Rascal Flatts American Idol Gurus
When Josh Gracin competed on "American Idol" as a country singer, one of the songs that helped him get to 4th place was singing Rascal Flatts' "I'm Movin' On." When the group happened to catch that very show, Jay DeMarcus called Josh to give him some words of encouragement. Jay: "We got in touch and just started talking more and more and he's a huge fan of country music and he felt a little out of place on the Idol show because they weren't particularly embracing country music at that point on the show, so I just tried to encourage him that if he wanted to sing country music that he should stick to his guns and that I was proud of what he'd been able to do and it's great to have him as a label mate (on Lyric Street Records)."

Nelson, Simpson Bring Dukes Film to Military
Willie Nelson, Jessica Simpson and other stars of The Dukes of Hazzard are embarking on a brief USO tour of military installations in three states. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott will join Simpson for a July 26 visit to Robins Air Force Base, Ga., followed by and a July 27 trip to Fort Hood, Texas. Nelson and Simpson are scheduled for a July 29 stop at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif. The cast members will spend time with the military personnel and host a free screening of the movie that hits theaters on Aug. 5. Nelson portrays Uncle Jesse in the film that also stars Burt Reynolds.

Faith Hill Download Big Winner
Amy Greer of Lafayette, Indiana, was more than a little surprised when she downloaded FAITH HILL's "Mississippi Girl" from Apple's I-Tunes Music Store. Surprised, because she didn't expect to win ten iPods, a gift card for 10,000 songs and an all-expenses paid trip to see Coldplay in concert. The reason? The song was the 500-millionth song sold by I-Tunes.

SHeDAISY Tapes PSA for Amber Alert
SHeDAISY will take a break from the recording studio to aid in the safe recovery of kidnapped children by taping a national public service announcement (PSA) for the AMBER Alert Portal. The AMBER Alert Web Portal Consortium, a public/private partnership deploying a seamless, state-by-state alert system linking law enforcement and citizens in the common goal to rescue kidnapped children. SHeDAISY's PSA will debut on Sunday, August 14 during the Amber Alert Portal Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway which will be broadcast live on the ABC network at 3:30 PM ET. Comprised of sisters Kristyn, Kelsi and Kassidy Osborn, the group's current album, Sweet Right Here, was released in June 2004 on Lyric Street Records. The third single from the album, Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing, is currently a Top 10 hit. "SHeDAISY has demonstrated their commitment to saving children's lives," said Chris Warner, Co-Founder of the AMBER Alert Portal. "Their public service announcement will encourage millions of Americans to sign up on www.amberalert.com to receive AMBER Alerts on their cell phones and email. Together, we can let the potential abductor know if they even think of taking a child -- we will all be looking for them."

Wynonna to Ride Harleys for Troops
Wynonna will lead a ride of Harley-Davidson owners across Middle Tennessee on Saturday (July 23) to show her support for U.S. troops. The ride begins at the Bumpus Harley-Davidson dealership in Murfreesboro, Tenn., at 10 a.m., then stops at a dealership near Cool Springs Mall in Franklin, Tenn., before winding up at the Nashville Superspeedway for victory laps. Riders are encouraged to bring items that can be sent to the troops, such as books, cards, magazines, batteries, CDs and DVDs.

Yesterday's Country Music News