Sandbox EntertainmentShania Twain was just named Best Resident Performer in Las Vegas by Las Vegas Weekly for her Caesars Palace show Shania: Still the One, but it isn’t going to keep her around in Sin City any longer.

The star has announced that she’ll wrap up her two-year residency at the Colosseum on December 13, 2014.   In a statement, she says, “At the beginning of this amazing journey, through the rediscovery for my love of performing, I knew the stage would feel like home, but it turned out that Las Vegas itself became ‘home’. Performing for fans who come from all over the world to see the show night-after-night warms my heart.”

She adds, “I started the first international Shania Kids Can clubhouse in Las Vegas because I love this city, and my time here has given me more than anyone can ever know. I can’t thank Las Vegas enough.”

Tickets for Shania’s final 16 performances are on sale now.  They include:

Oct.:  8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 24, 25
Dec.:  6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 

Shania is currently working on new music.

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Image Courtesy Big Machine RecordsTim McGraw is speaking out on that video of him swatting a female fan who was grabbing his jeans at a show in Atlanta weekend before last. Video of the incident went viral, but Tim insists he didn’t intentionally swipe the woman.

The country star tells ET Canada, “I reacted in an instinctive, defensive way from my perspective of what was going on. I think it was an unfortunate situation I think all the way around. But it happened, it happened in a split second, it was pure instinctive reaction, I think you just got to move on.”

Allowing fans to touch him during shows puts Tim in a vulnerable position, too.

He adds, “You are in that position, you are out there, you are vulnerable, things happen and sometimes you react. There’s nothing to be said about it.”

Tim’s Sundown Heaven Town tour continues Tuesday night in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

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Image Courtesy Donn Jones/CMAThe CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock special just added a lot of star power to the lineup. Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Brantley Gilbert, Lady Antebellum, and Blake Shelton are all slated to sing on the show, airing Tuesday, August 5 at 8 ET on ABC.

Little Big Town returns for their second turn as hosts. They join previously announced performers Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Cole Swindell, Hunter Hayes, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Thomas Rhett.

The CMA Music Festival special was filmed at the event of the same name held last month in Nashville.

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Image Courtesy Warner Music NashvilleBrett Eldredge works out constantly to look good onstage, but it turns out the exercise is essential to keeping up with his hectic tour schedule.

He tells Michigan’s Jackson Citizen Patriot, “This job is more than just singing. You’ve got to stay healthy because being on the road is hard on your body.”

When he’s playing arenas, Brett usually runs the stairs before his concerts.

“I do a lot of high-impact cardio and then go hammer out the weights, when they are available,” Brett explains. “When they aren’t, I use this great 100 push-ups app. I also use a seven-minute workout app.”

Brett will be working it out on Keith Urban‘s Raise ‘Em Up tour all summer long.

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Comstock/ThinkstockName the hit song featuring Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church. ANSWER: “The Only Way I Know.”

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Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockBlake Shelton on Sunday shared his thoughts on Maverick and The Rockford Files actor James Garner, who died at the age of 86. Blake tweeted, “Damn sad to hear about James Garner passing away.. One of my favorite actors ever. Always wanted to meet him…”

Brad Paisley made good on his promise to perform “Whiskey Lullaby” with Rising Star contestant Sarah Darling on the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night. Sarah was eliminated from the ABC music completion last week, and Brad extended the invitation to sing with him during that live broadcast.

Tyler Farr shares photos of his just-purchased “dream home” with People.com. The 2,200-square-foot log cabin sits next to a river on 32 acres of land an hour south of Nashville. Jason Aldean lives down the road.

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Image Courtesy Broken Bow RecordsHow did Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney end up drinking a recent afternoon away together at a Nashville-area location of the chain restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings? Jason recently posted a photo on Instagram of himself partying with Kenny. It turns out Jason just sat down at the restaurant with his girlfriend, Brittany Kerr, when he got a call from Kenny.

Jason says, “He goes, ‘Well, I’m at somewhere. We’ve been drinking margaritas all day.’ I was like, ‘Well, come over here and meet us. We just sat down.  We’ll have a beer. Whatever.’”

Jason’s invitation turned to hours of drinking beer, tequila and rum once Kenny showed up.

“All I do know is, I think we ended up calling a car to take us home,” Jason says.  He adds, “Kenny,  he’s a funny dude, man.”

Jason and Kenny have been friends for several years now, but they truly became peers when Jason started headlining stadium shows. Since Kenny has played more than 100 NFL stadium concerts, Jason often goes to him for pointers on how to connect with fans in such a large venue.

Says Jason, “He’s a good guy to kind to have there to kinda talk to about stuff and bounce ideas off of, and been there-done that kind of thing. And still, as long as he has been in the business, he still loves what he does.”

Jason just headlined stadiums in Cleveland and Cincinnati this weekend, and he expects Kenny to get back out on the concert trail in a big way in 2015, too.

Jason says with a laugh, “I know he’s taking some time off right now, and he’s, like, already over it. He’s ready to get on the road.”

Jason debuted a sexy new song, titled “Burnin’ It Down,” at his weekend concerts. He expects to have a new album out by the end of the year.

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Image Courtesy Warner Music NashvilleCole Swindell extends a sexy invitation to an old flame in his latest hit, “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” but quite a few people have misunderstood his intentions in this song.

Cole says with a laugh, ” It’s funny — somebody [was] joking, like, ‘Why is Cole Swindell wishing bad on this girl hoping she gets lonely?’ But, you listen to the song, it’s a good ‘Hope You Get Lonely.’ Yeah, you just hope the girl wants to see you as much as you want to see her.”

Cole goes on to say “Hope You Get Lonely” is one of his favorite songs on his self-titled debut album, which also features his #1 hit “Chillin It.”

“I’m excited about having a new song out, and just the whole album, man,” says Cole. “I’m glad people get to hear more of me than just ‘Chillin’ It,’ ’cause I have several other songs on the album that cover all the bases.”

Look for Cole to perform on ABC’s CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock special coming up Tuesday, August 5 at 8 p.m. ET.

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ABC/Todd WawrychukTaylor Swift made waves not long ago by penning an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal about the future of the music business.  Most people focused on Taylor’s optimism about the industry, but now, her actual writing ability has been put under a microscope.

Entertainment Weekly invited Margo Mifflin, a professor of English at the City University of New York, to “grade” Taylor’s essay and point out any flaws.  Professor Mifflin’s opinion?  “She has a strong, effervescent writing style,” she told the magazine. “But the piece has serious focus problems. It skids all over the place.”  She gives Taylor a B-minus.

Taylor’s essay includes her thoughts about how artists need to surprise fans constantly and take musical risks, how albums can become best-sellers if they connect emotionally with listeners and how autographs and distinctions between musical genres are both obsolete.

For comparison’s sake, Mifflin also critiqued a piece by George Clooney, in which he expressed his anger and frustration over a story in a British tabloid claiming that his future mother-in-law opposes him marrying her daughter.  She gave Clooney’s effort an A-minus, saying that his writing was “pointed” and “persuasive,” but “a little too concise.”

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Image Courtesy: Capitol NashvilleLady Antebellum‘s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood‘s names always come up in discussions about the sexiest men in country music. Their band mate, Hillary Scott, has revealed the secret to Charles and Dave’s sex appeal: “Tight jeans and chest hair.”

She tells them with a laugh, “It’s true, and you always show it.”

Charles claims to be a pioneer among male country stars who are now painting on their pants. He says, “We were wearing tight jeans before Luke [Bryan] did. Let’s just say that. No, I’m just kidding. I just bust on him.”

Dave adds, “We have more chest hair than Luke.”

Charles agrees, saying, “He doesn’t have any chest hair.”

Lady A’s new album, 747, is due out September 30 featuring their latest hit, “Bartender.”

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