Courtesy CMTCould a full-fledged Shania comeback be in the works? After several years of lying low post-divorce from longtime producer Mutt Lange, Shania Twain seems to be spending more time in the spotlight than she has in close to a decade.

Last week, the Canadian superstar talked about the progress on her forthcoming album as she walked the red carpet en route to accepting CMT’s Artist of a Lifetime honor at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Once onstage, she joked the moment felt so right, she didn’t want to leave.

It appears the top-selling female in country music history won’t have to vacate her position anytime soon. Billboard will give her its Icon award December 9 in New York City, as the magazine also names Madonna its Woman of the Year.

You can watch the festivities December 12 on Lifetime.

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ABC/Image Group LACan Luke Bryan or Kenny Chesney take down Justin  Bieber? That’s the question at this year’s Billboard Touring Awards, as the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and the “Setting the World on Fire” chart-topper compete for Top Package honors against the Biebs’ Purpose Tour.

Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion joined Kenny for the Spread the Love trek, while Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch rounded out the Kill the Lights run with Luke.

Brad Paisley and Florida Georgia Line are also up for the Concert Marketing & Promotion Award. The 13th annual honors will be passed out November 9 at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles.

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ABC/Paula LoboJason Aldean flipped the ceremonial switch at the Opry Tuesday night, turning the iconic barn pink and kicking off a night to bring awareness to breast cancer. The ACM Entertainer of the Year brought his 11th annual Concert for the Cure to the Grand Ole Opry House this year, playing two shows alongside Hillary Scott & the Scott Family, Chris Young with surprise guest Cassadee Pope, Montgomery Gentry and more.

As is his tradition, the “A Little More Summertime” hitmaker delivered a check to the Nashville chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, offering up more than $450,000 worth of ticket sales from his Six String Circus Tour, to help find a cure for the disease that claimed the life of one of his close friends early in his career. To date, Jason’s raised more than $3 million in that effort.

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ABC/Eric McCandlessJust days after wrapping the initial leg of their Dig Your Roots Tour, Florida Georgia Line is already planning part two. They’ll kick off their winter trek in January, with Dustin Lynch and Chris Lane set to pump up the crowd before the duo takes the stage.

“They are both electric, young performers and great friends of ours!” Brian Kelley says.

“They fit into our vibe perfectly and we know our fans are going to love this new experience,” Tyler Hubbard agrees.

Here’s the list of cities confirmed so far, with tickets going on sale in November:

Allentown, PA
Atlantic City, NJ
Biloxi, MS
Bossier City, LA
Cedar Falls, IA
Champaign, IL
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Charlottesville, VA
Columbia, MO
Durant, OK
Greensboro, NC
Knoxville, TN
Lafayette, LA
Moline, IL
Newark, NJ
Oklahoma City, OK
Omaha, NE
Orlando, FL
Sioux Falls, SD
Springfield, MO
State College, PA
Tallahassee, FL
Uncasville, CT
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Montreal, QC, Canada
Quebec City, QC, Canada

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Country Music AssociationRandy Travis continues to make a remarkable comeback after his devastating stroke three years ago. First, he stunned the world by singing “Amazing Grace” at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum earlier this month, and just this week, he showed up in the audience at Garth Brooks’ Ascend Amphitheater show in Nashville, looking remarkably healthy. Now comes the news he’ll be on next month’s historic CMA Awards.

Promising more performers than any other show in the half-century history of the show, Randy’s fellow 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Daniels will appear, as well as Ricky Skaggs, Roy Clark, Clint Black, Jason Aldean, Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride, Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett, Elle King, a capella sensations Pentatonix and Dwight Yoakum.  

Already set to perform are Alabama, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Charley Pride, Reba, George Strait, Keith Urban and hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

You can catch the 50th Annual CMA Awards next Wednesday, airing live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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EMI Records NashvilleEric Church won’t hit the road again until his Holdin’ My Own Tour kicks off in January, but you won’t have to wait that long to get a preview of the five-time CMA nominee’s new show.

The North Carolina hitmaker will release his second live album November 4 exclusively at Walmart. Mr. Misunderstood On the Rocks Live & (Mostly) Unplugged was recorded back in August during Eric’s two-night stand at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

The set’s seven tracks include his new single, “Kill a Word,” and his latest number-one, “Record Year.” Six come from his latest studio album, Mr. Misunderstood, which he surprise-released at last year’s CMA Awards.  Eric is totally self-contained on the one new track, playing electric guitar and singing on the Leonard Cohen classic, “Hallelujah.”

Here’s the complete rundown for Mr. Misunderstood On the Rocks Live & (Mostly) Unplugged:

“Mistress Named Music — Red Rocks Medley”
“Chattanooga Lucy”
“Mixed Drinks About Feelings” 
“Knives of New Orleans”
“Kill a Word”
“Record Year”
“Hallelujah”

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Capitol NashvilleWith only one more date remaining on the Kill the Lights trek, tourmates Luke Bryan and Little Big Town have clearly become family after spending most of the year on the road together.  Still, Luke maintains he’s barely survived, trying to keep up with the hard-partying quartet.

Last week at CMT’s Artists of the Year gala, the CMA Entertainer of the Year maintained LBT has actually taught him a thing or two about the morning after. Earlier this week at a party celebrating his latest seven number-ones, he clarified exactly what he meant.

“As far as hangover cures, they just start right back drinking,” he laughed. “The hair of the dog, via Little Big Town! And yes, they do party more than me, I’m puttin’ it out there!”

Just as if they knew the accusation was coming, Little Big Town fired a pre-emptive strike during CMA Music Festival back in June.

“He’s so crazy!” Luke’s “Home Alone Tonight” duet partner Karen Fairchild said.

“It’s all Kimberly, she is crazy!” Jimi Westbrook accused.

“I have been thrown in the mix, truth be told!”  Kimberly Schlapman confessed.

“We have a good time! Luke holds his own, believe me,” Jimi asserted.

“He knows how to get a party started, and we’re just trying to…” Phillip Sweet trailed off.

“We’re havin’ fun!” Jimi interjected.

“Yeah, he’s the problem, we’re just joining in,” Karen added.

This Saturday night should be a party to rival all parties, as the tour clocks its final date at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

This week, Luke’s latest single, “Move,” is jockeying for number one, while Little Big Town has just released “Better Man,” the lead single from their next album.

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Heidi Gutman/ABCFor the seventh year in a row, Jennifer Nettles will be back to host the annual CMA Country Christmas special on ABC, and there’s never been a more appropriate time for her to do it. This Friday, the female half of Sugarland is releasing her first solo holiday collection, titled To Celebrate Christmas.

The show itself will be taped Tuesday, November 8, making its home at the Grand Ole Opry House for the second time. As usual, the CMA is encouraging audience members to bring a new, unwrapped toy to help the U.S. Marine Corps with their Toys for Tots drive in Middle Tennessee.

The 2016 edition of CMA Country Christmas will premiere Monday, November 28 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with this year’s special guests to be announced in the coming weeks.

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Reviver RecordsJust a week after they celebrated the very first number-one of their career with “I Know Somebody,” LOCASH is set to sing the national anthem before Game Two of the World Series. You can catch Preston Brust and Chris Lucas performing “The Star Spangled Banner” Wednesday on FOX, before the Cleveland Indians take on the Chicago Cubs at Ohio’s Progressive Field at 8 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the duo is following up their recent chart-topper with their new single “Ring on Every Finger,” their third release from their album The Fighters.

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ABC/Image Group LATonight in Nashville, Jason Aldean flips the symbolic light switch to turn the Opry’s iconic barn pink for breast cancer awareness. For the ACM Entertainer of the Year, it’s a cause that’s been close to his heart for a long time.  

“I lost a really good friend of mine to breast cancer when she was about 29 years old, and [she] left behind two really young daughters,” Jason recalls. “And that happened right about the time my career was taking off and right after I got my record deal and was getting my first songs out. You know…  you start looking and wanting to sort of use your celebrity status for something good. And for me, it was… a no-brainer.”

The Georgia native’s commitment to finding a cure for breast cancer actually goes even deeper than playing tonight’s annual Opry Goes Pink fundraiser.

“We actually take proceeds from every ticket sold throughout the course of the whole year…  proceeds from every ticket go into a pot, and at the end of the year, we pick a city, we play a show there and we give all that money to that particular city, that chapter of Susan G. Komen… So this year happens to be Nashville,” Jason says.  

In addition to Jason’s donation tonight, the Opry will also give five dollars from every ticket sold to its chosen cause, Women Rock for the Cure.

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