Martina Mcbride

COUNTRY Martina McBride's new release comes with a simple title loaded with multiple signifiers: It's her 11th album, containing 11 songs, being released on the 11th day of October (begging the question: Why not on 11/11/11?). McBride upped her songwriting contributions for the album - at least a co-write on six tracks - but the results come across as scattershot and uneven: a little ersatz reggae here ("Always Be This Way"), an adult-contemporary ballad there ("Marry Me," a duet with Train's Pat Monahan)

Country music star George Strait says he'll play in Kansas City next week to make up for a weekend concert he cut short because he was too sick to continue. Strait made it through two songs Saturday night at the Sprint Center before telling the crowd he couldn't keep going because he was ill. The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/z1YXxK) reports the singer's voice was labored and hoarse. Many of the 18,000 in attendance stood and gave him a rousing ovation after they got over their initial disappointment.

Martina McBride was looking for that spark you get when you know you've discovered your true match. The country music star found it in Scott Borchetta and his Big Machine Label Group. McBride's new album, "Eleven," is her first for Republic Nashville, ending a two-decade association with RCA that included 18 million in album sales. But at 45, she finds the switch invigorating, and it has pushed her in directions she never really considered before. Those days with RCA, she says, were good ones and the split was amicable.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" actress Tamara Tunie spoke out yesterday about being a real-life crime victim, saying her former business manager exploited her trust to steal more than $1 million from her. Blasting Joseph Cilibrasi as a ‘‘menace to society" as he was sentenced to 2½ to 7½ years in prison, Tunie said he insinuated himself into her life by joining in birthday parties, weddings, and other family events. Cilibrasi, 51, pleaded guilty in the fall to stealing from Tunie and other clients.

Lionel Richie will be replaced by Martina McBride at this year's July 4th Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. (Photo credit: Ben Rothstein/Getty Images; Wade Payne/AP) Hello? Is it Lionel Richie you're looking for? Because you won't find him on the Esplanade for the annual Boston Pops Fourth of July celebration on Monday. It was reported this morning that the singer has dropped out of the festivities after doctors decided he needed to rest his strained vocal chords.

A change in the musical lineup for the July 4 festivities on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. Singer Lionel Richie has canceled his appearance with the Boston Pops and will be replaced by country music star Martina McBride. WBZ reported that Richie released a statement on Friday saying he has strained vocal chords and has been told by his doctors not to perform. The annual July 4 Pops concert and fireworks spectacular usually draws about half a million people to the Esplanade.

Broadway actor Norm Lewis , who’ll star in “Porgy and Bess’’ at the American Repertory Theater next month, visited the Esplanade on Sunday afternoon to entertain a crowd that waited in muggy weather to hear Martina McBride and the Boston Pops rehearse for last night’s big, televised July Fourth gig. Spectators were treated to Lewis’s rendition of the George and Ira Gershwin classic “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’.’’ …...

Country music star George Strait says he'll play in Kansas City next week to make up for a weekend concert he cut short because he was too sick to continue. Strait made it through two songs Saturday night at the Sprint Center before telling the crowd he couldn't keep going because he was ill. The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/z1YXxK) reports the singer's voice was labored and hoarse. Many of the 18,000 in attendance stood and gave him a rousing ovation after they got over their initial disappointment.

CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock 8 p.m., Channel 5 This three-hour special contains highlights of the annual CMA Music Festival in June, a four-day mix of concerts and celebrity meet-and-greets. Among the stars: Scotty McCreery (pictured) and Martina McBride. Masterpiece Mystery! 9 p.m., Channel 2 In this episode of "Inspector Lewis," called "Counter Culture Blues," Joanna Lumley plays a rock star who was believed to have died decades ago. Kevin Whately stars as Lewis.

Country Martina McBride Shine Sony Music ESSENTIAL "I'm Trying" For a taste of the power of positivity, look no further than Martina McBride's splendid new album, "Shine. " It doesn't matter if the protagonists of the country singer's songs are making up, breaking up, shacking up, or cracking up, the singer and her songwriters have managed to inject hope into even the darkest scenarios. It's easy to find the silver lining in odes to joy like the uptempo "Sunnyside Up" or the cheerleading ballad "I Just Call You Mine.

Martina McBride was looking for that spark you get when you know you've discovered your true match. The country music star found it in Scott Borchetta and his Big Machine Label Group. McBride's new album, "Eleven," is her first for Republic Nashville, ending a two-decade association with RCA that included 18 million in album sales. But at 45, she finds the switch invigorating, and it has pushed her in directions she never really considered before. Those days with RCA, she says, were good ones and the split was amicable.

COUNTRY Martina McBride's new release comes with a simple title loaded with multiple signifiers: It's her 11th album, containing 11 songs, being released on the 11th day of October (begging the question: Why not on 11/11/11?). McBride upped her songwriting contributions for the album - at least a co-write on six tracks - but the results come across as scattershot and uneven: a little ersatz reggae here ("Always Be This Way"), an adult-contemporary ballad there ("Marry Me," a duet with Train's Pat Monahan)

Country star Martina McBride is on track to release her new album, "Eleven," next month with a cross-country train ride. The four-day, exclusive trip will take her from Los Angeles to New York and make 11 stops along the way. She'll perform intimate concerts for fans in Albuquerque, N.M., Chicago and New York. The tour is called "‘Eleven' Across America Powered By Amtrak. " The Grammy-winning singer says she's excited about this journey. "Eleven" is McBride's 11th studio album.

SEPT. 13 Lady Antebellum, "Own the Night" In the wake of its big Grammy sweep in February, this Nashville country-pop trio returns with what will surely be one of the year's biggest-selling albums, with plenty of radio singles to boot. St. Vincent, "Strange Mercy" As the one-woman juggernaut St. Vincent, onetime Berklee student Annie Clark conjures an alternate pop universe, where textures and melodies swirl around Clark's disarming vocals. SEPT. 20 Tori Amos, "Night of Hunters" Never content to conform, Amos has made a concept album that the press materials...

CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock 8 p.m., Channel 5 This three-hour special contains highlights of the annual CMA Music Festival in June, a four-day mix of concerts and celebrity meet-and-greets. Among the stars: Scotty McCreery (pictured) and Martina McBride. Masterpiece Mystery! 9 p.m., Channel 2 In this episode of "Inspector Lewis," called "Counter Culture Blues," Joanna Lumley plays a rock star who was believed to have died decades ago. Kevin Whately stars as Lewis.

PICK OF THE DAY She's not in Kansas anymore If you didn't get enough Martina McBride when she stepped in at the last minute to perform with the Boston Pops on July 4, the award-winning country singer from Kansas is in Cohasset for a two-night gig. "Shine," her latest release, is a mix of old and new story songs. Aug. 6 doors at 7 p.m., Aug. 7 doors at 6:30 p.m. $49.25-$91.25. South Shore Music Circus, 130 Sohier St., Cohasset. 800-745-3000. www.themusiccircus.org TODAY On the record Turntables get a workout in the Institute of Contemporary Art series DJs...

Hello? Is it Lionel Richie you’re looking for? Because you won’t find him at the Esplanade Monday for the annual Boston Pops Fourth of July extravaganza. The “Dancing on the Ceiling’’ singer abruptly dropped out of the festivities yesterday after doctors decided he needed to rest his strained vocal cords. (The interview with the former Commodore in today’s G section was printed before he backed out.) Richie will be replaced by country star Martina McBride , whose range and powerhouse pipes should resonate well with the Pops behind her. “I am extremely disappointed to cancel my performance with...

Reverence, or at least too much of it, is often the death knell for tribute albums. If a legend’s legacy looms too large, artists err on the side of homage instead of interpretation. That’s the obvious problem with this salute to country icon Loretta Lynn, which cherry-picks from her 50-year career with an emphasis on songs she either wrote or co-wrote. From Carrie Underwood (“You’re Lookin’ at Country’’) to Paramore [“You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)’’]

► Today is Friday, July 29, the 210th day of 2011. There are 155 days left in the year. ► Today's birthdays: Comedian "Professor" Irwin Corey is 97. Actor Robert Horton is 87. Former Senator Nancy Kassebaum-Baker is 79. Actor Robert Fuller is 77. Former Senator Elizabeth H. Dole is 75. Actor David Warner is 70. Rock musician Neal Doughty (REO Speedwagon) is 65. Marilyn Tucker Quayle, wife of former Vice President Dan Quayle, is 62. Actor Mike Starr is 61. Documentary maker Ken Burns is 58. Style guru Tim Gunn ("Project Runway")

Broadway actor Norm Lewis , who’ll star in “Porgy and Bess’’ at the American Repertory Theater next month, visited the Esplanade on Sunday afternoon to entertain a crowd that waited in muggy weather to hear Martina McBride and the Boston Pops rehearse for last night’s big, televised July Fourth gig. Spectators were treated to Lewis’s rendition of the George and Ira Gershwin classic “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’.’’ …...