HOT STUFF

JULIANNE HOUGH, LEANN RIMES AND MARTINA MCBRIDE ARE ON THE COVER OF THE NEXT "SHAPE" MAGAZINE . . . WEARING BIKINIS:

The fine people at "Shape" magazine asked JULIANNE HOUGH, LEANN RIMES and MARTINA MCBRIDE to share the cover of their July issue . . . and all three said yes. And that's not even the best part. "Shape" persuaded all three of them to pose in bikinis. It's not the first time for LeAnn and Julianne. Each of them have posed on the cover before . . . but how awesome is it that "Shape" convinced Martina McBride to show off her rockin' 42-year-old body.

Martina tells Nashville's WKRN-TV how it went down, "I got there and I'm thinking, okay, you know, I've been working out a little bit, I'll wear a tank top, maybe a pair of shorts, show a little legs, show a little arms. --"They whip out the bikini and I say, 'Oh, that's cute. Who's that for?' And they're like, 'Oh, that's yours' . . . I'm like, 'Hmmm, I'll be right back.'"

-Martina sneaked off to another room and called her husband for approval. And God bless the man, he was cool with it. She continues, "I said, 'John, I think I'm going to be in a bikini on this thing,' and he's like, 'That's awesome!'"

-The issue of "Shape" hits newsstands THIS WEEK. Here's a sneak preview of the cover . . .