Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles isn’t shy about how she’ll suck in post-holiday poundage to slip into a sexy New Year’s frock.
“Spanx hides all your bumps,” she tells me. “ I’ve got a Spanx on this uterus. They work, and they do what they’re supposed to do. Sometimes they’re a little uncomfortable, but that’s the price of beauty. It’s better than a corset. No boning.” Read more »
Christmas gets a new twist in 2009 for Kim Kardashian, whose sis Kourtney welcomed son Mason earlier this month and sis Khloe wed NBA star Lamar Odom earlier this year. She’s prepared for the unexpected. Read more »
All of country music’s biggest stars were in Nashville last night for the 43rd Annual Country Music Awards. Hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley were energetic and kept the crowd going. Carrie changed 10 times and performed during the awards show. The always gracious Taylor Swift couldn’t believe she won Entertainer of the Year, and also performed along with Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and other country divas. It was definitely ladies night!
Country’s biggest divas including Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire and Martina McBride are in Nashville for the CMA Awards, and offer suggestions about how to best spend time in Music City. Read more »
Although Reba McEntire has released a whopping “31 or 32” albums, including Keep On Loving You out this week, she still fights to keep up with youngins like her good friend Kelly Clarkson.
Reba McEntire has a direct connection to many of today’s hottest stars, but the one performer who wows her is Justin Timberlake.
“My mama wanted me to do another song with him,” the country diva, 53, laughs.
The pair sang The Only Promise That Remains on her 2007 Reba Duets album.
What is JT, 28, really like?
“He’s a good ol’ boy from Memphis, and with all the things he’s done and acquired, he’s still a gentleman. And very thoughtful. He looks at you when you’re talking – looks you right in the eye. His mama and daddy did a great job on him, teaching him his manners and he’s a true Southern gentleman.”
Reba admits his girlfriend Jessica Biel is a great catch.
“Well, I think that’s fine,” she says. “If they’re happy, that’s great.”
Another artist she can’t get enough of is Miss Independent Kelly Clarkson, 26, who issues her fourth release, All I Ever Wanted, on Tuesday.
“I am so excited about her new album,” Reba says. “I’ve listened to most of the cuts. It’s a very diversified album. It’s not just one thing all the time. It’s cute, it’s sassy, it’s emotional and you’re going to love it. I promise you you’re going to love it.”
She continues, “I love her to pieces. We have a lot of fun together. We’ve been on vacations together. I’ve been over to her house to eat dinner, she’s been over to my house to eat dinner, in Nashville and L.A. She’s from Texas, and I’m from Oklahoma. We have a lot of the same ideas. We’re hard-working women and we know what we want in our careers and we take it very seriously.”
Reba and Kelly once picked up takeout from Sonic, and ate by the pool.
“It was a lot of fun,” Reba says.
Reba McEntire is ready to help with tips to make a fresh start with food in 2009.
“There’s no dieting during the holidays, only afterwards,” she tells me. “I had the clue to get off sugar, bread, anything white, rice, gravy – all the good stuff – I eliminate them totally, and small portions. Eat small portions. Get away from the bad stuff, and only eat small portions.”
The singer, 53, wasn’t always wealthy growing up in Oklahoma. She says it’s possible to look like a million bucks – even if you don’t have a lot of cash.
“Surround yourself with people who can make you look beautiful and dress you well,” she says. “I do that.”
With Christmas in full swing, everyone loves to show off their presents. So, what are the best gifts the stars have received? (Psst. They aren’t what you’d expect!)
“It probably was my bag,” Rihanna, who is dating Chris Brown, tells me. “I had a pink bag. The flap was a dog face with hair and stuff, but that always sticks out in my head. Maybe that’s the best one.”
Ne-Yo says, “An uncle of mine gave me a box with nothing in it one year. He really had me thinking for a good six hours that I didn’t get anything, and then later on that night, we went over to his house and he had a bicycle for me. He let me cry and everything. ‘Sorry – you shouldn’t have been bad this year.’ All right.”
Martina McBride says, “I got a puppy one year named Jingle Bells. I don’t think you can beat getting a puppy for Christmas when you’re six years old. That was my best.”
Reba McEntire tells me, “My little sister gave me a pair of my basketball shoes that I wore in high school that she found in our old closet at home. She wrapped them up and gave them to me, and I sat there and cried.”
Julianne Hough’s boyfriend Chuck Wicks says, “I got a nice letter from my dad one time. He described our relationship. Me and my dad are good friends, and anytime you get a letter from your mom or dad that says ‘hey, I love you and you’re my son,’ it was really in-detail things that we experienced growing up. Playing baseball with him in the backyard and football and sports. He’s such a big supporter of what I’m doing – and so is my mom – but I got a letter from him one Christmas, and I’ll never forget that.”
Cody Linley says, “Best Christmas gift was an Emmitt Smith jersey from 1997 because I wore it every single day after that. It was the first time I ever went to a Dallas Cowboys game, and my stepbrother Scott – who is 18 like me – got a Deion Sanders jersey that was just like it. I just have a lot of close memories and of my stepdad Brian. I actually still have that jersey, and the sad thing is, it still fits. It was so big on me at the time – it was.”
“Right after Idol, Ford gave me my mustang, which I got semilate, but it was for Christmas,” Diana DeGarmo tells me. “I have a black-and-pink mustang, and she’s my baby. I haven’t even had her hit 10,000 miles with her, so she’s actually here with me in Nashville. I towed her up from Atlanta. That was officially the best Christmas gift ever-ever.”
Why was it so important?
“Well, as a kid – my mom and I never drove new cars,” Diana continues. “We always drove beaters and things that had four hundred thousand miles on them and would fall apart. That was my very first new car I ever got to sit in and drive. At the time, to be 17 with a brand-new car, it was ridiculous.”
Jake Owen says, “It was a journal because it was one of the most thoughtful things I was ever given. Christmas seems to be – everybody tries to outdo and get big gifts. And I think the person that gave me the journal, it meant a lot, and me being a writer, they knew that. It was something that was really special. I was like ‘wow, this is something I can use every single day.’ And it’s all about giving.”
Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott tells me, “When I was little and I got a Barbie car for Christmas, that was my favorite thing ever. I used the fire out of it. I drove it till it wouldn’t go anymore. That’s probably my most memorable growing up. Lately, it’s just been clothes and a pair of Uggs.”
Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild says the best Christmas gift she’s ever received is her husband. “He’s the best gift in my life,” she tells me.
Darius Rucker tells me, “When I was nine or ten, I got my first acoustic guitar. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and I just remember thinking how great it was that my mom had gotten me a guitar. That was pretty big.”
Jason Aldean seconds that one. “Best Christmas gift I ever received was probably a guitar,” he says. “I got a guitar when I was about 13 years old, and that started this whole craziness of me pursuing this career in music. I definitely think that that was probably the best gift I ever got, and definitely the one that helped me get to this point.”
Brody Jenner shares his biggest holiday blunder.
“Maybe not appreciating a gift when I should have when I was really little, maybe that was embarrassing. But I feel like Christmas is a time to be yourself no matter what happens. Your family and you – there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Perhaps he received a not-so-hot gift? Kelsey Grammer once gave his wife Camille 18 garbage cans – one for each room in their new home. “It was a special, extra-thoughtful gift. Practical, and also very artsy.” Camille adds, “They were attractive.” Kelsey says, “Some were, some weren’t.”
Happy holidays, everyone!
I’m stationed near Maureen McCormick when I jet down to Nashville for the CMA Awards held at the Sommet Center. Woo-hoo!
Reese Witherspoon is radiant in red lipstick – shockingly gorgeous – but doesn’t answer when a reporter asks if she likes country music. Does she stay in a hotel when she’s in Nashville? Nah, she’s staying with her family. Nicole Kidman swans in with hubby Keith Urban, but steps back because she’s letting her hubby “enjoy his night.” Here’s Shania Twain, looking glam – and blonder – than I remember. Nice!
Energetic Miley Cyrus stops to chat, and her kind dad Billy Ray takes a photo of her limelight-loving boyfriend Justin Gaston with fawning female fans. Hahaha. And Taylor Swift is wearing 30-pound dress! “I cannot even believe I was able to walk to the red carpet,” she says. “Try to lift it up. It’s so heavy. It’s like wearing a bag of rocks, but I really like it, so I’m proud to wear this bag of rocks.”
Kellie Pickler has BFF Taylor’s back when it comes to boy troubles. “She’s like my little sister, so I’m very protective of her,” Kellie tells me. “She definitely comes first.” Now that Taylor is getting over the heartbreak of her relationship with Joe Jonas, Kellie is there as she finds a new man. “She just needs someone who is very respectful and understanding of her career,” Kel says. “You know, it’s very time-consuming what we do, so you need someone that’s confident and secure and just a good person. Just respectful.”
Dancing With The Stars performer Julianne Hough is out and about since her surgery for endometriosis. “Oh, I’m fine,” she tells me. “I’m honestly better than new. I feel great, and like I said, better than I felt before I even went in for surgery.” Her boyfriend, Chuck Wicks, was there through it all. “It was easy,” he tells me. “We rented a bunch of movies and we sat on the couch and ate popcorn. And we got a little puppy. Puppies can cure everything. Between the movies, popcorn and the puppy – and her mom was there as well –she recovered pretty quick. It was two weeks, and she was back on the dancefloor doing her thing.” (Bummer! She’s now off the show.)
What’s Reba McEntire’s pre-show ritual? “I just make sure my dress is correctly in place, I’ve got lipgloss on and I get onstage,” she says. “I am not that good at practical jokes, and they always think of better — or worse ones – than I can.”
Dancing With The Stars/Hannah Montana star Cody Linley is here to support Julianne and see Miley, but he’s also getting back to his roots. “I actually lived in Columbia from the ages of two to four. I don’t remember much of it, but to see autumn and see what Nashville is all about and remember again is cool.” Sadly, he’s off the show, too, which is unfortunate considering he had the will to win. “I was just going to say that my birthday’s November 20, and November 25 is the finale of Dancing With The Stars, so it would be the best 19th birthday present a boy could get to have a mirrorball trophy. Man! Winning right there. That’s my hope.” Aww!
American Idol finalist Diana DeGarmo is thinking of Paula Abdul in the wake of the tragic fan incident that occurred outside her home. “Paula’s a wonderful person and she deserves great things,” Diana tells me. “She’s got a great personality and that’s a horrible thing to have to deal with. She’s in my prayers — definitely.”
Miranda Lambert confesses she’s a big eBay shopper whose maximum bid is $100. “I’m cheap.” Does she get upset when she’s outbid? “Yes, I do. I take it personal.” Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles can’t wait to dress warmer. “I’m too excited about winter coming up,” Jennifer says. “I’m into the layered look.”
The Little Big Town girls are in awe of tourmate Carrie Underwood. “She has the best legs in the business,” Kimberly Roads says. Karen Fairchild adds, “She’s a super-disciplined person, so she eats well and she exercises every day. We’re like ‘oh Lord, we’ve gotta up our game. In the gym!’”
Here’s Hootie and The Blowfish singer Darius Rucker. What’s the best marriage advice he’s received? “My wife is always right,” he laughs.
Lady Antebellum take time to reveal their heights – Charles Kelley, 6’6,” Hillary Scott, 5’9,” and Dave Haywood, 6’1” – on the red carpet before they’re shocked by their big win for Best New Artist. They brought their moms as their dates.
“When I was younger, I didn’t attend the CMAs when [mom Linda Davis] won the CMA with Reba, but I was her date for a couple of different CMA Awards,” Hillary says. “For her to be here tonight as my date, and for her to have this crystal trophy on her shelf at home in the house I grew up in, and for me to be taking one home tonight is just crazy. She’s so proud. There’s nothing better than sitting there when the nominees were being read off and holding my mama’s hand. Knowing that she knew exactly what it felt like. We were so lucky to have our moms here. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”
Charles adds, “They were crying their eyes out.”
PRESS ROOM: “I’ve never seen so much of Brad Paisley,” cohost Carrie Underwood gushes about his quick change backstage. The 45-second strip is also a highlight for Brad. “I was still getting dressed walking out,” he says. … Kenny Chesney, who has the hots for Shania, challenges Sugarland to take his Entertainer of the Year Award next year. … Rascal Flatts singer Joe Don Rooney calls fatherhood “amazing.” He says, “To be a father is just a big piece of that puzzle now that’s going to carry us on through the years.”
PARTY TIME: I catch Gretchen Wilson on her way inside the venue, Taylor Swift in the elevator at the Big Machine/Valory Records party and oh yes, there’s Jewel. The salmon and especially the mashed potatoes are amazing – so good! — at the official CMA Awards afterparty. Delish.
This week, it was all about style.
At the 15th annual QVC Presents FFANY Shoes on Sale gala at NYC’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, country star Reba McEntire told me the story of her best friend’s victory over breast cancer.
"She had a mammogram, a sonogram, everything in the world, and they couldn’t find it," Reba shared. "She said I know it’s there because she felt it, and sure enough, it was and they had to do a mastectomy immediately. She’s been cancer free for 10 years now."
Also on hand was fashion fixer Stacy London, who schooled me on what not to wear that night. Bye-bye, inverted pleats!
Catch What Not to Wear Fridays at 9 p.m. on TLC.
Thursday, I was on set with All My Children diva and Dancing with the Stars contender Susan Lucci. She and the cast were celebrating the taping of the soap opera’s 10,000th episode.
"It’s such an enormous number, it’s just mind-boggling," she cooed.
Susan, dressed in a killer blue, cinched duster coat, told me the storyline she’d like to see her Pine Valley counterpart tackle next.
"I think Erica needs to learn how to dance," said Susan. "We saw that handsome dark stranger in the background, and we know that Tony Dovolani is doing a guest appearance. So who is that handsome man on crutches, and doesn’t he turn out to be the new dance teacher at the yacht club?"
Nice plug for your DWTS professional partner, Susan! Look for Tony’s AMC debut the week of Oct. 27.
Later that evening, I went to Morocco with the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City.
Or so it felt like it, as Club Sol was transformed into an exotic African-themed haven.
Bethenny Frankel hosted "Moroccan Style," a fashion show featuring outfits from the country’s brightest designers.
Who did I spot tearing up the runway? Make Me a Supermodel winner Holly Kiser and America’s Next Top Model cycle 10 finalist Fatima Siad. Yep people, there is work after reality TV!
Now, if the Housewives cast wants to take me along on a real trip to the country, I’m so ready to pack my bags.
Until next week, fellow fanatics!
