JEWEL stars as JUNE CARTER CASH in the bio-pic Ring of Fire, which premieres on Lifetime on Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The TV movie focuses on the highs and lows of June's long relationship with JOHNNY CASH, played by Big Love's Matt Ross, and shines a light on what she went through as the wife of an addict. Jewel tells us she faced a handful of big challenges playing the role, not the least of which was Reese Witherspoon's Oscar-winning portrayal of June in I Walk the Line.
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CARRIE UNDERWOOD has donated $1-million dollars to the American Red Cross for disaster relief.
Carrie says, “I have watched the devastation in my home state of Oklahoma over the past several days with great sadness. With the help of my fans who attended my concerts over the past year, we can offer the Red Cross a little extra help in comforting those affected by the recent tornados.”
The donation comes from a portion of ticket sales throughout Carrie's Blown Away Tour, which wrapped up on Thursday night in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
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MIRANDA LAMBERT'S MuttNation charity is pitching in to help rescue and care for animals that were lost or injured in Monday's tornados.
It all started when Oklahoma's Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese reached out to Miranda asking if she could help. He obviously knew she'd be willing to help.
MuttNation has teamed up with two other charities to send mobile pet rescue units to the area. The units are sheltering animals as they're being treated . . . and they're helping transport them to permanent locations.
Miranda talked about it on Facebook. She said, quote, "I'm so proud that MuttNation Foundation can help even a little."
If you're an animal lover, this might be a good time to dig deep and help the cause. You can donate to MuttNation through their Facebook page here.
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FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE'S song "Cruise" cannot be stopped. It just broke the record for the most weeks at Number One by a DUO in the 69-year history of "Billboard's" Hot Country Songs chart.
The song has been at the top for a total of 12 weeks, passing CARL BUTLER & PEARL'S song "Don't Let Me Cross Over". That spent 11 weeks at the top back in 1962.
In fact, "Cruise" has also had the most weeks at #1 for ANY country act since "Hee-Haw" superstar BUCK OWENS spent 16 weeks at the top in 1963-64 with "Love's Gonna Live Here".
Florida Georgia Line was able to break the record thanks to two different versions of "Cruise". The original album track spent three weeks at the top back in December. The remix, featuring rapper NELLY, kicked it back to #1. (Billboard)
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LITTLE BIG TOWN is hosting this year's "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock".
The show will be taped over the three days of the CMA Fest . . . and then edited down for the TV special that airs August 12th on ABC. Here's a YouTube video of the band talking all about it.
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WILLIE NELSON AND FAMILY will be performing at a benefit cabaret-style show for the Fallen Heroes Fund on June 5th in New York City.
Proceeds will go toward construction of facilities for soldiers suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries. DAN RATHER will host the event. (Full Story)
