Billy Dukes

"It's nice just to be nominated" -- you hear that line every award season, and with the CMA Awards coming in two weeks, the chorus is sure to get stuck on repeat. Lee Brice is up for the New Artist of the Year Award, a deserving honor after a monster year that included an ACM Award, a platinum selling chart-topper in 'A Woman Like You' and a new album that rides a wild emotional rollercoaster. 

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After thumping a country newcomer during yesterday's Showdown, Josh Turner's new single will face a challenger with a little more pedigree on Thursday and Thursday night on Taste of Country Nights radio. 'Find Me a Baby' was just too good for Jaida Dreyer fans to top on Wednesday. Now, the sweet new love song will take on Steve Holy's latest. 

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After just one episode of 'Nashville,' it's difficult to imagine how the show's first radio single is going to fit in with the storyline. 'Telescope' by Hayden Panettiere -- Juliette Barnes on the show -- is a rollicking pop-country song about keeping track of one's man as his eyes wander. After the pilot, it seems like women in 'Nashville' need to have telescopic eyes to keep an eye on Barnes, as she climbs aboard everything with a Y chromosome.

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Add Dustin Lynch to the list of country stars finding their way into the Taste of Country Nights studio. The 'Cowboys and Angels' singer stopped by recently to play his hit song 'Cowboys and Angels' for listeners nationwide. The tender acoustic version of the song makes one of the more well-loved singles of the year a little more memorable.

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If four or five songs from Jason Aldean's new 'Night Train' album reach No. 1, does that mean it's indisputably a great country music record? This seems likely to happen -- the hits are there and Aldean is red hot right now -- yet from top to bottom, the singer's fifth project leaves one wanting some magic never felt before.

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While Faith Hill's 'Cry' was once named one of the best releases of the 2000s, it is not one her biggest country fans would call a career highlight. The album -- which came out 10 years ago today (Oct. 15) -- was purchased by over two million fans worldwide, but failed to produce a country hit.

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The surprise Showdown song of the year has to be 'Love You for a Long Time' by Nashville newcomers High Valley. The brother trio hopes to make it five wins in a row today and tonight on Taste of Country Nights radio. That would mean the peppy love song gets retired to the Showdown Hall of Fame. 

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A dozen country songs were featured on the 'Nashville' season premiere on ABC on Oct. 10. Many of the songs picked for the big debut of the drama series are currently-charting songs, but some of those featured you may not be familiar with yet.

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While the 'Nashville' premiere episode on ABC was loaded with country music, one performance at the very end by characters Scarlett O'Connor and Gunnar Scott (played by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio) is receiving the most attention. The song -- 'If I Didn't Go Better' -- was written and originally recorded by a male/female duet that became a Grammy winning act in 2012. 

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High Valley fans are proving to be some of the most tenacious in country music. The trio's following has moved their new love song 'Love You for a Long Time' to a third straight round of Showdown voting. After topping hits from Little Big Town and Clay Walker, they'll be up against another modern legend on Thursday and Thursday night on Taste of Country Nights radio. 

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