The 16-year-old country singer performed Hunter Hayes‘ latest single “I Want Crazy” alongside Hayes himself. Afterwards, she thanked her coach for all his help.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best @blakeshelton Team Blake is like a family and we love ya coach!!!! Thank you for everything!!

— Danielle Bradbery (@DBradbery) June 18, 2013

Shelton (who turned 37 yesterday) shared his excitement as well. His, of course, had a few more expletives.

The finale also included a slew of high-profile performances from artists such as Cher (her first time performing in five years), Florida Georgia Line with Nelly, Bob Seger, OneRepublic, Bruno Mars, and Pitbull with Christina Aguilera (who’s returning to her judge’s chair next season). 

It was Cher’s performance in particular that proved to be one of the night’s focal points. She debuted her new single, “Woman’s World,” off her upcoming album Closer To The Truth (out September 24). The upcoming release will be her first in 12 years.  

Read more about The Voice finale and see clips of the performances on Radio.com

Lady A’s last performance before their break was over the weekend at a three-day music festival at Hunter Mountain in New York. Taste of County noted Hillary was on her A-game, and didn’t miss a beat as she performed with band-mates Charles Kelly and Dave Haywood. Their energy level was through the roof, and the trio even gave an encore performance with “Need You Now,” the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” and fittingly, they ended their encore with “We Owned the Night.”

Even with Hillary at eight months pregnant, they definitely “owned” the night. It’s uncertain at this time how long the band will be breaking from tour or if they will resume touring later this year. As of now, their shows have been cancelled through September. See their schedule here.

We wish Hillary a safe delivery and congratulations to the mother-to-be!

-Ashley Quadros, KNCI/Sacramento

The song they chose, too, was one of the group’s most unabashedly twangy numbers, “Dead Flowers,” from 1971′s Sticky Fingers.

Mick Jagger shared vocals with Paisley, and even strapped on an acoustic guitar for the occasion; then Paisley and Ron Wood shared a guitar solo.

The song came early in the Stones’ set last night, right after another of the group’s more country-flavored songs, “Wild Horses” (which also appeared on Sticky Fingers, and actually first saw the light of day a year before that on a Flying Burrito Brothers album, thanks to Keith Richards’ friendship with Burrito bandleader Gram Parsons).

Yeah likewise! RT @ronniewood: It was great to see BP again & to play ‘Dead Flowers’ with him ~ Tweet us photos if you took any

— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) June 19, 2013

Read more and see the full Rolling Stones set list on Radio.com

Diffie’s music may not be as well-known today as it was a couple decades back (“Leroy the Red Neck Reindeer,” anyone?), but his name did re-enter the public arena this year, thanks to Jason Aldean and his hit single “1994.” Written by Thomas Rhett, Luke Laird and Barry Dean, the song appears on Aldean’s album Night Train and includes the now-infamous ‘Joe Diffie chorus’ (“Hey Joe, Joe, Joe Diffie”).

Hearing one’s name chanted by thousands of fans in arenas and stadiums must be a nice shot of confidence for any artist. And so it’s little surprise to hear that Diffie is himself getting back in the game. He just released a new single, and he has a new album in the works as well.

Diffie’s single is called “Girl Ridin’ Shotgun,” and it features Diffie alongside D-Thrash of the Jawga Boyz. The video for the song features an impressive number of cameos, too.

As D-Thrash says at the start of the video, “C’mon Joe, it’s time to stand up.”

Hey @Jason_Aldean - What do you think of my response to 1994? Are you a fan of #GirlRidinShotgun 
http://t.co/bZBgfon0EN

— Joe Diffie (@JoeDiffieOnline) June 14, 2013

Musically, the song shares more in common with the Southern-fried country/hip-hop sound of Colt Ford than it does with the bulk of Diffie’s best-known singles. Which is a good thing, and shows Diffie is looking to mine new territory and not simply rehash his previous success.

The concert, which was streamed live on CMT, MTV and VH1, was part of MTV’s Artist to Watch series, and Hayes gave good indication just why we should all pay attention.

Even before he took the stage, the entire room was clapping and chanting his name. As he and his band kicked off their nearly two-hour set with “A Thing About You,” one of several new songs on Encore, the balcony floor was shaking profusely. The screams and foot stomps only grew louder as he played hit single after hit single.

“I’m speechless right now,” Hayes confessed midway through the show. “We’re filling up balconies now. This is really cool. This may sound a bit cheesy, but happy Encore day! You don’t know how special it is to spend this night with you.”

The minute the opening chords were played to his debut single “Storm Warning,” the entire venue erupted in screams. This happened each and every time he played a single he released to radio, with No. 1 hit “Wanted” having the most deafening yells.

Related: Hunter Hayes talks “Wanted”

While the energetic tracks kept the crowd on their feet it was the slower ballads that showcased the 21-year-old’s musicianship. Bluesy ballad “Rainy Season” demonstrated Hayes’ impressive guitar skills and brought to mind John Mayer with his soaring guitar interlude at the track’s close.

Gearing up for his second headlining tour, Hayes told the audience he was happy that the longer sets allowed him to play fan favorites that he has put on hold, like “If You Told Me To.”

“Dear heavens I miss playing this song,” he admitted. “I’ve gotten a few requests for this one, and I’d be stoked if you sing along.”

And the crowd did, word for word.

“I’m naturally very shy, very awkward. It happens,” he confessed before explaining his next song, “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me.” A track written after his circle of friends grew bigger as they started bringing their significant others around, he got his point across with lyrics like, “Sitting here lonely at a table for two, watching lovers being lovers in the corner booth/Seems like Cupid doesn’t even know what to do/Everybody’s got somebody but me.”

Some have cited Hayes as the Justin Bieber of country, and it was easy to see why. The venue was filled to capacity with girls who were decked out in Hunter Hayes T-shirts, cowboy boots, and hats and who continuously screamed, “I love you Hunter!” Hunter would then reply, “I love you more. I promise.”

Hayes’ talent is undeniable, though. He wrote and played every instrument on Encore, which is an expanded version of his self-titled major-label debut, released in 2011. He’s also written for Rascal Flatts, not to mention having shared the stage with Stevie Wonder during the ACM Awards.

Tracks like the powerful “In A Song”–another of the new ones on Encore–struck a chord as Hayes explained that he wrote it at 11pm one night in the back of his tour bus when he was feeling depressed. With sweeping piano parts and heartfelt lyrics, he showed his sensitive side. The fitting “Faith to Fall Back On” followed suit, before the show’s opening act, Ashley Monroe of the Pistol Annies, shared the mic on beautiful ballad “What You Gonna Do” (the two are also featured on a new duet version of the song on Encore).

While the night was full of screams, it was set closer and crowd favorites “Wanted,” “Love Makes Me,” and current single “I Want Crazy” that hinted at Hayes’ star power. As he climbed the stairs to the piano at the top of the stage, the energy in the room skyrocketed. Between his musical talent and the passion of his growing fanbase, Hayes is without a doubt a young artist well worth watching.

Encore is available now on iTunes.

- Annie Reuter, Radio.com

The trouble is, the two bandmates (Joy Williams and John Paul White) appear not to be in a place where they can truly enjoy their well-earned success. That’s because, even though they have a second album on the way (The Civil Wars, hitting stores August 6), Williams and White have–as far as we can tell–officially disbanded. Or they have as a touring entity, at least, based on a statement that was widely circulated late last year.

What’s unusual in this particular disbanding, though, is that they have gone ahead with their plans to release a second album this year. Earlier this month they debuted the album’s first single, “The One That Got Away”; and today they unveiled a video for the song.

The video isn’t high concept. More of a behind-the-scenes-type presentation, it consists mostly of a series of shots showing Williams and White recording the song in the studio.

But it’s a powerful watch nonetheless, as it seems to show that whatever rift exists between these two talented musicians is heartbreakingly real. 

Read more on Radio.com

Lee was performing at his free concert “Live on the Lot with Lee Brice,” last Thursday (June 13) in the Carl Black Chevrolet dealership parking lot in Kennesaw, Georgia when disaster struck.

Nashville Gab learned his goal was fittingly to promote his current single “Parking Lot Party,” but it ended up being more like “Parking Lot Crazy.”

While fans were lucky enough to get signed autographs from Lee after his performance, they weren’t as lucky when their fun, outdoor concert turned into a storm. Lee and the fans took cover in the dealership, but Lee personally made sure everyone else was safe before taking cover himself.

And it’s a good thing they took cover. CBS Atlanta confirmed an EF-1 tornado with 105 mph winds touched down in the area. Lee’s stage was destroyed, but thankfully he and all of his fans survived without injury.

-Ashley Quadros, KNCI/Sacramento

Naturally, she promises a release that’s “fun”–and one that is anything but “safe.”

“To me, playing it safe is when it will end. I have never played it safe,” she told AZ Central. “I don’t go into the studio going ‘I’m gonna be different’ or ‘I’m gonna do something crazy.’ I just do what I like. And if it’s not safe, well, that has to be what it is. I’m always gonna do that. If I write a song I love, I cut it. It is just that simple.”

Lambert went on to explain that she’ll be leaving her serious side behind on her next release.

“I’m going into the studio in August to make my fifth solo album,” she said. “And I think I’m just gonna have fun because I’ve been serious a lot. I’ve written songs about killing people and sad songs, and I really want to do a tour that’s just a lot of fun, so I want to do an album with more fun songs. And I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’ll definitely have my serious Miranda Lambert-style songs, but everything I’m listening to now that I’m liking is kind of a jam that you could listen to driving around on back roads or on your boat.”

One album in particular that’s fueling her fun side isn’t too surprising: husband Blake Shelton‘s latest release Based on a True Story…

“I really love Blake’s new record,” she said. “It’s fun and I think that’s one thing that got me thinking about that. He’s such a fun guy. It’s like he’s constantly waiting, on edge, to laugh at every turn and that’s how his record is. So I’m kind of inspired by that.”

Lambert hasn’t released any additional details on when fans can expect her fifth solo album.

- Annie Reuter, Radio.com

The Placer County Fairgrounds will be hosting a live performance from up and coming artist Eddy Bush & Mayhem and Brodie Stewart in concert on Saturday, June 22nd at 6pm with doors opening at 5:30pm.

Other event activities include comedy shows, the Miss Placer County Pageant, live music, exhibits, NASCAR races, and a watermelon eating contest! Come out to the Placer County Fair to enjoy all of these great events along with many other attractions.

Listen to Kodiak all this week to win a family four pack of admission tickets to the Placer County Fair along with a family four pack of tickets to see Eddie Bush and Brodie Stewart in concert!

For more information and details about special days honoring active military, seniors, and kids visit
http://www.placercountyfair.org
!