THE LEFT LANE
Country crooning

Singer-actress Reba McEntire will be host of the 37th Academy of Country Music Awards, a three-hour special airing tape-delayed at 7 p.m. tomorrow on CBS from the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Alabama, Sara Evans, Hank Williams Jr., Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Tracy Lawrence, Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood will be among the performers; Clint Black, Lisa Hartman Black, and Country Music Television hosts Katie Cook and Greg Martin are among the award presenters. Our pick for the gotta-see moment of the night: Williams and rock artist Kid Rock doing a duet of "The F-Word," which appears on Williams' album "Almeria Club."

— Advertiser staff and news services

Sent to the showers

Speaking of Kid Rock, the first Take Me Away survey has named him the celebrity who most needs to Bathe with a Bar — of soap. Soap maker Calgon asked 4,000 mostly college-age spring breakers in Panama City Beach, Fla., which celeb is most in need of a shower. The Kid took first place over ripe-smelling rivals Courtney Love, Tom Greene and Ethan Hawke. He'll get a gift pack of shower gel and body lotion to clean up his act.

— Advertiser staff

Making sense of it all

Does "modern art" make you crazy? Well, if you're willing to give it another try, check out "Getting It: A Guide to Understanding and Appreciating Art," (Houghton Mifflin, paper, $16.77). Written by artist and college instructor Becky Hendrick, the book reads like a walk through an art gallery with a knowledgeable friend.

Hendrick outlines art's formal attributes, strategies for objective and subjective responses, in-depth essays on the evolution of artistic ideas and a guide to how to stand in front of art and ... well ... get it. The author has a master's degree in fine arts from Instituto Allende in Mexico, has taught studio and lecture art classes for 25 years, and has judged shows and exhibits frequently. A native of Mississippi, she lives in rural New Mexico.

— Wanda A. Adams, Assistant features editor

Mystery jersey

He has worn it on concert stages and on the May cover of YM magazine. Pop singer Enrique Iglesias has a thing for a tight, purple sports jersey emblazoned with white letters that read "Hawaii" and the number "83." It's not clear where the liking comes from, but he has worn it with brown leather pants and with blue jeans. He's worn it in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as for the teen-mag photo shoot.

The 27-year-old Latin crooner, a heartthrob among the high-school set, is the same singer whose video from his hit "Sad Eyes" was shelved because scenes of him splashing in a glass bathtub in the nude with 19-year-old porn star Cassidey apparently were too hot for TV. Maybe he should have kept the shirt on, at least.

— Tanya Bricking, Advertiser staff writer