She may have been booted from American Idol, but Kellie Pickler has no hard feelings.

The country star will team up with the show’s host, Ryan Seacrest, to emcee one of the hottest New Year’s parties around.

A thrilled Pickler, 22, broke the news Thursday on her MySpace celebrity blog, telling fans she’s been tapped to co-host this year’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

The North Carolinian says she is looking forward to being in Manhattan’s Times Square for the 37th annual event. “I can’t think of a better way to bring in 2009,” she says.

In the post, the 2006 Idol alumna also expressed glee about the upcoming release of her second CD. “My brand new album is going to be in stores on September 30,” she writes. “That’s less than 2 weeks away. WAHOOOOO! I cannot wait for you all to hear it.”

The self-titled effort is the follow-up to her October 2006 debut, Small Town Girl, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard country chart. Its success helped her earn a Best New Artist nomination at this year’s Country Music Association Awards, airing live from Nashville on CBS Nov. 12.

Kellie Pickler’s gone green - at Nashville’s 21st Annual Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament %26 Tupperware Party.

Taking time from recording her second album, the former Idol star, 21, went “clubbing” at Monday’s outdoor fund-raiser on behalf of United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee.

“I am the queen of putt-putt,” said Pickler, who quickly got into the swing of things - and proved herself no novice with a golf club and dimpled ball.

Still, she wasn’t counting on sheer luck to pull her through. “I got a new HD-TV installed Sunday, and the guys just happened to turn on the U.S. Open,” she said. “My new TV is so incredible I could see every blade of grass. I watched the whole thing ’cause it was just too pretty to change the channel.”

While captivated by the sharp picture, she also learned to sharpen her golf skills, noting, “I picked up some tips on my swing from Tiger %26#91;Woods%26#93; and Rocco %26#91;Mediate%26#93;.”

Her Song with Taylor Swift

On the subject of the get-back duet “The Best Days of Your Life,” which Pickler recorded last week with sister country star Taylor Swift - the two wrote it together while touring with Brad Paisley - Pickler said: “We were sitting around one night and talking about old boyfriends. You know, you break up, and you’re really miserable, but what’s really comforting is to know that in time, he’ll come to regret it, and realize the best days of his life were with you, and they’re already gone.”

And the final result? “I didn’t know if our voices would go together - I’m so redneck and she’s so proper, but it really worked.”

Toby Keith, Kellie Pickler and LeAnn Rimes lead the list of musicians set to perform live on the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

In a special performance, Kenny Chesney will duet with George Strait on the May 18 telecast. The two will sing their “Shiftwork” from Chesney’s album Poets %26 Pirates, live for the first time. The two will also face off against each other in the Entertainer of the Year category.

Chesney leads the pack of nominated artists, earning 11 nominations this year, including top male vocalist. Other big nominees include Rodney Atkins, who nabbed six nods, and Big %26 Rich and Sugarland with four nominations each.

Fans may vote in all categories at www.voteACM.com. The awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, will air live on May 18 (8 p.m. ET, CBS) from Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Kellie Pickler is teaming up with fellow country star Taylor Swift for a new song on the former Idol’s upcoming album.

On the track, the singers mine some ex-boyfriend territory for a get-back tune called “Best Days of Your Life.” Although Pickler is mum about exactly which ex the song refers to, she tells PEOPLE, “You have to be careful when you date a songwriter. We always get the last word!”

Swift will join her in the studio to record harmonies on the song.

The two will be spending even more time together as the co-hosts - along with Julianne Hough - of the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock, a two-hour special compiling performance highlights from a festival line-up that includes Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Trace Adkins and Billy Ray Cyrus. The show is set to air Sept. 8.

Kellie Pickler will sing on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon to help honor grandparents who raise their grandchildren.

It’s a deeply personal issue to Pickler, who was raised by her grandparents in North Carolina after her parents separated and her mother left when the country star was only 2-years-old.

The Idol alum will perform her song “My Angel,” written for her grandparents, Faye and Clyde Pickler, at the AARP’s third National GrandRally. The event hopes to raise awareness of and support for “grandfamilies” like the Picklers.

“I know the struggles they face,” said the singer, who has donated nearly $50,000 to the AARP’s Grandparent Foundation.
-Eileen Finan

Video courtesy ABC
Kellie Pickler broke down crying during the CMA Awards on Wednesday night while performing “I Wonder,” a song about her estranged mother, who abandoned her when she was 2.

“Oh, I hear the weather’s nice in California,” the former American Idol finalist sang at the end of the song, as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. “And just in case you’re wondering about me/ From now on I won’t be in Carolina/ Your little girl is off to Tennessee.”

Pickler, 21, struggled to finish the song and spoke the final word, “Tennessee,” as the Nashville crowd rose in applause to support her.