Taylor Swift Enjoys Record Week

(http://www.gactv.com/)

More than a year after the release of her debut, Taylor Swift just enjoyed her best sales week ever.

Taylor's self-titled CD sold 88,342 units this past week, a 36 percent increase from last week, and her biggest sales week since its release in October 2006. In the three weeks since she performed at the Country Music Association awards and won the Horizon Award, Taylor scanned 220,823 albums, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Taylor's current single, "Our Song," is first on the Country Digital sales chart and sixth on Billboard's Country Singles chart and is her fastest moving single to date. Her single "Teardrops on My Guitar," which reached No. 2 on the country charts earlier this year, is currently in the Top 25 on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart. Her rendition of "Last Christmas," from her Christmas EP Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection", is now first on Mediabase's Top 25 Current Most-Played Christmas Songs.

Taylor will join Akon, Quincy Jones and Linkin Park tomorrow morning to announce the nominations for the "50th Annual Grammy Awards." The Grammys will air live on CBS from Los Angeles on February 10, 2008.

ACM Awards Move to Sunday Night

(www.cmt.com)

The Academy of Country Music Awards will take place on May 18, the first time the show has been held on a Sunday night. The ceremony will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on CBS. In addition, the ACM will sponsor live country music concerts on Fremont Street, a celebrity motorcycle event and a post-awards concert.

Natalie Maines Speaks Out on Murder Case

(www.cmt.com)

Natalie Maines has written a letter on the Dixie Chicks' Web site encouraging donations for legal fees to free the West Memphis Three, whom she believes were wrongly accused of murdering three children in 1993. Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin were teenagers when convicted in 1994 for the deaths of three 8-year-olds in West Memphis, Ark. Maines said she recently watched two HBO documentaries about the case, researched the story online and corresponded with the wife of one of the accused murderers. In the letter, Maines writes, "The evidence is so strong that at the very least the judge will grant a new trial, but hopefully he will overturn the verdict and these guys will finally be sent home to their lives and families. I know that this is a hard thing to just take my word on, so please look at the case and the evidence for yourself. I am confident that you will see the DNA evidence is irrefutable and that these three men did not get the kind of trial that is promised to us -- as Americans."

Garth Brooks Sells 85,000 Tickets in L.A.

(www.cmt.com)

Garth Brooks sold more than 85,000 tickets in 59 minutes for five upcoming concerts in Los Angeles. Although he was previously scheduled for only one concert, Brooks will now perform two shows on Jan. 25 (6 p.m. and 10 p.m.) and three shows on Jan. 26 (1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.) at the Staples Center. All proceeds from the concert will benefit recent fire victims and firefighters in California. "It's a beautiful thing when everyone pulls together," Brooks said. "California just raised a ton of money for their own. I'm so proud to be part of this."

Natalie Maines Speaks Out on Murder Case

(www.cmt.com)

Natalie Maines has written a letter on the Dixie Chicks' Web site encouraging donations for legal fees to free the West Memphis Three, whom she believes were wrongly accused of murdering three children in 1993. Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin were teenagers when convicted in 1994 for the deaths of three 8-year-olds in West Memphis, Ark. Maines said she recently watched two HBO documentaries about the case, researched the story online and corresponded with the wife of one of the accused murderers. In the letter, Maines writes, "The evidence is so strong that at the very least the judge will grant a new trial, but hopefully he will overturn the verdict and these guys will finally be sent home to their lives and families. I know that this is a hard thing to just take my word on, so please look at the case and the evidence for yourself. I am confident that you will see the DNA evidence is irrefutable and that these three men did not get the kind of trial that is promised to us -- as Americans."