For several weeks, country fans have been watching and forwarding a YouTube video of a 4-year-old named Drake lip syncing Randy Houser’s new hit single “Boots On,” (currently  the  fastest climbing single in the Top 25 by a new artist). Drake’s nanny captured the young performer on video when he was in his car seat in the back of her vehicle. The viral video hit was seen by Universal Records South execs and like everyone else, they were amazed by Drake’s unique interpretation complete with facial expressions and tapping boots. You can check out Drake’s car seat performance here. When it came time to shoot the video for “Boots On,” everyone agreed that Drake had to be a part of it. Footage from the nanny’s video was cut into footage of Houser to make a complete video. On the set it was discovered that Houser and rising star Drake share the same birth date.

Two Go Gold

Jamey Johnson and the Zac Brown Band, ACM Award winners for Song of the Year and Top New Group respectively, have both been certified Gold for sales exceeding 500,000 for their debut albums. Johnson’s critically lauded That Lonesome Song has spent 20 weeks inside the top ten on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. That Lonesome Song was initially for sale only on the Internet when Johnson was signed to a major label deal with Universal Music Group. The album eventually made its way to “Best Of” lists in Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, Billboard and Paste. iTunes named That Lonesome Song the Best Country Album of 2008 and debut single, “In Color,” Best Country Song of 2008.

Also certified Gold is Zac Brown Band’s major label debut, The Foundation. In addition, the band’s video for their #1 Platinum-selling single, “Chicken Fried,” is nominated for two 2008 CMT Music Awards, Group Video of the Year and USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year. The band will celebrate their newfound Gold status with a performance of their latest single “Whatever It Is” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 29.

Naming Paisley’s Baby

ACM Entertainer of the Year Brad Paisley and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley have named their new son. Paisley posted the name — Jasper Warren Paisley — on his website yesterday (4/19). Warren is the name of Paisley’s grandfather, who gave him his first guitar and got him into music. The singer will be heading to LA for an appearance this Friday (4/23) on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Jensen Sussman Launches Sweet Talk PR

Public relations veteran Jensen Sussman has announced the launch of Sweet Talk Publicity (STP), a Nashville-based PR agency catering to the entertainment industry and offering clients an array of publicity services ranging from comprehensive media campaigns to a la carte items, such as red carpet coverage, tour press for both opening and headlining acts, special events coverage and copywriting. STP is “committed to generating press that creates name recognition, fosters positive attention and strategically tells the story behind the client or brand.” A former Associate Director, Media for Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records Nashville, Sussman handled publicity for artists including Gretchen Wilson, Jessica Simpson, Montgomery Gentry, Miranda Lambert, Keith Anderson and Caitlin & Will. Prior to that, she was Manager of Publicity at Equity Music Group (EMG), where she worked with artists including Little Big Town, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Mark Wills. STP’s current clients include Allison Kaplan, Rink Entertainment, Susan G.Komen For The Cure Greater Nashville Affiliate and Women Rock For The Cure. jensen@sweettalkpublicity.com.

Chris Young’s Hometown Tornado Benefit

Murfreesboro native and RCA Nashville artist Chris Young will host a benefit concert for victims of the recent devastating tornadoes in his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The concert, being held in association with MTSU and Nashville radio station WSIX, is scheduled for Friday, May 1 at MTSU’s Murphy Center. Chris Young & Friends Tornado Relief Benefit Presented by MTSU and The Big 98 WSIX will be hosted by WSIX on air personality Newman and will feature performances by Young and Richie McDonald with more artists to be announced later this week. Young saw the destruction first hand when his childhood street was directly hit by the April 10 tornado. His family home suffered minor damage, but many of his neighbors’ homes were completely destroyed. Pre-show and silent auction begin at 5 PM with the main show to follow at 7 PM. Proceeds will help tornado victims in Rutherford County through both the Heart of Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross and Tennessee Emergency Response Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Tickets to the event are $15 and can be purchased here.

T.J. Martell Celebrates 10th Best Cellars

Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson, Amy Grant, Jay DeMarcus, Chynna Phillips, Billy Baldwin, Kenny Alphin, Kellie Pickler and Tennessee Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher are among the celebrities who will assist the T.J. Martell Foundation in celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Best Cellars Dinner on Monday, April 27 at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. The event, presented by Eco-Energy Inc., is known for pairing Best Sellers (country music’s top selling artists and other celebrities) with Best Cellars (Nashville’s top wine collectors) and an extraordinary gourmet meal prepared by a guest chef. This year’s guest chef is Dean Fearing of Fearing’s at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. Fearing was the first chef to commit to Best Cellars ten years ago and is returning for this special celebration. The evening will also include The Best Cellars auction. Tickets are $1,200 and may be purchased by contacting the T.J. Martell Foundation at (615) 256-2002 or via email at Nashville@tjmartellfoundation.org. More information about the T.J. Martell Foundation can be found here.

Wynonna Goes Gospel

Curb artist Wynonna performed a show-stopping rendition of “How Great Thou Art” on the Sunday, April 19 edition of BET’s gospel singing competition show, Sunday Best. The show features gospel hopefuls competing for the title of Sunday Best every Sunday at 8 PM CT. This season’s show is hosted by Grammy Award winners Kirk Franklin with Erica and Tina Campbell of Mary Mary and BeBe Winans serving as judges. You can check out Wynonna’s performance here.

Bluegrass Goes to the Dogs (and Cats)

The Humane Society of Sumner County is hosting a fundraising evening, featuring bluegrass music at Jesse McReynolds’ Pick Inn in Gallatin. The event will be held on Saturday, April 25 from 4-9 PM. A classic car cruise in is also planned with a people’s choice award being offered for best in show. Performers will include Jett Williams and Jesse McReynolds & the Virginia Boys. The benefit will raise funds for adoptable animals at the Humane Society Adoption Center in Hendersonville. Tickets may be purchased by calling 394-8903 or by stopping by the adoption center located in Hendersonville. You can view a list of the group’s adoptable animals here.

First Amendment /Copyright Forum

The First Amendment Center will present a day-long discussion on copyright issues at their Music Row headquarters at 1207 18th Ave. So. on April 28. Among the speakers will be several members from the U.S. Copyright Office, including Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters, David Carson, General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office and William Velez, Executive Director, Radio Music License Committee. They will be joined by music industry executives and prominent intellectual property attorneys. More information can be found here.

Trent Reznor, the music man behind shock rockers Nine Inch Nails, has introduced a NIN iPhone app, which is now available on Apple’s App Store. Working with NIN’s art director, Robert Sheridan, Reznor developed the new app after a backstage iphone encounter with fans. Realizing the fans were using their iPhones to send photos from the scene, Reznor utilized Twinkle, the same Twitter app the fans were using, to send out photos from backstage. And the idea was born. The resulting free NIN iPhone app is a mobile window featuring the band’s music, photos, videos, message boards and — through a GPS-enabled feature known as Nearby — the fans themselves.

“Nearby is kind of like Twitter within the Nine Inch Nails network,” Sheridan said. “You can post a message or a photo by location, and if you’re at a show you can see conversations between other people who are right there.”

The new iPhone app takes that a step further. NIN.com has a Google Earth plug-in that fans can use to see conversations and photos from across the planet, or at a specific location. A feature on the iPhone app’s Nearby tab enables them to post messages and photos from their iPhones to the website and have them pop up in Google Earth.

Development of the new NIN iPhone app actually began around 18 months ago when Nine Inch Nails left its label, Universal Music Group’s Interscope, a process the artist describes as “liberating and terrifying.” The iPhone app is part of a larger, fan-centered business model Reznor has pioneered. According to Reznor, the band’s embrace of “freemium” pricing (aka giving music away for free), torrent distribution, fan remixes and social media have helped him forge deeper connections with fans.

“Anyone who’s an executive at a record label does not understand what the internet is, how it works, how people use it, how fans and consumers interact — no idea,” Reznor said. “They have built a business around selling plastic discs, and nobody wants plastic discs any more.”

The 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards significantly increased its ratings for the second consecutive year. The show’s ratings were up 21% overall from 2008, drawing nearly 15 million viewers and earning the top spot for the night for the CBS Television Network during every hour of the April 5 telecast. The Awards brought in the largest audience since 1998, with about 3 million more viewers than last year. According to Nielsen Media Research, the Awards placed seventh for the entire week — behind American Idol and the series finale of ER.

Industry averages have shown sales increases of more than 20% during the week that precedes the Easter holiday, but the ACM Awards had an even greater impact on record sales for artists who performed at the event. According to Nielsen Soundscan, Lee Ann Womack’s sales increased 117%, Sugarland’s sales increased 112%, Carrie Underwood’s sales increased 99%. Taylor Swift’s sales increased 98% and George Strait’s sales increased 94%. Julianne Hough saw sales increase 110% and Kellie Pickler showed an increase in sales of 174%. Trace Adkins’ sales increased 98% for American Man: Greatest Hits Vol. I & II and a whopping 110% for X, featuring “Til The Last Shot’s Fired,” which he performed on the Awards with the West Point Glee Club. Additionally, Wounded Warrior Project has received almost $50,000 in direct contributions through its dedicated ACM Lifting Lives donation page and from live audience viewers who made donations on-site following the Awards.

“We’ve virtually doubled our audience, reaching 47% more viewers in 2008 and 2009 combined,” said Bob Romeo, Executive Director of the Academy of Country Music. “And I believe we still have room to grow. We are already planning next year’s show and considering how to elevate viewership.”