NASHVILLE, TENN. (AP) - Actress Gwyneth Paltrow will be taking the stage at next month’s Country Music Association Awards _ as a performer.
She’ll sing the title track of her new movie, “Country Strong,” and will be joined by Vince Gill.
Paltrow stars in the film with Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester. She plays a washed up country singer who gets romantically involved with a rising singer-songwriter (Hedlund). They try to resurrect her career with a major tour, headed up by her husband/manager (McGraw) and featuring a beauty-queen-turned-singer (Meester.)
Paltrow says she researched a lot of country music history for this role.
“I sort of started at the beginning with Hank (Williams) Sr. and Johnny Cash and really studied Dolly (Parton) and Loretta Lynn, and kind of just started at the beginning and went all the way through and found the people that I really love and who inspired me,” she told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
In addition to classic country stars, Paltrow also has some current country music favorites.
“I really like a lot of the young women in country right now, like Ashley Monroe and Miranda Lambert,” she said. “I had never really known very much about country music, and I now am very into it. I know a lot more about it than I did.”
The film hits theaters in Los Angeles and Nashville on Dec. 22 and nationwide on Jan. 7. The soundtrack will be released Oct. 26.
Previously announced performers for the CMA Awards include Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban. Zac Brown Band and Alan Jackson will perform together, and Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow will sing a duet to honor Loretta Lynn’s 50th anniversary as a recording artist.
The CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Nov. 10 on ABC.
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Associated Press Television senior entertainment producer Mike Cidoni contributed to this report.
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