THIS WEEK

Brantley Gilbert Co-Hosts 5/17-18

Brantley Gilbert Co-Hosts 5/17-18

| May 14, 2014

Brantley Gilbert co-hosts the Countdown this week.  His latest hit is “Bottoms Up,” and it’s from his new album, “Just As I Am,” available next Monday.   Brantley talks about the changes in his life that are covered in the songs on his new album.  He talks about the special guests on a song called “Small Town Throwdown.” […]

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Lady Antebellum’s New Bartender

Lady Antebellum’s New Bartender

| May 14, 2014

The word for the day was “new” as Lady Antebellum met with their radio friends in Nashville.  The first new thing was the logo, on the TV screen behind them.  It was the first time the trio saw the new logo.  The next new thing was a brand new single, called “Bartender,” the first release […]

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Flatts’ Joe Don Expecting Baby

Flatts’ Joe Don Expecting Baby

| May 11, 2014

Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney is expecting his third child later this year.  He talked about it with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton: “Our third child, yes, we’re gonna have our own trio.  Late September.  We haven’t announced if it’s a boy or a girl.  I think it was Dolly Parton, who said, ‘It […]

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Top 10 Songs About Mama

Top 10 Songs About Mama

| May 11, 2014

There’s nothing more country than mama.  Except mama’s home cooking.  And just about every country singer has released a song about mama.  Here is our Top 10 list of songs about mama: #10: Mama Don’t Forget To Pray For Me–Diamond Rio’s 1991 hit seemed appropriate for a new band with their first taste of success.  […]

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Flatts Salute Strait In Rewind

Flatts Salute Strait In Rewind

| May 10, 2014

Rascal Flatts current hit “Rewind” has a personal salute to George Strait in the second verse.  It goes: “Try to talk George Strait into givin’ us an encore.”  When the guys we co-hosted Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton, Jay DeMarcus explained the line: “It’s a great story.  The song was originally written, ‘Try to talk […]

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Keith Urban, Vince Gill Raise $600K

Keith Urban, Vince Gill Raise $600K

| May 10, 2014

Tuesday night, Keith Urban and Vince Gill hosted their fifth annual All For The Hall concert in Nashville.  The 3 hour show raised over $600,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.  The show featured a broad range of artists, from newcomers to established superstars to legends.  The day before, Keith met with […]

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Rascal Flatts Co-Host 5/10-11

Rascal Flatts Co-Host 5/10-11

| May 8, 2014

Rascal Flatts co-host the Countdown this week.  Their new CD, “Rewind,” is about to be released.  The album is a very personal project for the guys, who produced most of it themselves.  They’re also about to launch the Rewind Tour with Sheryl Crow and Gloriana.  The guys recall meeting Hunter Hayes when he was a […]

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Behind Hunter Hayes ACM Song

Behind Hunter Hayes ACM Song

| May 4, 2014

When Hunter Hayes performed “Invisible” on the 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards, something very unusual happened.  Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton told Hunter he spoke with the producer of the TV show.  Rac Clark told Lon it was a tough performance, because they had Hunter’s face hidden from the audience for the first few […]

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Hunter Hayes Meets Rock Royalty

Hunter Hayes Meets Rock Royalty

| May 4, 2014

The year had barely begun, and Hunter Hayes met two of rock’s greatest legends.  In January, at the Grammy Awards, Hunter debuted his current hit “Invisible.”  That same day, he met Sir Paul McCartney.  He tells Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton: “I was following around Lindsey Buckingham, because I wanted to meet him, so I was […]

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Did Hunter Hayes Prank Carrie?

Did Hunter Hayes Prank Carrie?

| May 4, 2014

Hunter Hayes spent all of last year on the road with Carrie Underwood.  When she was Lon Helton’s co-host on Country Countdown USA, she told him a story about what happened at the end of the Blown Away Tour: “One of the last nights, I had a girl come into the meet & greet, and she said, ‘I just […]

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