NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Aldean thinks this year’s Country Music Association Awards could be the start of something new.

Country music is slow to change, and so are the 6,000 members who vote for the winners of Wednesday night’s show. So when they nominated Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton in the entertainer of the year category for the first time it meant something.

“Every few years you kind of start to see a changeover of everything,” Aldean said. “You start to see different people getting into categories they weren’t before. It’s like the changing of the guard a little bit.”

It’s been a busy summer for NBC’s long-running “Law & Order: SVU.”

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In April, “Lights Out” showrunner Warren Leight boarded the drama boarded the drama to replace long-time head Neal Baer, who opted to step down from the procedural after more than a decade with the series. Then in May, co-star Chris Meloni parted ways with the drama on which he starred for 12 seasons after contract negotiations broke down. Meanwhile, rumors swirled that Meloni’s on-screen partner, Mariska Hargitay, would be reducing her time with the series to spend more time with her family and new adopted daughter.

Boy, the season hasn’t even officially started yet, and “Dancing With the Stars” is already No. 1!

Clicker readers couldn’t get enough of the show, starting with Monday’s cast announcement. And as with previous seasons, there were some “stars” who really got fans of the show talking and bumped the story about the reveal to the top of this week’s list. We got a hint of that early in the day Monday, when it was rumored that Nancy Grace was one of the chosen ones. (Wow, did readers have a strong reaction on our Facebook page!)

Remember when a “Dancing With the Stars” insider confirmed to us that the show was aiming for a higher caliber of celebrities? It looks like the folks behind the ballroom bash may actually be trying to do just that … at least a little bit.

Sure, TMZ reported late last month that “Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ ” Rob Kardashian had signed on and that “Jersey Shore’s” Snooki was in talks. A source also told Access Hollywood that former “Hills” star Kristin Cavallari is getting ready to put her name on the dotted line.

Eeek, it’s time for the final cut from 31 to the top 20. The worst part about this stage in the competition is that no one has actually screwed up. All of these dancers are good enough to proceed, but there are only 20 spots and someone doesn’t get a cookie. It’s really kind of a depressing night, even though it’s exciting to finally meet our official top 20. And the good news is that this season we’ll be spared the tiresome home visits that always felt uncomfortable when the news was bad (“I’m sorry to tell you you won’t be joining us.

As is often the case when big names appear on “Idol” results shows, Perry and West pre-taped their spot. Too bad no one mentioned that to the audience.

Prerecorded or live, the “ET” performance was all the same for the at-home crowd watching the action on the small screen, but E! Online reports that in-house fans expected to see the stars up close and personal when host Ryan Seacrest announced them.

Oops!

When “American Idol” announced that Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez would be the new judges — joining Randy Jackson and replacing the iconic Simon Cowell, the cipher Kara DioGuardi and the funny but unlamented Ellen DeGeneres — the reception among critics, fans and those in the reality biz was somewhat … well, pitchy.

Monday night was “story night” on “Dancing With the Stars,” and the overall tale seemed to be expect the unexpected. Some good dancers weren’t so good, some bad dancers weren’t so bad and one usually upright dancer found herself flat on the floor.

The story Kirstie Alley intended to tell with her classic rumba was one about the hope that can be found after despair. It was a lesson Alley learned years ago after losing her mother and nearly losing her father. It was a lesson aptly reinforced moments after her routine began.

At the end of the “American Idol” opening montage on Thursday, the show teased its viewers by saying “… and you won’t believe who is going home.”

Oh, how it lied.

In contrast to last week, when everyone was shocked to see Casey Abrams finish with the lowest number of votes and then nearly collapse onstage after the judges elected to save him, this time things went as expected. Perhaps because an overwhelming 55 million votes that were cast, the results were notable because of how predictable they were.

LOS ANGELES — “American Idol” viewers didn’t tell Ashthon Jones they loved her.

The silky smooth 24-year-old retail manager from Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday was revealed to have the fewest viewer votes on the Fox talent competition.

The judges decided not to save Jones after her performance of Diana Ross’ “When You Tell Me That You Love Me.” Jones said before her dismissal that she regretted not selecting a more popular Ross tune.