Recently in Country music Category

Multi-platinum selling group Diamond Rio will be appearing on Fox News' hit show "Huckabee" this Saturday, November 21 at 8 pm ET. The band will be performing "God Is There" off of their latest Word Records' release, The Reason. Diamond Rio also recently released their first autobiography "Beautiful Mess" from Thomas Nelson.

Hosted by Arkansas Governor and former Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, "Huckabee" is a talk show that covers a variety of topics from politics and religion to pop-culture. The host of the No. 1 rated weekend hit often performs with guests and his band, The Little Rockers.

For more about the show, visit the "Huckabee" show website.

For more about Diamond Rio, visit their website.

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Country music darling Taylor Swift took home top honors at this week's CMA awards, earning awards for Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. The show was hosted by Brad Paisely and Carrie Underwood.

In addition, Swift was surprised backstage during the dress rehearsals for when Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn presented her with the 2009 CMA International Artist Achievement Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievement by a U.S.-based artist who contributes to the awareness and development of Country Music outside the United States. Past winners have included The Bellamy Brothers, Keith Urban, Dixie Chicks and last year's winners, Brooks and Dunn and Dierks Bentley.

It's nice to see a talented young woman with a sweet personality and a squeaky clean image be rewarded, especially after Kanye West stole her glory at the MTV VIdeo Music Awards Awards.

Other 2009 CMA winners:

Lady Antebellum - Single of the Year,"I Run to You"; Vocal Group of the Year
Jamey Johnson - Song of the Year "In Color"
Darius Rucker - New Artist of the Year (which is so funny, considering all of his success with Hootie and Blowfish). Rucker made a little history with this win as the first African American artist to win a CMA Award
Sugarland - Vocal Duo of the Year
Brad Paisley - Male Vocalist of the Year
Brad Paisley and Keith Urban - Musical Event of the Year
Mac McAnally - Musician of the Year

You can learn more about Taylor Swift on her website.

For more about the CMA Awards, visit the CMA website.

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American Idol favorite Danny Gokey debuted his first single "It's Only" this morning on FM 106.1 in his hometown of Milwaukee.

You can hear Danny Gokey's song, "It's Only" on the radio station website.

So what do you think? Was country a good genre for him to pursue? And how do you think his song compares to his co-finalists' Adam Lambert and Kris Allen's new music?

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LA's Dream Center Youth Outreach Center named for Danny Gokey's wife, Sophia
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Got a gospel or Christian music news tip? Send me an email!

Click here to subscribe to Gospel Soundcheck by email and have the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

The 15th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards took place last week, and Ricky Skaggs was selected Mainstream Country Artist of the Year.

Craig Morgan received the Video of the Year for his single "God Must Really Love Me" and Tracy Lawrence won Mainstream Inspirational Song of the Year for "Up To Him."

Other big winners included, Cross Country the Band, namedEntertainer of the Year for the second year in a row; Tommy Brandy, Male Vocalist of the Year; Sandra Dee, Female Vocalist of the Year; Point of Grace, Vocal Group of the Year.

The annual Inspirational Country Music Awards are dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent among artists who perform Christian and Inspirational Country music.

Here is the complete list of winners in the 21 categories voted on by the CCMA membership:

The 15th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show (ICM Awards) will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. CST at the Trinity Music City USA Auditorium located in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

This year's event will include a Celebrity Golf Tournament & Benefit Concert on Monday, October 12 at the Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club in Hendersonville. The benefit concert will be that night at Trinity Music City USA. Current celebrities scheduled to attend include Tracy Lawrence, Bobby Capps (.38 Special), Halfway To Hazard, with more being added. All proceeds from the both the golf tournament and benefit concert will go towards the purchases of life saving emergency weather radios for residents of Sumner County.

Actor and Tenessee native David Keith host the ICM Awards show as well as the benefit concert.

The annual Inspirational Country Music Awards are dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent among artists who perform Christian and Inspirational Country music. Tickets for the show are $45.00 and are on sale now.

For more information visit the Inspirational Country Music Awards website.