NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country musician Craig Morgan often chats with troops at USO shows overseas, and some of his closest friends are those he met when he was an Army soldier.

Now he’s speaking for troops who are silently struggling with combat stress.

Additional Photos

Craig Morgan, who spent 11 years in the Army, is the new spokesman for Not Alone, an online-based program that offers confidential counseling and support for troops and families facing depression, stress and PTSD. The Associated Press

Beyonce

Ke$ha

Morgan is the new spokesman for Not Alone, an online-based program that offers confidential counseling and support for soldiers and families dealing with depression, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It deals with a subject that is really sensitive to the military,” Morgan said from Las Vegas, where he was touring with Carrie Underwood. “It’s difficult sometimes for a soldier to discuss his frustrations or his lack of understanding of what it is that he’s going through.”

Started in 2008, Not Alone provides blogs, forums, testimonies and online group sessions. It also has a partnership with Centerstone, a behavioral health care nonprofit, to provide free face-to-face counseling.

“When you wake up every morning, knowing that you’re going to go out and patrol an area where there’s a good chance you’re going to be blown up or shot, that’s a lot of stress,” Morgan said. “It’s a lot to deal with.”

Morgan spent nearly 11 years as an active-duty soldier before becoming a country artist, and his service to the country is never far from his mind. The song “Paradise” on his self-titled album released in 2000 detailed his feelings about deploying to Panama in 1989.

Neighbor claims video shoot invaded privacy

LOS ANGELES — A man living across from a video shoot for Beyonce Knowles in the Hollywood Hills is suing the singer for nuisance and trespassing, claiming his privacy was invaded by unnecessary noise and crowds.

Court documents show Philip Markowitz filed the lawsuit seeking $25,000 on Friday in Los Angeles against Knowles, a liability company and Dina Ciccotello, a production coordinator for the video shoot for “Why Don’t You Love Me.”

Ex-managers suing Ke$ha

NEW YORK — Ke$ha’s former managers say the pop star squeezed them out of her career under pressure from hit songwriter Dr. Luke, but her lawyer said Friday she exercised her rights to fire the managers when they didn’t perform.

Ke$ha, who had the No. 1 song in the country with “TiK ToK” earlier this year, signed up with DAS Communications Inc. in 2006.

Their agreement called for her to pay the New York firm 20 percent of her music income, but it gave her the option of ending the relationship if DAS didn’t get her a major-label record deal in a year, according to a copy of the contract attached to a lawsuit DAS filed Wednesday.

A year later, there was no deal. DAS says Ke$ha waived the deadline, and the firm went on to line up a deal for her with Warner Bros. Records – until Dr. Luke “induced, intimidated and convinced Ke$ha” to cut ties to DAS in September 2008.

The suit seeks more than $14 million in damages from her and $12 million from Dr. Luke.

‘Idol’ winners are optimistic

LOS ANGELES —The show is over, but “American Idol” winner Lee DeWyze and runner-up Crystal Bowersox are just getting started.

The 24-year-old singers talked Friday about what lies ahead as they launch their music careers.

Bowersox says she foresees a future that includes diverse music, drama and diabetes advocacy. The dreadlocked single mom from Toledo, Ohio, says she’ll be meeting with record executives this week to discuss her musical future.

Discussions for DeWyze’s debut album have already begun, he says. Expect “a folk/rock/alternative vibe,” says the shy former paint-store clerk from Mount Prospect, Ill.

Related Stories