Do you know how many Top-10 singles Miranda Lambert has had? If you guessed “two,” then congratulations! You win a gold star!

Chart success for an artist depends on a lot of different factors. It usually comes down to how good a song is, what other songs are on the charts and, often most importantly, the team of record label people trying to push that song up the chart. “Which chart,” you ask? Well, you see, there’s Billboard, Country AirCheck… You know what? Here’s the thing: When you’re at a concert and your favorite artist starts playing your favorite song, it really doesn’t matter how that song did on the charts. That’s not really for the fans to worry about.

Miranda’s had lots of great songs and we’re sure her new one, “The House That Built Me,” will do just fine on the charts. Besides, Miranda says that the fans don’t give a crap about the charts. I think she put it a lot better than I did! Check out Miranda below in this week’s Lifestyle feature!

Most Country superstars stay busy by jet-setting all over the world touring, making videos, doing photoshoots, etc. And Alan Jackson is no exception… with the exception that Alan usually jet-sets right back home after he’s done with a show.

You see, Alan’s not real big on all that stuff. According to him, he’s pretty boring and just likes to piddle around outside. So, when asked about retirement, Alan is confused because he’s not sure what all he would retire from.

It’s that aw-shucks attitude that has endeared him to so many fans over the years and helped sell over 50 million (!!!) records. Well, we’ve got him right here in this week’s Artist Profile. Check it out as we hear from the boring recluse himself and spin “Here In the Real World” and his new one, “It’s Just That Way.”

Why is it that no matter how much you stuff your face with food, you can always be convinced to top it off with a little sweet treat?? Hey — we all have to give in to our sweet tooth every now and then. And some of your favorite Country HitMakers are no exception.

In this week’s Cover Story, we hear from Katie Armiger, Big Kenny and Miranda Lambert as they talk sweets. Well, Big Kenny kinda goes a little off-topic, but I think that’s to be expected, right? You just have to take what he says with a little grain of salt… or a big tablespoon of Nutella. Either way, that’s all below! Check it out as we play Katie’s “Kiss Me Now” and Miranda’s “Gunpowder & Lead” along the way…

I believe it was Aristotle who famously said, “It don’t get no better than that!” Wait, no… I think it was Chaucer. Or maybe it was Thoreau… At any rate, let’s not worry about who first uttered the phrase, let’s talk about who’s saying it now!

While Keith Burns & Michelle Poe are not new to Country music, they’ve only recently broken out as a duo. So listen in as we spin their new one, “Don’t Get No Better Than That,” and hear Keith insist that his rapping on the song was spontaneous.

I’ll be honest — I don’t know much at all about any of the CSI shows. I know, I know, I’m just not that hip. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the show is limited to tired internet memes. But lucky for me, CSI is a big hit with a lot of your favorite Country hitmakers.

In this week’s Cover Story, we’re hearing from Taylor Swift, Craig Morgan and Keith Urban as they talk about the hit television empire. And, we promise, nobody gets killed! Check it out below!

There’s a lot that goes into making hitmakers, well, hitmakers. Record labels have teams, committees and all kinds of behind-the-scenes people that deal with every facet of an artist’s career. How should this artist look? Hat or no hat? Okay, baseball hat or cowboy hat? Backwards baseball hat?? Seriously — people get paid good money to think about stuff like that!

Not surprisingly, Gary Allan doesn’t care too much for those people. And, Gary tells us, everything you see him wear and everything you hear him sing is 100% Gary Allan. That’s why we love Gary and that’s why we’re spinning “Watching Airplanes” and his new one “Get Off On the Pain” in the Artist Profile.

I would imagine that every girl dreams of being sponsored by a makeup company. (Similarly, I would imagine that every guy dreams of being sponsored by a bacon company, but I digress!) Well, if that’s so, then Katie Armiger’s wish has come true! She’s sponsored by MAC cosmetics.

So what does that mean? Katie tells us that she got to go online and basically just have a makeup shopping spree! How jealous are you? … Or are you still thinking about being sponsored by a bacon company??

Either way, we’re catching up with Miss Armiger and spinning her new one, “Kiss Me Now.”

Blaine Larsen grew up in Buckley, WA. So, he’s seen plenty of mountains. Blaine tells us that he’d much rather be on the beach.

Well, his new single, “Chillin’,” sounds like the beach! And let’s be honest: It also sounds like another Country artist whose name rhymes with Shmenny Shmesney Now don’t worry all you Blaine-iacs out there, we mean that all in good fun! Heck, even Blaine admits that naming his new album Not Too Bad is just asking for it from the critics.

We’re not critics! But we know a good tune when we hear one! So check out “Chillin’” below in the New Music Spotlight!

I know that all of you bought Gary Allan’s new album, Get Off On the Pain, when it came out on March 9th. But, we figured you want to grab a copy for your great-aunt in Wisconsin, so we’re giving you a chance to win one of 10 copies!

All you have to do is send us an email to gary [at] country hit makers [dot] com and tell us why you should win. We’ll pick the 10 lucky winners by April 1st and post them right here. And that’s no April Fool’s joke!

Good luck!

UPDATE: So far we have 2 lucky winners!

Catherine B from Katy, TX tells us:

We recently moved back down south to Texas from western New York state, where we had lived for six years and is where Katelyn was born. She got so excited to see Gary in concert that when he came out to sing she started jumping up and down and screaming.  When he did “Learning How To Bend” she could not contain herself and turned around to the woman sitting next to us, who was a perfect stranger, and grabbed her arm and yelled, “Oh my goodness!  That is Gary Allan!  Can you beleive it??  We are really here!”  She is such a big fan in such a little package and she would be so excited to get a CD.

And Julie B in Lake Charles, LA writes:

Three years ago I was diagnosed with Guillian Barre which left me paralyzed…on life support. With GBS, I had to learn how to walk and how to function in society all over again. Gary Allan’’s music got me through some pretty tough times..the lowest of the low times in my life..and to top that off, I lost my father in 2008, my best friend!! I have followed Gary, since “Her Man” and I remember seeing him in Cowboys Nightclub in Lake Charles, LA when he wore the cowboy hat. It feels like a lifetime ago… I got the opportunity to see him live in Oct 2009 in New Orleans and haven’t stopped!! He is like a drug..can’t get enough..I am a true JUNKIE!! His music is good for my soul and is truly therapeutic!! I am still in physical therapy..I still have battles with my illness..but nothing I can’t overcome. I’d love to win GA’s GOOTP CD!!

We’ve still got CDs to send out, so email us at gary [at] country hit makers [dot] com!!!

When I first saw the title of Miranda Lambert’s new single, “The House That Built Me,” the first thing I thought of was Brooks & Dunn’s song, “Proud of the House We Built.” Were the two songs related? Was this some sort of cryptic message by the Texans?

As it turns out, they’re both just great Country songs. So, we’re giving them a spin in the Cover Story, which you can check out below.

(And if you’re wondering about the picture, I couldn’t find one of just Kix & Ronnie with Miranda. As I started to crop out Carrie, I smacked myself for even thinking about doing something so stupid!)