Nicole Beals

Nicole’s News- April 5

The six finalists have been announced for the CMT Music Awards Video of the Year. They are, Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood, If I Didn’t Love You, Kane Brown, One Mississippi, Half of My Hometown, Kelsea Ballerini & Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Forever After All, Cody Johnson, ‘Til You Can’t and Never Say Never, Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson. You can vote for your favorite now at CMT.com then tune in for the CMT Music Awards, Monday night on CBS.


American Idol alumni are returning for a reunion special to celebrate the shows 20th anniversary.  Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery and more will return to perform on May 2. Lauren and Scotty will be performing together. They were the top two on season 10. Scotty went on to win that year.

Recent Headlines

1 day ago in Entertainment, News

Arthouse 217 and Film-Fanatic.Club bring ‘The French Dispatch’ to downtown Champaign

Wes Anderson film screening at The Literary aims to celebrate cinema, storytelling and community.

1 day ago in Entertainment, News

Festival of Trees to continue despite Junior League dissolution

Illini Media Group will take over longtime Champaign-Urbana holiday tradition at the I Hotel this November.

2 days ago in Sports, Trending

MLB owners have proposed a salary cap for the first time since baseball’s 1994-95 strike

Major League Baseball owners made their long-expected salary cap proposal to the players' association on Thursday, a system the union has vowed never to accept, setting the sides on course for a confrontation that threatens the 2027 season and perhaps beyond.

3 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

Matthew Perry’s assistant gets more than 3 years in prison for central role in his ketamine death

Matthew Perry's live-in personal assistant, who had a central role in the "Friends" star's descent into ketamine addiction and injected him with the fatal dose of the drug, was sentenced Wednesday to three years and five months in prison.

4 days ago in Entertainment, Music

The Chicks announce intimate ‘Taking the Long Way’ 20th Anniversary Tour. ‘This is our lives’

Call it a comeback, a crossover moment, or both. Twenty years ago, The Chicks released their blockbuster 2006 album "Taking the Long Way" — their first full-length after the country music industry turned their backs on them — and one of the biggest of their career.