DIERKS BENTLEY HAS HIGH HOPES FOR ACM-NOMINATED SONG

Dierks Bentley's current hit, "Home," has been nominated for Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music Awards. In addition to being trophy-worthy, Dierks tells us he hopes the song brings people together. "The song is written in a way that is open-ended as far as how people, what they want to walk away with. I mean I think it's obvious that it's a song about our country and about the ups and downs and the scars we have in our past, but at the end of the day, no matter what side of the fence you're on, where you stand on certain issues, or where you come from, your background, we all live here. You have to walk through the front door of your house every day. This is our house. This is our home. This is our country. You know, I hope in some sense that it brings people together, and finds a bit more in common than we don't. I hope people feel inspired and come together."

"Home" is the title track of Dierk's new album, which will be released on February 7th.

The ACM Awards will be held on April 1st in Las Vegas.

ELI YOUNG BAND MEMBER TO TIE THE KNOT NEXT WEEK

The last single member of the Eli Young Band -- James Young -- will officially be off the market next week. The guitarist is set to marry his longtime girlfriend on February 4th.

Tasteofcountry.com reports that the band celebrated the upcoming nuptials last weekend in Destin, Florida with a "bach-party" for the couple.

The Eli Young Band continue playing their own headlining dates throughout the year on their Keep on Dreamin' tour, which features newcomer Eric Paslay.

The Eli Young Band were nominated for Vocal Group and Single and Song of the year for their Number One hit, "Crazy Girl."

ERIC CHURCH REFLECTS ON ACM-NOMINATED VIDEO

Eric Church is a fan of the video for his hit "Homeboy," which was just nominated for Video of the Year by the Academy of Country Music Awards. Eric tells us he could easily relate to the kid in the clip: "And seeing the story line develop, and being in the place, I mean I've been there, I was feeling the stuff the kid was feeling, that despair. I think we have all been in places like that. It just came across great. I love the lighting. I love the angles. I love the slow motion. The slow motion is one of the coolest things. There's a scene with a match where he lights a match and throws it at the camera, and you can see the match extinguish itself, in super, super, super slow motion. I love that shot."

Eric is also up for Album of the Year for Chief.

The ACM Awards will take place in Las Vegas on April 1st. The show will air live on CBS.

Eric is out on his first headlining Blood, Sweat & Beers tour with special guest Brantley Gilbert.

GLEN CAMPBELL TO PERFORM ON GRAMMY AWARDS WITH BLAKE SHELTON, THE BAND PERRY

Glen Campbell will join current Grammy nominees The Band Perry and Blake Shelton for a special performance on next month's Grammy Awards. The show, which will be hosted by LL Cool J, takes place on Sunday, February 12th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Grammys will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Glen is currently on his Goodbye tour, his final one after being diagnosed with Alzheimers.

Blake is up for two awards: Best Country Solo Performance for "Honey Bee" and Best Country Album for Red River Blue.

The Band Perry is nominated for Best New Artist.

KEITH URBAN'S VOCAL REST LED TO SORE NECK

Keith Urban successfully completed three weeks of doctor-ordered voice rest after his vocal cord surgery late last year, but he admits it wasn't easy. Keith tells us he learned a lot about non-verbal communication, to the point of nearly injuring himself. "Being silent with somebody is difficult. You almost have to over-exaggerate facial expressions to let them know that you're in a good mood. I nodded a lot. Just to nod lightly is not enough. You have to be effusive because when you talk and someone's saying something and you agree you're like, 'Yeah, absolutely!!' I would have to be like nodding really vigorously. After two weeks, I was in the shower and I was like, 'My neck is so sore!' That's why. I'm a lot in agreeance (laughs). .)

Keith says it was especially hard for his daughters to understand Daddy's silence. "Our daughter's three-and-a-half. We have a one-year-old, but Sunny's three-and-a-half so she's not, she can't read yet, so it's easy for me to write for everybody else but I couldn't write for her, so that was hard, but what I did before I went on vocal rest, I have a cassette deck, an actual, real cassette deck and I recorded several books onto this cassette tape and I would take that up and read to her at night by pressing the play button and then just turning the pages and looking, and she would hit the stop button and go, 'I want you to read it!' I couldn't explain, you know . . . (laughs), but I did a whole bunch of those kind of things to help me through that three weeks."

Keith tested his singing abilities earlier this week with a live performance of "Long Hot Summer" during the Number One party for the song in Nashville.

His first official post-surgery public performance will happen on February 3rd at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House.

KENNY CHESNEY, BLAKE SHELTON REACT TO ACM NOMINATIONS

The stars are excited about their ACM Awards nominations. Here are some of their reactions:

Kenny Chesney on his nine nods, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Hemingway's Whiskey. He said, "It's an honor to receive so much love from the Academy of Country Music after all they've done to support my music over the years. I can't wait to get back on the road and throw one big spring break party all summer long."

Blake Shelton is up for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. He said "The support I have felt this week is overwhelming. Thank you everyone for this honor."

Eric Church landed two nods for Video of the Year for "Homeboy" and Album of the Year for Chief. He said, "I've never minced words about the fact that my passion is making great records for the sake of the music. The fact that the ACMs have nominated us for the album category is quite the honor, and frankly the one I revere the most. 'Homeboy,' both musically and visually, is a song that tells a compelling story. I have a very special place in my heart for the video, and I'm very grateful that it is getting recognized. It's been one hell of a year!"

Chris Young scored recognition in two categories, including Male Vocalist of the Year. He wrote on Twitter, "Holy crap!!!!! 2 ACM nom's?!?! Are you freaking kidding me!! #thisisagreatmorning."

Dierks Bentley also used Twitter to express his excitment Song of the Year for his current single, "Home." He wrote, "My immediate reaction after hearing HOME nominated for #acmawards SONG OF YEAR. Slightly excited... just a bit..." He included a picture of himself about to smash a guitar.

Montgomery Gentry were nominated for Top Vocal Duo of the Year for the 14th time i their career. Eddie Montgomery said, "This last year has been just unbelievable. We have a new album that T and I are so proud of, a new label that is rockin' and the support we've had from our friends at radio and on the road is just awesome." Troy Gentry added, "We are really proud to be nominated and blessed to be living our dream for as long as we have been. As always, we are truly humbled to be included in this category once again."

Lee Brice was nominated for Song of the Year for his composition, "Crazy Girl," recorded by the Eli Young Band. He shares writing credit with collaborator, Liz Rose. Brice said, "Liz Rose and I were just fortunate enough to be in the same room that magical day and wrote a magical song. Within a few hours, the song came together. I'm so honored to be acknowledged along with these other amazing writers."

The Eli Young Band is up for Group and Song and Single of the Year for "Crazy Girl." Lee said, "I'm so happy for the Eli Young Band. They've worked so hard for so long, and they deserve all the success that's coming to them."

The 47th annual Academy of Country Music Awards will once again be hosted by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. The show will air live from Las Vegas on CBS April 1st at 8 p.m. ET.