Carrie Underpants! Underwood gets leggy on CMAs with grindy 'Cowboy Casanova'

This is about as suggestive as Carrie Underwood gets. She could have used more of that hip swivel on her ho-hum new album.

'Fearless' picks for tonight's CMA Awards

 

If Taylor Swift doesn't win Entertainer of the Year at tonight's CMAs (ABC, 8 p.m.), I'll streak the Dallas Bull. AVERT YOUR EYES!

REVIEW: Carrie Underwood's new album 'Play On' gets a C+...for now

 

Carrie Underwood and I have a complicated relationship.

READ ABOUT OUR TWISTED LOVE.

Taylor Swift to play St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa on March 4, 2010

 

Taylor Swift -- the sly Nashville siren who has the uncanny ability to make smart men do dumbass things (see West, Kanye and Schnitt, Todd "MJ") -- is bringing her superpowers to Tampa's St. Pete Times Forum on March 4, 2010. She'll be joined by BFF Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Tickets go on sale Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. Go to ticketmaster.com for more info. In related Swift news, she'll host Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7. I'll bet you a fat wad of cash they get Kanye to appear, too. Oh, the hijinks that will ensue...

Carrie Underwood: New song 'Cowboy Casanova' (new album out Nov. 3)

In case you can't tell from this teaser, Carrie Underwood's new album, Play On, comes out on Nov. 3. Whattaya think?

Love and Theft's Stephen Barker Liles scores No. 1 album, does not score with Taylor Swift

Back before the Disney deals, and the smash album and those randy rumors regarding Taylor Swift, Stephen Barker Liles was a scrappy athlete at Oldsmar Christian with a hoops scholarship to USF. “I actually wanted to be a head basketball coach,” says the 25-year-old Clearwater native (pictured, left), who wound up a student assistant on the Bulls team.

But after college (not to mention a proud need-cash stint at the Sam’s Club on Gulf-to-Bay), Liles took a trip to Nashville, where his intense hoop dreams turned into fervent musical ones.

On Tuesday, Liles’ band, the trio Love and Theft, released debut album World Wide Open. The breezy, harmony-fat disc — “the new Eagles” is how Liles describes the sound — is on Carolwood Records, a subsidiary of Disney’s Lyric Street. It hit No. 1 on iTunes’ country charts, thanks to Runaway, a song about Liles ditching FLA.

During a massive publicity push, Liles — who grew up singing at the Calvary Baptist Church and now croons, writes and plays guitar and piano in his band — chatted with his hometown newspaper. Because I’m classy, I respectfully tossed him a few softballs before asking if he totally macked on Swift.

Your band is named after 2001 Dylan album Love and Theft. I’m a Bob freak, too. What's your top song?
[Singing] Oh the times they are a-changin’....I listen to that one all the time. That and Hurricane. I love what Hurricane represents. There are so many people in jail who just didn’t get a fair trial. [Quick history lesson, Pop Lifers: In 1966, Boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was accused of a triple murder and spent 20 years in jail before being released. Dylan’s eight-minute defense of Carter appeared on 1976 release Desire.]

What does the average Love and Theft groupie look like?
I don’t know about the average anymore. We now have grandparents watching us because we remind them of bands they liked. But yeah, we definitely have the young girls, too, because maybe we’re, um, okay looking. [Psst: Think of Love and Theft as Rascal Flatts with cuter noses, more tattoos and cooler record collections.]

How do the rock-star dreams you farmed in Tampa Bay compare with the rock-star realities of today?
I believe in dreaming big, but I could never have prepared for how things turned out. It’s been amazing. Things are moving very fast. We’re No. 1 on iTunes. We toured with Taylor Swift...

Okay, you know I have to pounce on that segue, right? Taylor Swift, the pop princess of Nashville, wrote a sweet, crushy song about you, Hey Stephen. Gift or curse?
It was a nice gift, one of the nicest things anyone’s given me. [Sample lyric: “Cause I can’t help it if you look like an angel / Can’t help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain / Come feel this magic I’ve been feeling since I met you...”]

So...did you guys hook up?
We never really did. We spent a lot of time together on the phone. I met her during a crazy time in her life and our lives. She’s a great person. [Do you believe him, Pop Lifers? I think I do.]

I Bleepin' Love This Song! George Strait 'El Rey'

George Strait
Song: El Rey
Album: Twang (MCA Nashville)
It’s good to be the kings: “King” George Strait just scored his 21st No. 1 album with the new Twang. The Nashville stud is money in the bank, his Lone Star baritone knocking down play-it-safe ballads and top-tappin’ honky-tonk for the past four decades. The late Jose Alfredo “El Rey” Jimenez was the king of modern mariachi, a master of the cancion ranchera. And now, in a downright besotted turn, the risk-averse Strait is honoring Jimenez’s classic El Rey — and he’s doing it entirely in Spanish. The closing cut on Twang, El Rey features George busting out the espanol in a voice higher than usual; as the trumpets blast and the ay-yi-yi’s cackle, you'll wanna slam a cerveza and grab a dance partner.
Reminds us of: There’s a new coffee-table book, Mariachi by Patricia Greathouse, packed with glossy art, smart writing and a nine-song CD. It’s nothing less than my current obsession.
Grade: A

Kenny Chesney Hot Tub Party, Tampa, Aug. 8

I snapped this picture -- nay, richly textured photo essay -- at Saturday's Kenny Chesney show at Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa. Notice how it captures both the fear and optimism of Young America. Those aren't just suds from a makeshift hot tub -- they are the figurative clouds their dreams rest upon.

If you'd like to read my heart-tugging opus on the Chesney phenomenon, GO HERE.

If you'd like to see the work of a real photographer, my new best buddy Kainaz Amaria, check out her spectacular photo gallery RIGHT HERE.

And if you'd like to read other chit-chat on Saturday's show, come see me on my Facebook page. All "friends" are welcome.

Taylor Swift: New song "You Belong With Me"

Taylor Swift |MTV Music

Although my 5-year-old daughter Kid Lulu picked this song for you today, I gotta say: It's now official that every single Taylor Swift hit sounds the same. She hankers for a boy who either doesn't love her back or wants to ditch this small town. The rather obvious ruse is that Taylor Swift -- Clark Kent glasses or not -- is hot and rich and how much longer are we gonna believe she can't bag any surfer she wants? But maybe I'm missing the point.

Stephanie Hayes wants to smash a proverbial pie in your face (then give you prizes!)

My impish cohort Stephanie Hayes is having a big contest over at her Deal Divas blog. It seems if you send her mortifying pix of horrific concert fashion miscues (a nippleless mesh shirt at a Judas Priest show, that conical bra you strutted for a Madonna gig, etc), you have a shot at winning killer Rascal Flatts tix + meet-and-greet passes. I promised her I'd hype this sucker, and so I am. Sounds like a fun contest. But for the record, I spiritually upchucked when I typed "killer Rascal Flatts tix." Anyway, GO HERE for all the excitement!!