Hunter Hayes is a young kid, but in 1998, he was REALLY young!  And he was on a Nickelodeon game show!

Watch the clip from the Nickelodeon game show ‘Figure It Out,’ where a very young Hunter Hayes tries to stump the panel of celebrity guests.  The object of the game is to try and figure out Hunter’s secret talent.  He’s described as a Cajun singer and accordionist!

And he’s just so darn cute!

Ronnie Dunn is a legend in country music, but he’s certainly not too old school to have a few surprises up his sleeve — or in this case, on the rooftop.

After the CMT Music Awards on Wednesday (June 5), Dunn delighted fans with a rooftop performance of four songs, including a new single — and flash mob!

As fans left the awards show, they received a pleasant surprise. Dunn was standing on the rooftop of a downtown Nashville restaurant, and his performance was projected onto the walls of several venues, while his Twitter handle and hashtags were projected onto the roof of the Ryman Auditorium.

When he started singing ‘Country This,’ streamers flowed down onto the streets, making everybody — even those who didn’t know what was going on — look up to see the country star. He then debuted his new single ‘Kiss You There,’ and an incredible flash mob of more than 200 participants began line-dancing in the middle of Fifth Avenue South, between Rippy’s and Bridestone Arena. It must have taken a ton of work to pull off something of that size, but if anyone can do it, Dunn can.

Dunn played two more songs, ‘Cowgirls Rock ‘N Roll‘ and his mid-tempo ‘Peace, Love and Country Music,’ before shooting t-shirts into the enthusiastic crowd. The icon had a lot of fun with his surprise performance, saying, ”I’m more excited about where music is today than I ever have been. We no longer have to play by rules, because there are no rules. The band and crew snuck in and set up to ambush the unsuspecting crowd coming out of the CMT Awards. We don’t have a clue, but we’re having fun working overtime to come up with unorthodox ways to get music to people who just like music.”

The 60-year-old singer and Taste of Country guest blogger recently revealed his rules for succeeding in the business, gave country music fans something to talk about for a very long time. As for him? He’ll continue to spread the message of peace, love, and country music.

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Source: Ronnie Dunn Surprises Nashville With Rooftop Performance and Flash Mob

In case you need a smile today…

These two cuties sing their hearts out to Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It.”

My favorite part is when the dogs try to get in on the action!  Dad does a pretty good job with the guitar as well!

Taylor Swift made a surprise cameo on Monday’s (June 3) episode of ‘The Voice,’ surprising Team Usher‘s sole remaining contestant Michelle Chamuel during the rehearsal session for the live show.

Chamuel, a quirky, bespectacled singer with a bit of indie sensibility, was belting out Swift’s ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ in the practice room when Usher, well, ushered Swift into the space.

Swift was mouthing the words as Chamuel, whose back was to her, sang into the mic. Upon spotting her, the reality hopeful had a bit of strange reaction to one of the biggest superstars in the world sneaking up on her. She kept singing, but slowly faded out, soon asking, “Do I really have to keep singing right now?” She was awestruck by Swift’s presence.

In her typical warm and fuzzy fashion, the ‘Begin Again’ hitmaker gave Chamuel a hug and thanked the up-and-comer for choosing to sing her song. She also said she’d love to hear Chamuel’s full version of her pop hit.

It’s undoubtedly super nerve-wracking to have the person who wrote a smash hit critique your amateur rendition of it, but Swift was incredibly kind to Chamuel. She immediately engulfed the contestant in another hug after she rehearsed the song, saying, “Oh my God, that was so emotional, the vocal runs.”

With an approval from Taylor Swift, Chamuel was full of confidence, delivering a live performance that showed off her mainstream side. She doesn’t need much more after getting a thumbs up from Swift, right?

Well, actually America’s votes will help, since it’s a singing competition. But having Swift firmly in her corner had to be the experience of a lifetime.

[button href="http://tasteofcountry.com/taylor-swift-songs/" title="Next: We Pick Taylor Swift's Top 10 Songs!" align="center"]

Source: Taylor Swift Surprises ‘The Voice’ Contestant Michelle Chamuel

Tim McGraw once again joined forces with both Operation Homefront and Outback Steakhouse, surprising vets and their families during lunch. McGraw took time out of his schedule to fraternize with military members over the Memorial Day holiday weekend so he could express his appreciation, face to face, since they do so much to keep America free.

In a video from last weekend’s lunch at an Outback in Chicago, McGraw prefaced his involvement, saying, “All the service they’ve put in, and the generations of service they put in? It’s such a great program and I am happy to be a part of it.”

McGraw also spoke to the room of assembled veterans, personally thanking them for their efforts on behalf of all Americans.

“I want to be an American and I want to be free, and you make me proud to be an American and because of you, I am free,” McGraw said, succinctly summing up his respect for servicemen and women. “So on behalf of my family, Outback and Operation Homefront, I want to say thank you and have a great day and have a great weekend. Now let’s eat.” Sounds like a plan!

The ‘Highway Don’t Care’ singer greeted vets and their loved ones in the restaurant, making their meals that much better. Who needs desert when you can get a handshake and a hug, as well as a personal thanks, from Tim McGraw?

The singer also surprised vets at Outback during the Thanksgiving season, as well.

[button href="http://tasteofcountry.com/tim-mcgraw-surprises-soldiers/" title="Next: See Tim McGraw Greet Vets at Outback in November" align="center"]

Source: Tim McGraw Surprises Vets at Outback Steakhouse in Chicago

Meet the #DOCrew for Atlantic City!  The Atlantic City Alliance has recently announced three new programs to engage all Atlantic City friends, followers, fans and those who pass by for an unforgettable memory at the shore!

The first of the new programs is an all new DO Crew!  The six members are here to spread the word on DO AC!  You can spot them on the Boardwalk or at events, shows and more.  Keep your eyes peeled for them this summer because they might just have some goodies for you.  These six ambassadors live for Atlantic City!

The second change are new scenic DO AC magnets.  Last summer, there were bright solid colored magnets with the DO AC logo.  But this year the new DO AC magnets will reflect some iconic Atlantic City images with Boardwalk, beach and skyline backdrops.  You can pick out your favorite magnet at one of the Atlantic City Visitors Centers – on the Boardwalk or AC Expressway.  Or just look for the Do Crew members, they are equipped with magnets ready to spread the love.

The third new project for the summer is an all new YouTube video series #HowIDoAC on the DO AC YouTube channel.  The series will feature 10 casino concierge and staff giving you beach-goers tips on Do’s and Don’t's for this summer and highlighting upcoming events.

Like this video from Revel Resorts’ Bonnie Moore (who is a Les Clefs d’Or or Concierge Gold Key Holder – one of two in the state of New Jersey) as she talks about her love for Atlantic City and some Revel “must-dos.”

Cat Country 107.3 Intern Jaymi Gonzalez contributed to this article.

You might remember him as the guy in the cowboy hat, but Carlos Arredondo is a hero to Jeff Bauman.  Bauman was injured in the Boston Marathon bombings and Arredondo was there to help.  Last night, they got to throw out the first pitch as the Boston Red Sox played the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bauman was pictured being led from the blast scene at the Boston Marathon by Arredondo in a now iconic photo from the Associated Press.

And last night, in Boston, they were both honored in front of thousands at Fenway Park.

Watch the video here -

Remember last week when I posted this impromptu rap by Will Smith?  Well, now I found a video of Will Smith, his son Jaden Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Alfonso Ribeiro!

The Smith’s aren’t rapping to ‘Summertime’ in this video, instead they break into song to the theme of the great old TV show, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.’

And Carlton makes a surprise visit!

Watch below -

The anchors of ‘Good Morning America’ wanted to see what a modern day prom was like, so they called Pitman High School in South Jersey and decided to go back to prom!

The story ran this past Saturday morning and highlighted Gloucester County’s Pitman High School.  The GMA anchors got dressed up and headed to the prom!

Watch below as a little South Jersey town is featured on national television!

This 14-year-old girl makes playing the guitar look so easy!  I know it’s not easy, but watch her go note for note…

Tina S. has racked up about 3 million views on YouTube for her rendition of Van Halen’s “Eruption.”

Just watch it – you’ll be amazed!  Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that she wants to find out who the girl is and book her as a guest!

The University of Cincinnati Baseball team has perfected the photo-bomb, or the video-bomb…

In a series of video interviews, the team can be seen in the background photo-bombing the live shot!  Some of them are pretty creative!

Nice job Bearcats TV!  My favorite is the back stroke…

Watch it here -

It’s about this time of year that you start to hear Philadelphia native Will Smith’s summer anthem on the radio.  ‘Summertime’ is an essential tune for a day lounging by the pool or on the beach.  Smith recently stopped by ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ and ended up singing a bit of the classic rap.

As Smith walked onto the stage before his interview, the band was playing an instrumental version of ‘Summertime.’  Smith started rapping out loud and was given a mic to finish out the song.

It’s pretty cool!

Watch it here!

Yes, there is such a thing as an air guitar champion…  And this guy is it.

Dr. Pepper is running a series of “One of A Kind Profile’s” on You Tube.  Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard is a real person, really playing the air guitar.

And I kinda want to hang out with him….

Other “One of A Kind Profile’s” include Man Repeller (a blog about trends that women love and men hate…) and a model turned Olympic boxer.

It’s a pretty cool ad campaign for Dr. Pepper, they’re highlighting people that are 1/1.  Or one of one…

He kind of looks like a Robertson from Duck Dynasty….

I posted this funny video a couple weeks ago, but it seems appropriate today….  Today is my birthday and even though I’m several years older than 32, and light years older than 22, this kind of sums up my life!

If you’ve ever heard Taylor Swift’s song ’22,’ you know its about how it feels to be 22 years old.  The girls in the video dance and do fun things that I did back when I was 22.  But this new parody that is circulating its way through the Internet is more on my level…

The video is set-up best by the description on the YouTube channel…

“Think it’s rough being Taylor Swift feeling 22? Check out the exclusive sweatpants-wearing, wine-drinking, Gouda-eating music video for 32.”

Watch and laugh!

It was obvious that Taylor Swift was grossed out by watching her good friend Selena Gomez go in for a smooch with Justin Bieber at last night’s Billboard Music Awards! 

The video comes from a backstage camera and shows Swift passing through with Gomez, when Bieber spots them and pulls Gomez in. The two share an awkward cheek smooch.

Swift sticks her tongue out in a “I’m grossed out by that” way!

It seems obvious that Swift isn’t a huge Bieber fan and that’s she’s looking after her BFF Selena.  And it all makes for a funny video!

The beautiful Kacey Musgraves performed her hit song ‘Merry Go Round’ on the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night, with a beautiful and sober delivery.

Her performance was a stripped down version of the hit song and a huge departure from the other performances of the night that were more in line with the Vegas style!  It was refreshing!

The great song helped Musgraves’ album, ‘Same Trailer, Different Park,’ debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart.

Richard “Dick” Trickle died Thursday at the age of 71. His body was discovered next to his pickup truck at a cemetery in Lincoln County, North Carolina, after the longtime NASCAR and short-track driver shot himself, according to police.

Trickle was retired from competitive racing and had been living in Lincoln County for some time. Around noon, the Lincoln County Communications Center received a phone call, saying that there would be a dead body at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City. Soon after, authorities found his body.

Over the course of a career that began at age 17 in 1958, Trickle was a two-time American Speed Association champion (1984, 1985), he won seven ARTGO championships, and he took the 1968 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year.

Trickle became quite famous for his name, becoming a repeated punch line on shows like ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter.’ And though he never had much success on the NASCAR circuit, that didn’t hurt his sense of humor. In 1997, he filmed a commercial for NAPA Auto Parts in which he predicted the winner of an upcoming race: “It’s gonna be me!” A graphic then flashed across the screen that read “Dick is 0 for 243 in Cup races.”

Trickle then smiled and said, “I think we get champagne!”

[Charlotte Observer]

Real life sisters Lennon and Maissy Stella from the hit TV show ‘Nashville’ recently performed ‘Ho Hey’ at the Grand Ole Opry.

A couple weeks ago, the sisters sang this song on the show.  The two play Rayna’s daughters and no matter how much she doesn’t want them to get railroaded by the music industry, the two girls really just want to sing.

And they’re good.  Really good.

Watch them perform ‘Ho Hey’ at the Grand Ole Opry here -

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton celebrated their wedding anniversary yesterday and now a video has surfaced of the couples first on-stage moment where you can see they had chemistry from first sight.

At the time, in 2005, Blake Shelton was a married man, but he says that he knew there was something between he and his future wife, Miranda Lambert.  The moment came during the CMT ’100 Greatest Duets’ concert.

According to Taste of Country,

“I was a married guy, you know, standing up there going, ‘Man, this shouldn’t be happening,’” Shelton said of the moment during Lambert’s ‘Behind the Music’ special on VH1. “Looking back on that, I was falling in love with her right there onstage.”

Miranda Lambert felt the same way.  There was instant chemistry.  And thankfully, Blake Shelton dresses better now…..

The couple got married in Texas on May 14, 2011.  Reba McEntire, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum‘s Charles Kelley and Martina McBride were there to celebrate with the couple.

Check out the 2005 video here -

Dr. Joyce Brothers, the psychologist whose career included a syndicated column, books, stints on television and in film, has died.

She was 85.

Brothers passed away Monday in New York City, although no cause of death has been revealed.

Brothers first rose to fame by winning the top prize in 1955 while a contestant on ‘The $64,000 Question,’ becoming the first woman to do so.

To compete, Brothers memorized 20 volumes of a boxing encyclopedia, as part of her area of expertise.

She was later cleared of any wrongdoing when the scandal over fixing on the show broke out.

Winning the show opened many doors for her career. She worked as a boxing analyst for CBS before her wealth of knowledge in the psychology field earned her a show, called ‘The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show.’ It would mark the beginning of a career that lasted over 40 years and saw her appear on everything from ‘Happy Days’ to ‘ALF’ to ‘Analyze That’ to ‘The Tonight Show.’ She also penned a column for ‘Good Housekeeping’ that ran for nearly four decades.

She was known for talking about topics that often weren’t discussed, including sex and menopause, as well as her stance on women’s rights and often times doling out advice while on shows to callers whose backgrounds were not told to her.

[CBS]