CARRIE UNDERWOOD fans probably know about this . . . but I didn't. Way before "American Idol" . . . when she was around 13 or 14 . . . Carrie had a budding music career. She recorded a bunch of songs and almost signed a Nashville record deal. The whole thing fizzled out and she went back to Oklahoma to finish high school and, eventually, college. Anyway, there is an entire album of songs from back then. It's called "Broken Wings" . . . and it's all cover songs from artists like the Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride and Jo Dee Messina. It's for sale on a website called SoundsBox.com, and it'll cost you $1.76. No joke. If that's too rich for your blood, individual songs are 14-cents apiece. Or if you're super cheap, you can listen to samples for free! :)
Scotty McCreery reunited with his pal Tim McGraw on stage in Charlotte, NC, Sunday night. Tim brought the former American Idol champ out to sing "I Like It, I Love It" during his set on the Brothers of the Sun tour stop with Kenny Chesney. Scotty tweeted to Tim, "It was awesome! You're the man!" 
GARY ALLAN admits that his last two albums were pretty heavy, mostly because that's just where his head was. But his next one will have a more positive tone. He tells "Billboard", quote, "It's super rock, super up. "It seems like a lot of the stuff I was writing this year was just up and hopeful stuff. I'm usually the sad writer, but I think I was able to step away from that this time. "(But) I'm just in a really good place, mentally, and this just reflects that. Every album I do is just about where I'm at, at the time." Gary says the new album is almost done . . . but there's no word when it will be out.
Last week, John Gross of Indianapolis, Indiana was leaving Orlando, Florida with his late grandfather's ashes. The ashes were in a sealed jar that was marked "Human Remains." At the Orlando airport, a TSA agent was searching his bag, and John asked her to be careful. She wasn't. She opened the jar . . . then accidentally spilled John's grandfather's ashes on the floor. He says, quote, "She didn't apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn't pick it all up. I mean, there was a long line behind me." He's asking for an apology from the TSA. The TSA website says crematory containers have to pass an X-ray . . . but they shouldn't be opened under any circumstances. A spokesman says they're investigating the incident.
