opry House from 8-11 p.m. ET. ...

The Grand Ole Opry will stage a Veterans Day (November 11) show at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville to raise money for the families of terrorist victims. Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Little Jimmy Dickens, Steve Wariner, Bill Anderson and Porter Wagoner are set to perform. More acts will be announced. In addition to the special Sunday show, regular Opry programs will be held at the Ryman — its former home — from November through February. ...

Martina McBride will put her brainpower to the test as a celebrity contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," taping this week in New York City. McBride's winnings, guaranteed to be at least $32,000, will be donated to a charity of her choice. An air date has not been announced. ...

• Brooks & Dunn
• Webb Pierce
• Reba McEntire

Michael Jackson
Photo: Epic

Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, Tom Petty, Carlos Santana, Celine Dion and Shakira have joined Michael Jackson in asking "What More Can I Give" on a benefit single for September 11 relief efforts.

Also new to the lineup, according to an announcement from Jackson's publicist on Wednesday (October 17), are: Gloria Estefan, Usher, Julio Iglesias, Reba McEntire, Luther Vandross, Brian McKnight, Aaron Carter, Jon Secada, Billy Gilman, Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman, Alejandro Sanz, Christian Castro, Olga Tañón, Juan Gabriel, Luis Miguel, Thalía, Ziggy Marley and 3LW.

Previously announced contributors include Destiny's Child, Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter and Mya. Lovebirds Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were also named as participants when plans were first announced, but there was no mention of them in the latest update. A source close to the project said the two were never confirmed.

"What More Can I Give" will be released in both English and Spanish versions. It was unclear which artists will appear on which one. Jackson penned the song and is producing the English version, while KC Porter is overseeing production of the Spanish rendition. A release date has not been announced.

Jackson has been flying to studios around the country to record with the stars, according to his publicist. Santana recorded his guitar part in San Francisco with Porter last week, while other sessions have taken place in New York and Los Angeles.

The enigmatic pop legend has said he hopes the single will raise $50 million. "I believe in my heart that the music community will come together as one and rally to the aid of thousands of innocent victims," Jackson said in a statement. "There is a tremendous need for relief dollars right now, and through this effort each one of us can play an immediate role in helping comfort so many people."

In 1985, Jackson, Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Harry Belafonte led a group of artists in recording "We Are the World," which benefited famine-relief efforts in Ethiopia.

For more information on and audience reaction to the attacks, including tips on how you can help, see "9.11.01: Moving Forward."

Share your thoughts on the attacks in Afghanistan in You Tell Us.

• Michael Jackson
• Mariah Carey
• Ricky Martin
• Celine Dion
• Tom Petty