This week’s only visible blip, it seems, has been a comment Rucker received on Twitter. It wasn’t just any old rant from a disgruntled fan — it was overtly racist, saying, “Leave country to the white folk.”

Darius chose to reply and bring the issue to light.

“@pqkullman: @dariusrucker Leave country to the white folk”. WOW. Is this 2013 or 1913

— Darius Rucker (@dariusrucker) May 19, 2013

“@pqkullman: @dariusrucker Leave country to the white folk”. Ill take my grand ole Opry membership and leave your racism. Wow

— Darius Rucker (@dariusrucker) May 19, 2013

As Rucker told USA Today, this kind of thing luckily “doesn’t happen often.” He adds that he wouldn’t necessarily have taken the bait, except that when he checked out the person’s account, he found he wasn’t the only person being attacked (the account has since been deleted and re-registered). And besides, Rucker should not need to justify why he called out someone who was attempting to spread such bigoted stereotypes.

“I don’t know who it was — some kid thinking he was cool, I guess,” Rucker said. “I read a couple of his tweets and was like, ‘This guy’s a real racist; he ain’t kidding.’” And so he concluded, “I have to expose this idiot.”

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Vampire Weekend sold 134,000 copies of its third album Modern Vampires of the City, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan, while Strait’s 28th studio album sold 120,000.

According to Billboard, Love Is Everything is Strait’s 18th release that has landed in the top ten, putting him in a tie with Paul McCartney for fourth-most top tens among male artists (Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Presley are the only men with more).

Love Is Everything also peaked at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart, extending Strait’s record of such albums to 25. Strait also scored his 60th No. 1 single on any chart across all genres — a major chart feat, though he was already holding the record for most singles — this past week, just before his 61st birthday (on May 18).

Another interesting tidbit reported by Billboard is that Vampire Weekend’s album is the 19th independently distributed record to reach No. 1 on the chart since SoundScan data was first recorded in 1991. The last indie album to top the charts was Jason Aldean’s Night Train last fall (released by Broken Bow).

The top five is filled out by Demi Lovato, who notches third place with Demi; The Great Gatsby soundtrack, which falls from second to fourth; and Lady Antebellum‘s Golden, which debuted in the top spot last week but now drops to a still-respectable fifth.

Country music closes out the top 10, too, with Pistol Annies‘ Annie Up hitting No. 9 and Blake Shelton’s Based on a True Story… notching No. 10.

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As he told Billboard after Tuesday’s edition of The Voice, he’ll have more information on what he’s planning “in the next 24 hours” and that “it will raise a lot of money.” He added, “Obviously it will be televised and will happen really quickly.” Billboard reports that he then pointed to his fellow Voice coach Usher and said, “I can call in some really big favors.”

Shelton’s event is reportedly being planned to take place in Oklahoma City.

Blake and his wife Miranda Lambert (who originally hails from Texas but currently has a home and retail store in Oklahoma) also performed their ACM-winning “Over You” as the opening song on The Voice last night, in a tribute to those affected by the tornado.

“I think it was the perfect song for this situation,” Shelton said of including “Over You” on The Voice. “The moment was right and I wish things would’ve been different and I wouldn’t have been thinking about performing a song like that.”

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Check out a few of our favorites here:

1. Sacramento County Fair: Thursday, May 23 – Monday, May 27

For just $5, you can visit the Sacramento County Fair at Cal Expo, and if you have little ones, they get in for FREE! For you money savers out there, if you visit Friday night, you can take advantage of their dollar menu food items! More details available here.

2. Vets for Vettes: Sunday, May 26

This FREE event features classic Corvettes that will be displayed behind the California Automobile Museum on Sunday only. There will be music, food and a raffle. Entry into the museum is only free to veterans and additional information is available here.

3. Great American Hot Dog Picnic Concert: Monday, May 27

Love hot dogs, music and magic? This event might be perfect for you and your family because it includes all three! It’s $15 for adults and children are FREE. More details here.

4. 2nd Annual Torch Fest: Saturday, May 25 – Sunday, May 26

This two-day event on Saturday and Sunday is for adults only—you must be at least 21 years old. Tickets are $15 and there will be over 10 bands each day, and of course, booze! For more event info, click here.

5. Sacramento Musical Festival: Friday, May 24 – Monday, May 27

This four-day event kicks off Friday night with live music all weekend long. A special Memorial Day Parade will take place at 10:00am on Saturday and kids under 12 get in for FREE! For adults, this one will cost you $39, but it could be with the extra green. Get more details on this festival here.

6. Jazz-Related Activities at the California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento: Friday, May 24 – Monday, May 27

Jazz it up at the California State Railroad Museum all weekend long. Take in some smooth jazz and even ride a train with your kids! Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Additional details here.

7. Wounded Veteran Run: Monday, May 27

Honor all of those who have served and help veterans in need by participating in this run. To run in the 3K a $25 donation is required and to run the 5K or 10K, a $30 donation is required. At select run times, kids under 11 can run for FREE. To learn more about the cause and to sign up to run, click here.

8. Hornblower Memorial Day River Cruise: Monday, May 27

All aboard! On Monday, grab your friends or fam and check out the Hornblower! This one hour voyage will cruise the Sacramento River while informing you about the history of Sacramento. Cost is $20 per person. More info available here.

If none of these options are appealing to you, check out more activities and events here.

Happy Memorial Day!

-Ashley Quadros, KNCI/Sacramento

Pickler shared her win with her professional dance partner Derek Hough. During Tuesday night’s finale, they were competing against Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman and Val Chmerkovskiy.

When season 16 began, Kellie was one of two country artists on the program. Fellow dancer Wynonna Judd, though, was voted off in April.

Other stars competing this season included actor Andy Dick, figure skating champ Dorothy Hamill, football star Jacoby Jones, and Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman.

I’ll never ever forget this night!! Love y’all so much!!! Thanks so much for voting!!!! #DWTS twitter.com/kelliepickler/…

— kellie pickler (@kelliepickler) May 22, 2013

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Most recently, Brandi tried to get a hold of her kids, and after hearing nothing, she took to Twitter hoping that would prompt a response from father Eddie Cibrian.

Ive been trying to get a hold of my kids 4 over an hour no response to my calls ,emails or messages. Maybe twitter will work @EddieCibrian—
Brandi Glanville (@BrandiGlanville) May 21, 2013

Unfortunately for Brandi, she did get a response, but it was from a defensive LeAnn on Twitter.

“Funny, she just got off the phone w/ them. Sorry, we were doing baths, homework & dinner. All good!”

“The phone rang, I picked it up. Never saw this til after. All you gotta do is call,” wrote LeAnn on Twitter.

It seems LeAnn also allegedly took it a step further by tweeting about Brandi and Eddie’s children. However, all of these tweets were deleted afterwards according to the Daily Mail.

“They [the children] walk around singing “I don’t want to give you back.” It’s the hooks,” wrote LeAnn.

I don’t want to give you back is a line from LeAnn’s new album, Spitfire, in which she sings about her affair with Eddie.

After LeAnn erased any potential wrongdoings by deleting these tweets, she wrote the following:

I don't do drama, I do music #spitfirejune4—
LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (@leannrimes) May 21, 2013

While she claims she doesn’t “do drama” this scene of events suggests otherwise…

-Ashley Quadros, KNCI/Sacramento

Though Nettles recently announced that she will release a solo album this fall, during an interview Sunday at the Billboard Music Awards she was quick to clear the air regarding the future of her band Sugarland.

“Oh, god no!” she exclaimed, when asked if she and Kristian Bush would be breaking up the band. “Nobody panic,” she said, mugging for the camera. “We’re just taking time to do things individually–personally and professionally. And we’re super supportive of each other on both those fronts.”

Nettles was interviewed by Billboard on the red carpet before Sunday’s award ceremony. It was her first public appearance since her son Magnus was born five months ago.

During the interview she was practically giddy about her upcoming solo album; however, she didn’t want to go into much detail about the songs or the sound, as she didn’t want to “give everything away.”

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Rucker knows this firsthand, as he grew up entrenched in country music and is releasing his third country album, True Believers, today (May 21). In our Radio.com Essentials profile, Rucker broke down country music stereotypes and explained the stories behind many of the songs on his new album, while Entertainment Weekly‘s Grady Smith provided some back story on the former Hootie & the Blowfish singer. Watch below.

It’s a common answer to the question, “What type of music do you like?”: “I like everything but country.” But Rucker, who himself encountered great success in the mainstream with rock before segueing to country, pleas with music fans who respond this way.

“To have that stereotype of my dog died or my wife left me, that whole stereotype that they love to live with,” he explained, “every time I hear somebody say that ["I like everything but country] I say, ‘Take one day and listen to country.’”

As for those who claim country music is all about the same tired lyrical themes of Southern living, Rucker counters that he sings about what he knows.

“For me, I don’t sing about pickup trucks and stuff like that because that’s not a life I lived,” he said. “Clichés are clichés, there are a lot of guys that don’t write about that stuff but there are a lot of guys that do and it works.”

Instead, Rucker’s goal is to relate, with the added hope of pushing the envelope this time around. Though he partnered again with producer Frank Rogers, who also worked on 2008’s Learn to Live and 2010’s Charleston, SC 1966, the two tried to step away from the last two albums and simply find the best songs they could to create a new sound.

“I think this is the best record I’ve ever recorded,” Rucker said. “I’m excited for people to hear it, for country music fans and music fans in general to hear it. I hope they get a song or two or three that makes them go, ‘Man, that’s my life.’ That’s why I write songs.”

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