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CHESNEY EXCITED ABOUT HIS "SUMMER IN 3D" MOVIE
 cf.com
“All of a sudden, I’m hearing the music all around me… and then when I saw the images up on that giant screen… all I could think of were all the lives that had come together to get me to that point,” the obviously moved singer/songwriter from Luttrell, TN said standing outside the soundstage. “I’ve been looking at this footage for months now… in both 2-D and 3-D, so I know it pretty well. But when you see it like that, especially when you see the fans’ faces looking out from the screen…
“Well, you see the people singing along, reaching up, clapping along – and it just hits you: these aren’t people who’re here because they like the songs. They’re here because they believe in what we’ve built, too… because they were a big part of this: telling their friends, coming back, playing me in their trucks, on the way to things that were such a part of their lives.
“To see that kind of passion… To be able to really see those faces where I can just stand there and take it all in… Now that is something I don’t see very much, and I go to a lot of shows, and watch a lot of crowds, but the folks who come out for us, well, it’s something I can’t explain, but I can’t wait for the fans to get to see themselves, to get to see what me and the guys get to see every night! It’s cool…”honestly, I can’t think of very many things I’ve been as fired up about finishing and getting out to the fans. The places these cameras go, the way the songs and the people are captured… This truly is closer than you can get with a ticket, but it’s also the chance to see things from a perspective that’s not just mine, but where none of us could ever go…”
With a national opening April 21, Chesney is under the gun to get all the editing and sweetening done in time for the prints to be manufactured. Though the process can be tedious, Chesney says that his time in California has really kicked him into overdrive.
TIM AND FAITH HIGHEST EARNING COUNTRY COUPLE
 cf.com
SPEAKING OF TIM...
Tim McGraw’s co-star in "The Blind Side," Sandra Bullock, was recently named the most bankable star in Hollywood, according to Forbes magazine, which compares salary and film earnings. Although Tim had never met Sandra before they filmed the movie together, he is thrilled for her success, not only because he genuinely likes her as a person, but because he thinks it sets a great example for his daughters. Tim says, “She's very professional, she knows exactly what she's doing, she knows exactly how to get things done. She's just very good at what she does and you can see why she's successful when you're around her. And besides all that, she's friendly. She's not a diva at all… And it's good, being a father of three daughters, to see a woman have that kind of success is always good, and you'll always applaud that and you always want to see more of that.”
NOTE: Sandra Bullock was well aware of Tim McGraw's acting ability when she was told he was being considered for his role in "The Blind Side." She said, "I said yes, to Tim McGraw, he's great and perfect for this part!."
ONE OTHER McGRAW NOTE:
ETOnline is reporting that Tim McGraw will be part of the pre-race extravaganza for the 52nd annual Daytona 500. He will play three songs as part of the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show on February 14th, with pre-race coverage beginning at 1pm ET on FOX.
And, SPEAKING OF KEITH AND NICOLE...THE PERFORMED TOGETHER SORTA...
 Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman performed a rare duet together Saturday night at the G’Day USA Ball, which honors Aussies who impact the USA. The couple performed a parody version of the Men at Work song, “Down Under”, with lyrics written for honoree, actor Simon Baker, from TV’s The Mentalist ("His name is Simon Baker. Surfer dude. Home renovator. He was bound to be a Hollywood player…”). Keith did the majority of the singing while Nicole jumped in on occasional lyrics in between dancing and twirling around the stage.
(This is the only REALLY poor quality video of the event that could be found on the internet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31CsuFwYbsk&feature=player_embedded)
TAYLOR SWIFT COVER GIRL X 2
 cf.com
TAYLOR'S LOVE LOST ADVICE...
And Taylor, who recently split up with Taylor Lautner, offers some break-up advice to readers. She recommends a clean break. “Don’t answer his e-mails especially after a relationship is over. I’m a big fan of just cutting it off because I know myself and I’m not the kind of person who can just be buddy-buddy with a guy after we break up, especially if it was a bad breakup. I’m not into letting it linger and drag on forever.”
RUCKER WORKING ON SOPHOMORE COUNTRY ALBUM, INCLUDES RASCAL FLATTS
 cf.com
BLAINE LARSEN, SEEING ST. JUDES AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME
Blaine Larsen had made the annual Country Radio St Jude’s trip when he was a young solo artist signed to a major label – and he was impressed with the courage and joy of the children and their parents even then. But when Larsen returned this year – with his independent Not Too Bad already yielding the hit “It Did” – he saw the patients and their families through all new eyes.
“You realize how hard St Jude’s works to put the power to get well in their hands,” Larsen marvels. “You know, only maybe 20 kids are in the hospital full-time. They try really hard to let them go home, whether it’s to apartments near the hospital or back to where they actually come from… which they do by working aggressively on a treatment protocol that the family can take back to their doctors… since children do better when they’re in a more natural environment.
“And since St Jude’s started, the rate of children surviving leukemia has gone from 5% to 95%. When you think about that, you realize: committed people are the ones who make the difference. They work hard to give these people the power to get well… and it works.”
REGARDING HIS SELF-INSPIRING DECISION TO REENTER COUNTRY MUSIC IN AN INDY LABEL, Blaine explained, “Someone asked me if I was scared, and with my manager Clint Higham, who really believed in what I wanted to do with this music, we decided it was better to be true to who I am – because he very much believes in what I wanted to do – than it was to compromise the music to fit somewhere maybe I don’t truly belong just because it was a major.
“Then you come here… and you see these kids, the families… and they’re fighting for their lives. That’s something to be scared about… only there’s so much joy, so much faith, how can you worry about doing the right thing.
“I met a young guy named Jake, who came here when was 9 years old. He had a brain tumor, and the St Jude’s people were committed to getting him through it. Well, this year, he’s 14 and if he didn’t tell you why he was here, he’s a perfectly normal teenager! You’d never know anything has ever been wrong with him… and he only comes back every 6 months to make sure everything’s still good.
“To see someone like Jake, you realize the power of what you believe and how hard you work. No matter what we do, how hard it gets, normal people beat big odds… every day. I’ll always have Jake to remind me what’s possible. What more can you ask for? Sure, we visit the kids, but you know, I think I got a lot more out of the trip than anything I maybe gave to anyone else. Whoever said you get more than you give was right!”
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