Jessica Simpson is reportedly in talks with CMT to star in a new reality show. According to Entertainment Weekly, the starlet is mulling over an offer for an unscripted series, showcasing her new venture into country music.

"With 'Newlyweds,' she let everyone into her world," Simpson's father, Joe Simpson, told EW. "Then she she had to shut the world out. Now she can open it up again so people can see, here's a girl struggling with self-esteem and finding her way. Country music is about story-telling, after all."

Simpson is currently recording her country debut in Nashville. It will include a duet with Dolly Parton and a collaboration with Willie Nelson and Charley Pride. The first single is expected in April or May.

Simpson already has acting credits in a country music video. She makes a funny cameo in Willie Nelson's 'You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore,' alongside Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and Woody Harrelson. Watch the video premiere here.

NBC has tapped an eclectic group of musicians to star in a new reality-competition show, 'Clash of the Choirs.' Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Blake Shelton, Kelly Rowland and Michael Bolton will try to create "America's greatest choir" on the live show, each of them picking 20 singers from their respective hometowns to join their team. LaBelle will return to her hometown of Philadelphia for auditions; Lachey will be going home to Cincinatti; Shelton will return to Oklahoma City; Rowland will audition in her native Houston; and Bolton will be going back to his hometown of New Haven, CT.

Cameras will follow the artists from the hometown auditions through the choir competition in New York. Viewers will be able to call in to vote for their favorite choir, and the winners will get to choose a prize that will benefit their city -- anything from renovating a school gym to building a community playground. 'Clash of the Choirs' is set to air live over four nights, December 17-20.

John Rich, the producing/singing/songwriting half of country duo Big & Rich, is inviting celebrities to get their twang on. Rich is set to host a new show on CMT called 'Gone Country,' which casts several non-country music celebrities competing for a career in country music.

The eclectic group of celebrities starring on the reality show will include rapper Bobby Brown, Latin pop crooner Julio Iglesias Jr., pop singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips), glam-rocker Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), 'American Idol' runner-up Diana DeGarmo, rapper/R&B star Sisqo and 'Marcia Brady' herself, Maureen McCormick. Those seven celebrities will not only try their hands at singing country music, but they'll also compete in various challenges to see whether they can handle a musician's lifestyle in Nashville. At the end of two weeks, the person who has proven themselves the most impressive as a country star will record and release a country song.

The six-episode series is set to premiere in January.

Jamie Foxx has signed on to appear with country powerhouse Rascal Flatts at the upcoming Country Music Association Awards. The Oscar-winning actor and R&B singer will duet with the group on 'She Goes All the Way,' a song he recorded with them for Rascal Flatts new album, 'Still Feels Good.'

The Foxx-Flatts friendship goes back more than a decade. Foxx and Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox were roommates in California back in the late '90s while LeVox was pursuing a music career. The two have remained friends ever since.

"Jamie is an incredible talent, and we were thrilled he took us up on our invitation to join us on the song," says LeVox. "He said he'd do it if we would sing on one of his records, so it's a pretty good swap."

Artist: Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus
Song: 'Ready, Set, Don't Go'
Why You Should Listen: Hear the song that the adorable father-daughter duo sang on Tuesday's 'Dancing With the Stars.'

Faith Hill is defending the heated lecture she gave a fan who grabbed hubby Tim McGraw's crotch during a live concert in July. And she wasn't the only one furious about the incident.

"He was livid," the country star says of her hubby and tour-mate on Wednesday's episode of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show.' "I mean, he was red and fuming."

Hill says her first instinct was to leave the incident be. But then, she says, the woman "gave me this look like there's nothing you can do."

So, the 'Mississippi Girl' in Hill just couldn't keep quiet. "What I really wanted to do is kick her you-know-what ... I mean, how disrespectful! And plus, it's like sexual harassment. I mean, if a man was to do that to a woman?"

George Strait and Brad Paisley lead the list of nominees for the 2007 Country Music Association Awards with five nominations each. The stars are both up for Top Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award. Kenny Chesney took home the Entertainer honors last year and is nominated again this year for the sixth year in a row, along with three other nominations.

Martina McBride and Alison Krauss lead the ladies with four nods each. Carrie Underwood, the reigning Top Female Vocalist, scored three nominations. She'll defend her title alongside fellow nominees McBride, Krauss, Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire.