Afterward, Carrie’s publicist said, “She felt really really great.”

Carrie stuck around for most of the game, sharing a suite and hanging out with Queen Latifah, who sang America the Beautiful before the game.

Ya might recall beforehand that Carrie said she was “51%” for the Saints because head coach Sean Payton – a big Kenny Chesney bud — came to one of Carrie’s shows and met Carrie afterward.

Carrie didn’t get the chance to congratulate Coach Payton after his Super Bowl win, though.

The Schermerhorn Symphony Center already has Motown legend Gladys Knight locked up for Valentine’s weekend 2011. (What, no Pips?)

In case you hopeless romantics out there plan far ahead, the dates are Feb. 11 and 12, 2011.

And you know how some music veterans never play their biggest hits? The Schermerhorn already is promising that she’ll do some of her signature songs, including Midnight Train to Georgia and You’re the Best Thing (That Ever Happened to Me).

If you’re a Nashville Symphony season ticket holder, I’m told you can buy tix now by going to the symphony Web site or calling 687-6401.

“I wanted (team owner) Mr. Benson’s boat and he wouldn’t let me have it. The price wasn’t right,” Kenny said.

So no surprise that the man who’s sold over a million concert tickets each of the past eight summers was in Miami for the Saints victory over the Colts.

Not only did Kenny, his college buddies and father hit the locker room with the team and coaching staffs, but Chesney and his band took the stage at Miami’s Intercontinental Hotel a little before 2 a.m. to rock the players.

Bringing head coach Sean Payton onstage with the Vince Lombardi trophy, they got Mardi Gras started a little early with quite the celebration.

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

In a white T-shirt and Saints cap, Chesney lights into “Living in Fast Forward.” “The Saints just won the Super Bowl!” he says, as if there could be any doubt.

(Coach) Payton joins Chesney and announces his intention to soon drink beer in Mexico. Thus, Chesney performs “Beer in Mexico.”

Back to reality: Kenny is coming back to Nashville to continue editing Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D, which opens nationwide April 21.

Ain’t Been Back, the end theme from the movie, hits country radio later this month.

I mention this because it’s cool to see Brad Paisley’s wife getting involved with local issues — and I also mention it because don’t we always love a reason to gaze upon the fantastic Kimberly Williams-Paisley?

You can go to NPT’s Web site to find out more about the documentaries.

Last time, he toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd, so they actually called it the Rowdy Frynds” tour.

Good stuff, huh?

This time, Bocephus is bringing along Jamey Johnson (In Color) and bluegrass band The Grascals.

Tix range from $25 to $59.50. They go on sale Feb. 13.

“I would never have guessed yellow, but now that I have it, I absolutely would not want it any other way,” Carrie tells the mag.

Carrie says she’s considering an outdoor wedding for later this year.

“I’m Southern,” she says, “and I want my wedding day to be me – so I’ll probably be rocking some big hair and some eyeliner.”

The honeymoon? “We don’t care where, as long as we’re together.”

Ya know, I’m starting to wonder if I don’t have a shot of dating Carrie anymore. I mean, the more I read about this alleged engagement, the more I think this could be serious….

Here comes another.

Vince Gill & Friends — and he always books from pretty incredible friends — are playing the annual Jammin’ to Beat the Blues show, to benefit the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee.

The show is April 19 at the Ryman.

Tix are $39.50 & $29.50, and they go on sale at 10 a.m. Fri., Feb. 12.

Kenny Chesney tells the New Orleans newspaper that — despite his longtime close friendship with Colts QB Peyton Manning – he’s going for the Saints.

Kenny also has a longtime close friendship with Saints Head Coach Sean Payton.

“I would love to see the Saints win the Super Bowl, because they’ve never won it, and what it would mean to the city of New Orleans,” Kenny told The Times-Picayune.

“After Katrina, the music scene in New Orleans took such a hit. Everything did. If they win the Super Bowl, it would be a shot that the town needs. I’m pulling for that.

“Of course, if the Colts win, I’ll be happy for Peyton, too — nobody works harder than him.”

Kenny will be on the Super Bowl edition of ESPN’s NFL Sunday Countdown, and he tells the paper he’ll watch the game with his dad and some buddies in a suite at Sun Life Stadium.

Afterward, Kenny will play at the Saints’ private post-game party.

She’s singing the national anthem, ya know.

“For me, my biggest fear is words. Of course you sing these songs a million times, and everybody knows the words,” she told ABC News.

“But if you’re gonna mess up, that would be the one time to do it.”

Carrie says she’s supporting the New Orleans Saints “51%.”

“I love (Saints Coach) Sean Payton. He came to a concert, so that’s where that extra one percent (comes from),” she said.

So there.

Carrie Underwood and the CMA came up with a sweet way to announce that Carrie would be playing the CMA Music Fest this summer.

Turns out a Carrie super fan — 15-year-old Riley Ahlstrand of Brentwood — had e-mailed the CMA to ask if Carrie would be playing the CMA Music Fest. So Carrie called the teenager today and told her herself.

I was the go-between. I went down to Riley’s house to interview her about her love of country music and suddenly and mysteriously, my cell phone rang, and it was Carrie!

Young Riley got teary and a bit speechless, and it was all fantastic. Click here to check out the video.

This all was made cooler by the fact that Carrie is in Miami doing tons of press and preps for her Super Bowl national anthem performance this weekend.

FYI, this year’s CMA festival will be June 10-13. To purchase tickets, call 1-800-CMA-FEST (262-3378); visit www.CMAfest.com; or www.ticketmaster.com to buy online or charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000.

“When I was recording that, Barry Gibb produced it and … I sang it by myself for four days. And finally I just said, ‘Barry, I don’t even like this song anymore,’” Kenny told me tonight, before the first of two sold-out shows at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

“He said, ‘You know what we need? Dolly Parton.’ I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t really know her at the time. but my manager at the time knew her,” Kenny said.

“Forty-five minutes later, she came in and came struttin’ in the room and when she came in, it was a whole different world at that point. She brings something more than music to everything she does.”

And now — as old-school radio broadcaster Paul Harvey used to intone – you know the rest of the story.

And did you know the Loveless Barn hosts an Americana show there every Wednesday called Music City Roots?

Well Gwyneth Paltrow does.

In fact, the A-list actress — in town to star in the upcoming country movie Love Don’t Let Me Down — was spotted Wednesday night at Loveless Barn.

Some speculate that Gwyneth may be getting some insight into her character for this new movie: She plays an aging country star trying to make a comeback, with her hubby manager, played by Tim McGraw, by her side.

“When this was first proposed to me as a 50-year celebration, something about that sounded final, and I didn’t want that, so I suggested we call it ‘The First 50 Years,’” Kenny said in a statement.

“I will tell you this, the first 50 years TV show is gonna be awesome – the next 50 years TV show is gonna be a b*tch.”

Ha!

The big wing-ding is gonna happen April 10 in Connecticut, at the MGM Grand At Foxwoods.

Bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent, the current IBMA entertainers of the year, have recorded an album of Statler Brothers songs. You can only get it at Cracker Barrel.

And on Thursday (Feb. 4), you can get Dailey & Vincent, too.

The duo will be at the Cookeville Cracker Barrel at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to sing and sign. For you GPS lovers, the street address is 1295 S. Walnut Ave., in Cookeville.

Rascal Flatts celebrated 10 years in the biz with a bash for ALL of their songwriters Feb. 3, 2010, at Musicians Hall of Fame.

Thanks to News 2’s Corinne Gensler.

But then that pesky snowstorm hit.

So the hall of fame’s Ford Community Day — so called because Ford Motor Company is essentially footing the bill for all of us freeloaders — is gonna happen this Saturday.

Free admission all day, which is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oh, but that’s not all. There will be two free songwriter sessions, with Georgia Middleman (I love her) and Dave Berg at 11:30 a.m., and Leslie Satcher at 1:30 p.m.

Kids also will be able to play some instruments in what they’re calling the Musical Petting Zoo, at 3 p.m. in the SunTrust Community Room.

Not only does Lady Antebellum have the top spot on the all-genre Billboard 200 album sales list, but they did it by selling a whopping 480,000 copies of Need You Now – in one week!

In the digital download era, selling nearly a half million albums in a week is almost unheard of. Props to Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood. (Why is Dave always listed third?)

“We are absolutely stunned…the love and support we were feeling last week from the fans and everyone around us was so incredible,” Dave said in a statement.

And when I say world domination, I mean it: Taylor was expected to leave three hours after her biggest win on a plane for huge shows in Australia and Japan.

“Oh wow, thank you so much, I just, I just hope that you know how much this means to me and to Nathan my producer and to all these musicians here on this stage that we get to take this back to Nashville!” Taylor gushed on stage.

“This is the story that all of us when we’re 80 years old and we’re telling the same stories over and over to our grandkids and they’re so annoyed with us… that in 2010 we got to win album of the year at the Grammys. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

If yer keeping count as home, Taylor took a total of four Grammy trophies.

Beyonce finished with a record-breaking six.

Beyonce just beat out Taylor Swift – and Pink, and Katy Perry, etc. — for best female pop performance.

Beyonce’s winning song: Halo. (By the way, I cheated. This is an old Beyonce Grammy pic.)

Really, it’s pretty impressive that Taylor made it into the category since she considers herself a country singer and not a pop singer.

Anyhoo, Beyonce and Taylor have at least one more category where they go head to head.

Beyonce’s assessment to this point: “This has been such an amazing night.”

In fact, this last trophy was Beyonce’s sixth tonight, a record for most wins by a female at a Grammys, the AP says.

Before tonight, Nashville’s Alison Krauss was tied with Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and Amy Winehouse with five.

Spoke too soon: Kings of Leon beat ‘em both in the record of the year, for the song Use Somebody.

The rock band’s acceptance speech, well, rocked.

“I’m not gonna lie, we’re all a little drunk, but we’re happy drunk,” the king King said.

One of his bandmates rattled off a list of thank yous, ending with “Whoever I forgot, I’ll buy you shots.”