The Front Porch Blog

Rumors from the Row

Jessica Phillips  |  May 4, 2009

***Clint Black heard those dreaded words last night from CEO Donald Trump. The singer/songwriter was the latest contestant fired during Celebrity Apprentice. Although he did not fare as well as Trace Adkins last season (Trace was the runner-up in last year's competition, while Black came in fourth this year), Trump believes Black was an excellent candidate. "Clint is not only a gifted musician and songwriter, but he's a good businessman," Donald Trump wrote on his TrumpUniversity.com blog. "He has his own record company and has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. He's bringing a lot of talent to the boardroom."

***Kenny Chesney continues his string of summer anthems with the video for "Out Last Night," which debuts this week.

***People Magazine features more than a few country stars in this year's "Most Beautiful" issue. "All-American Girl" Carrie Underwood, "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Julianne Hough and long-haired country boy Jason Michael Carroll (who just released a new album) were all on the list. Taylor Swift was also included; this is the second year on the list for both Swift and Underwood.

***Eric Church will perform three times at Nashville bar The Rutledge during the CMA Music Fest this year. June 11th will feature an acoustic set with Church and his band, June 12th will feature Church and more of his songwriting parters, and June 13th will be a "request only" show.

***Country has yet again gone Hollywood (and Broadway). Rumor has it that newcomer Adam Gregory will be in Los Angeles soon, to take part in filming the new movie, WWJD, which is based on the book, What Would Jesus Do. Meanwhile, Dolly Parton is celebrating the first performances of her new Broadway musical, 9 to 5, while the golden-throated Joe Nichols is headed to New York to star in the musical version of George Strait's Gone Country.

***Reba McEntire will release a new album this year, rumored to be titled Keep On Loving You; the album is currently scheduled for an August release.