George Strait is having a terrific week. After celebrating his 61st birthday last weekend, the Country Music Hall of Famer got news Wednesday that his new album, “Love Is Everything,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart and No. 2 on the all-genre top albums chart this week, selling nearly 120,000 copies in its first week of release. That’s a sharp increase from the 91,000 first week sales of his last album, 2011’s “Here For A Good Time.” It’s the 40th album of his career, and the 16th to hit No. 1 since Billboard started using SoundScan to track album sales.

 

In more good news for the singer, the album’s lead track, “Give It All We Got Tonight,” surged up the singles chart this week, landing at No. 1 on the Mediabase chart and No. 2 on Billboard’s country airplay chart. In an ultimately successful effort to get Strait his 60th No. 1 single, country radio stations across the country whose spins are tallied for those charts put the song into overdrive last week, urged on by the MCA Nashville record promotion team. One station in Nashville reportedly played the song nonstop for a solid hour to boost its spin count.

 

It was all part of an organized effort to land Strait his 60th No. 1 while he was still 60 years old, a goal narrowly missed by just a few days.  Regardless of timing, however, the chart topper makes Strait the first music artist in history, regardless of genre, to place 60 songs at the top of the charts, according to his record label.

 

“I didn’t realize we were making history,” says Strait in a prepared statement. “I just hoped we were putting out music that my fans would enjoy. As always, I’m thankful to the fans and country radio for their support on all 60 of these number one songs as well as my entire career. They are the ones who made this happen.

 

“This has been a fantastic birthday week,” adds Strait. “I may be 61, but I don’t feel a day over 60.”

 

Billboard breaks news that Blake Shelton and NBC are in the process of organizing a benefit concert for the victims of Monday’s deadly tornado that devastated parts of the singer’s home state of Oklahoma.

 

“We’ll know more about it in the next 24 hours,” Shelton told Billboard at the conclusion of Tuesday’s “The Voice” on NBC. “I’m hoping it will raise a lot of money,” he said. “Obviously it will be televised and will happen really quickly.”

While pointing to his fellow coach on “The Voice,” Usher, Shelton told Billboard, “I can call in some really big favors.”

Shelton and his wife Miranda Lambert opened Tuesday’s episode of “The Voice” with a moving duet on their co-written song, “Over You,” with Lambert taking the lead and Shelton playing guitar and providing harmony vocals. The song was previously an award-winning country hit for Lambert.

“I think it was the perfect song for this situation,” Shelton told Billboard. “The moment was right and I wish things would’ve been different and I wouldn’t have been thinking about performing a song like that.”

Shelton will perform on the show again next week with his new Warner Music Nashville label mate Sheryl Crow, who has appeared as a mentor on the show. Her debut album for the label is slated for release in September. First single “Easy” is climbing the country singles charts.

 

Country music stars are having a bang-up week on reality TV shows. Tonight, Kellie Pickler was named champion of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” alongside partner Derek Hough. Pickler’s win follows Sunday night’s “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” upset on NBC that had Trace Adkins besting the runner-up, magician Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller.

 

Pickler and Hough (pictured on the left) sealed their win with a stunning freestyle dance routine on last night’s show. Tonight’s victory marked Hough’s fourth time winning the competition with a celebrity partner.

 

The pair bested second place finisher Zendaya, a 16-year-old Disney star, as well as third place finisher Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens, and the fourth place finisher, Olympic gymnast Alexandra (“Ali”) Raisman.

 

Adkins, meanwhile, was playing “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” on behalf of his chosen charity, The American Red Cross, for which he is also a spokesman and member of the charity’s National Celebrity Cabinet. Through participation in the “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” show, Adkins has raised more than $1.5 million for the Red Cross.

 

On May 18, Adkins (right) received the Red Cross Crystal Cross Award in recognition of his exemplary support of and service to the Red Cross mission.

The singer first appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2008, when he came in second to Piers Morgan.

Smartly, both Adkins and Pickler timed the recent release of new singles around their TV victories. Pickler’s new song is “Someone Somewhere Tonight.” Adkins’ current single is “Watch The World End,” a duet with Colbie Callait.

 

America is watching in helpless horror as the tragic post-tornado stories and images emerge from Oklahoma. Meanwhile, country stars who live in the state or were raised there are also reacting to the May 20 tragedy, including one who narrowly avoided the danger.

 

Ronnie Dunn tweeted on Monday, “Stopped to spend the night in Shawnee, Okla. Just woke up to another tornado hitting Moore. Right in front of it!” In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, “We got out just before it hit. Those poor people. We will help when and where we can.”

 

The storm also hit close to home for Norman, Okla., resident Toby Keith. He issued this media statement: “This storm has devastated the community that I grew up in. I rode my bike through those neighborhoods. I have family and friends in Moore. My heart and prayers go to those that have lost so much. But Moore is strong and we will persevere. God be with you all.”

 

God was also top of mind for other stars with connections to the state. Tweeted Tishomingo, Okla., resident Miranda Lambert, “Pray. That's all we [c]an do. Pray for peace for Oklahoma.”

 

And Checotah, Okla., native Carrie Underwood tweeted, “I'm thinking about and praying for my beautiful home state and the people in it tonight. Growing up in tornado alley, you always know what could happen. It doesn’t change how devastating it is when something does happen. #pray.”

 

Fellow Sooner Reba McEntire tweeted, “All my prayers go out to the folks in Oklahoma dealing with these tornados. Stay safe everyone!”

 

Oklahoma native Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts wrote, “My thoughts & prayers are with my home state of Oklahoma. May God’s love & grace be with all affected by these horrible storms.”

Wrote current Oklahoman Trisha Yearwood, "Pray for everyone devastated by these storms, but especially for those families in Moore, OK."

 

One other Oklahoma native and resident, Blake Shelton, tweeted when news first broke about the damage, but not since. Wrote Shelton, “Just landed in LA and hearing about all the tornados in Oklahoma right now... Get somewhere safe!”

 

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles has announced the release of her first solo album this fall. She’s working with high-profile producer Rick Rubin on the project.

 

Nettles has recorded with Sugarland since 2004, when the group started as a trio, later becoming a duo with Nettles and musical partner Kristian Bush. Together, the band has notched five No. 1 singles. Bush, like Nettles, has been pursuing numerous solo projects of late.

 

Asked about the status of Sugarland, a senior record label representative at Universal Music told One Country, “Sugarland has not broken up. Both artists are just taking a little time apart to explore new things individually and professionally.”

 

Nettles gave birth to her first child, son Magnus Hamilton Miller in December, and she tells Country Weekly, “I have had a huge milestone in my life reminding me of the beauty of my roots. This album is a celebration of those roots and I am so excited to share it.”

Rolling Stone spoke with Nettles and Rubin, and reports that they’ve been “holed up” for the past month in Rubin’s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, Calif., working on the project. Among Nettles songwriting collaborators on the album is fellow singer and onetime Sugarland touring partner Sara Bareilles.

 

In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Rubin says of the album in progress, “It goes in a lot of cool different directions. There’s country, but also blues, jazz, island rhythms, great classic rock moments, and a lot of soul. The organizing principle is Jennifer’s voice and tastes. There’s a lot of styles, but it all sounds like her.”

“This album is different than what I’ve done before,” Nettles tells Rolling Stone. “What I do with Sugarland, primarily it’s stuff that starts with me and Kristian writing together. It’s fun to play with that masculine energy, but for this I wanted to do something really personal—more intimate and emotional.”

Continues Nettles, “It’s a celebration of my roots, and where I am today. I’m a different version of myself than what people might have known before—not only in my songwriting and performance, but even in the sounds on this album. It reflects a more soulful, grittier life. A lot has been lived in the time between the last record I made and now, and you can hear that.

“I’m a working mother now,” she adds. “The timing was right, both in the arc of my life and as an artist. You can get comfortable with certain sounds, and your fans come to expect them. At the same time, I wanted to play with different parts of my voice or my writing. It won’t be a shock or surprise to a Sugarland fan, but hopefully it will bring in new listeners, too.”

While best known for his work in other genres of music, Rubin has plenty of country credentials as well, having produced projects for Johnny Cash and the Dixie Chicks, as well as an aborted project for The Band Perry. Outside of country, Rubin was worked a diverse list of stars as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Neil Diamond, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Sheryl Crow, The Avett Brothers, Linkin Park, Lana Del Ray, Adele and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

Says Nettles in a prepared statement, “I am absolutely thrilled and wholly proud to be working with Rick. If you ask any musician who is on their producer ‘bucket list’, Rick would be on each and every one.”

 

Tonight, Nettles is in Las Vegas where she can be seen as a presenter at the Billboard Music Awards airing live on ABC. 

 

Tim McGraw was clearly having a blast during the taping of his network TV special last month in Las Vegas, and his enthusiasm translated to the live audience, who happily hung in for a grueling, nearly four-hour taping that included performance do-overs from multiple stars.

 

The special, which will be edited down to two hours for broadcast, premieres Sunday night, May 19 on CBS at 9 p.m. (ET). Titled “ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night,” it’s scheduled for a tough night of television, going head to head with both the “Billboard Music Awards” on ABC and the finale of “The Celebrity Apprentice” (starring Trace Adkins) on NBC.

 

Taped April 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (where the “Billboard Music Awards” will also be originating live) the 17-song show included McGraw performing four songs solo, and joining forces for duets with Pitbull (pictured with McGraw below) and Ne-Yo, as well as Taylor Swift along with Keith Urban (on guitar). For the show’s finale, McGraw and John Fogerty teamed up for “Born On The Bayou,” joined by Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Urban. Yelled McGraw to the crowd, “John Effin’ Fogerty.”

 

Also teaming up for a performance were Florida Georgia Line and Nelly. Solo performers on the show are The Band Perry, Urban, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Aldean, Bryan, Brantley Gilbert and Faith Hill.

 

As with most TV tapings, the best moments happened off camera. Between songs, McGraw engaged two sides of the audience in a cheer off, then yelled, “I love my job!” During another stage transition, McGraw spontaneously serenaded the crowd with George Strait’s “You Look So Good In Love” as the crew adjusted his vocal mix.

 

After wife Hill’s energetic performance of early career hit “Piece of My Heart,” McGraw returned to the stage, imitated one of her sexier dance moves, then quipped, “I get to take her home tonight.”

 

Debuting new single “Goodbye Town” for the first time, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley jokingly urged the crowd to “Act like it’s your favorite damn tune in the world.”

 

During the intro to “Highway Don’t Care,” Swift missed her cue on the first pass because she was goofing around with the audience, telling them “Hi, I’m Taylor, this is Keith.” Swift also provided one of the show’s stranger moments, offering sexy looks and pouty poses that didn’t fit the song each time the camera passed by her. In another odd moment, McGraw’s performance of “One Of Those Nights” began with a filmed bit of backstage business that involves him checking out his reflection in a mirror, reminiscent of onetime “Saturday Night Live” character Stuart Smalley (played by Al Franken), who was fond of telling his reflection, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me.”

 

Four stars of the show “Duck Dynasty,” a favorite in country music circles, make an appearance to introduce one performance.

 

Commenting on some of his favorite of the night’s performances, McGraw says, “Florida Georgia Line and Nelly (singing ‘Cruise’) was really cool. That’s one of my favorite things on the radio right now. [And] my wife’s performance sort of blew me away. It kinda caught me off guard when she went out there because she sorta upped the game. I had to go out behind her, and she did pretty awesome.”

 

Other highlights for the star included several of the non-country artists. “Singing with Ne-Yo was something that was really cool,” says McGraw, who has twice collaborated with the R&B artist previously. “Instantly I became a better singer the minute I started singing with him. He’s just that good.”

 

Watching Fogerty perform was another highlight for McGraw, who says, “I don’t want to say his age, but I guess he’s mid-’60s . . . and he flat sang his ass off. He just blew us all [away]. We were looking at each other like ‘What are we even doing in this business?’ when we saw him start singing and playing ’cause he’s just truly one of the masters at it.” (Fogerty, for the record, turns 68 later this month.)

 

As for his pairing with Pitbull, McGraw says, “I met him at the Grammys for the first time. He came up and introduced himself to me and we started talking and when we walked away, I told Faith ‘That’s just a real guy there; [a] real genuine guy.’ When we started putting this special together . . . I wanted him to be a part of [it]. I just really like him. I like the vibe that he brings to the room. He just brings so much energy and so much respect to everybody, and I think that just shows when he hits the stage.”

 

Ticket proceeds from the live event went to the Academy of Country Music’s charity arm, ACM Lifting Lives, which works to improve lives through the power of music.

 

The Eli Young Band hit the studio yesterday with legendary country band Alabama to re-cut the latter’s 1983 No. 1 hit “The Closer You Get” for an upcoming Alabama tribute album.

 

As previously reported here, the tribute compilation, “Alabama & Friends,” is slated for release this fall, and will include hits plus a couple of new Alabama songs. Other artists participating in the project include Toby Keith, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Trisha Yearwood.

 

The album will feature the three current members of Alabama dueting with other acts, including Aldean, on some of the tracks. Others tracks will not include Alabama.

 

Eli Young Band is currently on the road opening dates on Kenny Chesney’s “No Shoes Nation Tour.” The group plans to release a new single from their own current album in July.

 

Pictured, from left, are Eli Young Band’s James Young and Mike Eli, producer Michael Knox, Alabama’s Randy Owen, and Eli Young Band’s Jon Jones and Chris Thompson.

 

For the second year, John Rich is organizing and headlining a Memphis concert to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is headquartered in the city. “St. Jude Presents John Rich & Friends” will take place June 4 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Rich will perform along with his Big & Rich partner, Big Kenny. Also on the bill are Wynonna Judd, comedian Larry the Cable Guy and actress Lisa Rinna.

 

Rich, right, and Big Kenny are pictured with St. Jude patient Caleb last year’s concert.

 

Both Rich and Rinna made St. Jude their charity of choice when they competed on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and each star separately brought in significant funds for the hospital, which does not charge families for care, housing or food.

 

“One of the greatest honors of my life’s work is to help the kids at St Jude,” says Rich in a prepared statement. “To bring music to their lives, and use music to raise funds for their care is something bigger than a hit song or a sold out concert.”

 

“From the first time I visited St. Jude years ago, I knew that it was a place I belonged,” says Judd in her own media statement. “As a mother, I look into the eyes of every child and I realize that they could easily be one of my children. As an artist, I ask myself, ‘What can I do to bring a blessing to these wounded and hurting families?’”

 

Adds Larry the Cable Guy, “I’m so excited to be a part of John Rich’s event. We’ll have fun and git-r-done for St. Jude!”

 

Rich’s concert will serve as the kickoff event for 2013 FedEx St. Jude Classic. Tickets for the show are still available at Ticketmaster, and range from $40-$80.

 

The FedEx St. Jude Classic has raised more than $26 million for the kids of St. Jude. In addition to the concert, related events include the Danny Thomas Pro-Am, Window World Pro-Am, Michelob Ultra Party Tent, a Kids Zone and a Saturday night concert after party.