|
Sunday, 11 October, 2009 11:00 AM
Brad Paisley leads finalists
with six nominations for the 43rd Annual CMA Awards
Zac Brown, Jamey
Johnson, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban Receive Four
Nominations Each; Fresh Faces in Nearly Every Category Including
Entertainer, Male, Group, Duo, and Album of the Year
|
Photo
by Kurt Markus
Brad
Paisley is nominated for six CMA Awards. "The 43rd Annual
CMA Awards," will be held Wednesday, Nov. 11 and broadcast
live by the ABC Television Network from The Sommet Center
in Nashville. |
|
Photo
by Joseph Anthony Baker
Taylor
Swift is nominated for four CMA Awards. "The 43rd Annual
CMA Awards," will be held Wednesday, Nov. 11 and broadcast
live by the ABC Television Network from The Sommet Center
in Nashville.
|
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
-- The final list of nominees for "The 43rd Annual
CMA Awards" features fresh faces in 10 of the 12 CMA Awards
categories with new artists layered throughout the finalist field,
the continued dominance of the established superstars, and crossover
favorites making huge gains in 2009.
"The 43rd Annual CMA Awards" will be broadcast live from
the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov.11 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET)
on the ABC Television Network. Reigning CMA Male and Female Vocalist
of the Year Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood return for a second
year to host "County Music's Biggest NightT."
"It is great for the format and speaks to the strength of our
music and talent of our artists that there are so many new faces
on the list of nominees this year," said Tammy Genovese, CMA
Chief Executive Officer. "With more than a quarter of the nominees
making their debut in 2009, representing a variety of major and
independent labels, there will be a heightened level of excitement
and anticipation for the CMA Awards in November."
For the fourth year, the announcement of the final nominees in five
of the 12 CMA Awards categories was made on ABC News' "Good
Morning America." Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack delivered
the news from the "Good Morning America" studios in the
heart of New York City's Times Square. The remaining categories
were announced by Randy Houser on "Insider Special Edition:
2009 CMA Awards Nominations" live from CMT's network studios
in Nashville, hosted by CMT personalities Cody Alan and Alecia Davis.
At the conclusion of the announcements, Paisley led the list of
finalists with six nominations. Paisley was nominated for Entertainer;
Male Vocalist; Album for American Saturday Night, which was produced
by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois; Single and Song for "Then"
(DuBois and Ashley Gorley are also nominated as songwriters); and
Music Video for "Start a Band" with Keith Urban, which
was directed by Jim Shea.
Urban, along with Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and
Zac Brown (frontman of the Zac Brown Band), each received four nominations.
George Strait received nominations for Entertainer; Male Vocalist;
Music Video for "Troubadour" directed by Trey Fanjoy;
and Musical Event with Lee Ann Womack for "Everything But Quits"
(a category they won in 2005 with "Good News, Bad News").
Strait now has 79 career CMA Awards nominations, which ties him
with Alan Jackson for the most nominations to date. He leads the
trophy count with 22.
Taylor Swift has four nominations including her first for Entertainer
of the Year. The last time a solo female artist was nominated for
Entertainer of the Year was Faith Hill in 2000. Shania Twain was
the last female artist to claim the trophy in 1999. Swift, who won
the Horizon Award in 2007, is also nominated for Female Vocalist
(she received her first nomination in the category in 2008); and
Music Video for "Love Story," which was directed by Trey
Fanjoy. In another first for the 19-year-old artist, she is nominated
for Album of the Year for Fearless. Swift may also receive a second
trophy for producing Fearless with Nathan Chapman.
Keith Urban's nominations include Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Music
Video for "Start a Band" with Paisley; and Album of the
Year for Defying Gravity. Urban is eligible to win a second trophy
in the Album category for producing Defying Gravity with Dann Huff.
Huff is also a nominee for Musician of the Year.
Jamey Johnson's list of nominations includes New Artist; Single
and Song for "In Color" (which Johnson co-wrote with Lee
Thomas Miller and James Otto); and Album of the Year for That Lonesome
Song, which was produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys. These are
Johnson's first artist nominations. In 2007, as a songwriter he
won Song of the Year for George Strait's "Give It Away,"
which he co-wrote with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon.
Zac Brown claims his first CMA Awards nominations in 2009 - three
with his self-named group and one for penning their hit "Chicken
Fried." The Zac Brown Band received nominations for New Artist;
Vocal Group; and Single of the Year for "Chicken Fried,"
which was produced by Keith Stegall. Zac Brown picked up the additional
nomination for Song of the Year for writing "Chicken Fried"
with Wyatt Durrette.
A powerhouse in the Entertainer of the Year category, Kenny Chesney
has won the trophy in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008, which ties him
with Garth Brooks for the most wins in the category. Chesney is
nominated again in 2009, in addition to nods for Male Vocalist and
Musical Event with Mac McAnally for "Down the Road." McAnally
is also nominated for Musician of the Year along with Eddie Bayers,
Paul Franklin, and Brent Mason.
Darius Rucker wasn't only handing out the good news today, he was
a recipient. The lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group
Hootie & The Blowfish, received his first CMA Awards nominations
as a solo Country artist in 2009 for New Artist and Male Vocalist
of the Year. He performed on the 2008 CMA Awards.
After winning Female Vocalist of the Year in 2006, 2007, and 2008,
Carrie Underwood is back in 2009 with two nominations for Female
Vocalist and Musical Event for "I Told You So," featuring
Randy Travis. Travis picked up a second nomination for Song of the
Year, for writing "I Told You So." Travis' version of
the hit song was nominated for Single and Song of the Year in 1988.
If Underwood wins the Female Vocalist trophy again, it will tie
her with Martina McBride (1999, 2002-2004) and Reba McEntire (1984-1987)
for most wins in this category. McBride and McEntire are each nominated
in the Female Vocalist category in 2009. Miranda Lambert is also
a Female Vocalist nominee.
McEntire scored a second nomination for her performance with Brooks
& Dunn on "Cowgirl's Don't Cry" for Musical Event
of the Year. In doing so, she retains her position as the female
artist with the highest number of nominations in the 43-year history
of the CMA Awards with 48.
Brooks & Dunn have been presented 19 trophies during their career.
In 2009, Brooks & Dunn have nomination for Musical Event with
McEntire for "Cowgirls Don't Cry" and are nominated for
Vocal Duo, a category they have won a record 14 times.
The reigning Vocal Duo crown is in Sugarland's hands. The duo was
nominated in the category again in 2009 and also picked up a nomination
for Album of the Year for Love on the Inside. Kristian Bush and
Jennifer Nettles may also win an additional trophy each for producing
the album with Byron Gallimore.
A new entry in the Vocal Duo of the Year category this year is Joey
+ Rory. Also nominated are Big & Rich and Montgomery Gentry.
Until 2008, there was a long dry spell for the Eagles between nominations
for Vocal Group of the Year (1976, 1977, 2008) but they are back
in 2009. The Zac Brown Band is the new addition to the category
along with returning nominees Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town,
and Rascal Flatts, who have swept the Vocal Group of the Year category
the past six years.
Reigning New Artist of the Year Lady Antebellum received a second
nomination for Single of the Year for "I Run To You,"
which was produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley.
Artists making their debut in the New Artist of the Year category
(formerly the Horizon Award) include Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson,
Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, and the Zac Brown Band. Artists can only
be included in this category two times.
Houser received a second nomination for Music Video of the Year
for "Boots On," which was directed by Eric Welch. Rounding
out the Music Video category is Billy Currington's "People
Are Crazy," which was directed by The Brads. The song hit a
chord with CMA Awards voters and picked up additional nominations
for Single and Song of the Year for writers Bobby Braddock and Troy
Jones. Currington, who has two nominations, can receive an additional
trophy for producing the Single of the Year with Carson Chamberlain.
Currington's last nomination was in 2005 for Musical Event with
Shania Twain for "Party for Two."
Making their debut in the Musical Event category are The Raconteurs
with Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe for "Old Enough."
Raconteurs' frontman Jack White, of The White Stripes and The Dead
Weather, is no stranger to the format as the producer of Loretta
Lynn's critically hailed album Van Lear Rose. Skaggs received his
last nomination in this category in 1999 for "Same Old Train,"
which included a veritable who's who of Country stars.
The 2008 CMA Awards, held in Nashville during November Sweeps (Nov.
12), ranked behind only the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards during
the 2008-2009 season for awards shows among total viewers. With
"The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," ABC won Wednesday evening
in both total viewers (15.9 million) and adults 18-49 (5.0/13).
According to Nielsen research, 34.6 million unique viewers 2+ watched
six minutes or more of the program.
The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 6,000
plus industry professional members of CMA, which was the first trade
organization formed to promote an individual genre of music in 1958.
The first "CMA Awards Banquet and Show" was held in 1967.
The following year, the CMA Awards were broadcast on NBC television
for the first time - making it the longest running, annual music
awards program on network television. The show aired on NBC through
1971 and on the CBS Television Network from 1972 through 2005 before
moving to ABC in 2006.
Winners of "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards" will be determined
in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country
Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international
accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.
In addition to live coverage of today's events, "Insider Special
Edition: 2009 CMA Awards Nominations" will re-air on CMT immediately
following the live broadcast at 10:30 AM ET/PT (9:30 AM/CT); and
Saturday, Sept. 12 at 1:30 PM ET/PT (12:30 PM/CT) and Sunday Sept.
13 at 11:00 AM ET/PT (10:00 AM/CT). CMT.com will stream the nomination
special following its on-air premiere and post breaking news coverage
on the site in a special online edition of "Insider News Now."
A video news release including footage of the nominee announcements,
exclusive interviews, music video clips, and more will be serviced
today, Wednesday, Sept. 9, (2:00-2:30 PM/ET; 1:00-1:30 PM/CT). The
VNR package will be available by Galaxy 28 - Transponder 19 (C-Band)
Analog; Downlink Frequency - 4080 V.
If you have difficulty picking up the VNR feed, please contact David
Sands with On The Scene Productions at (323) 930-5387; or Maria
Eckhardt at CMA (615) 664-1637, or by e-mail at meckhardt@CMAworld.com.
Tickets for the 2009 CMA Awards will go on sale to the public on
Saturday, Sept. 19 (10:00 AM/CT), and can be purchased by logging
on to www.ticketmaster.com; calling (800) 745-3000; or in person
at the Sommet Center box office, 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue
and Broadway, in Nashville). Ticket prices begin at $110 for Upper
Level. All ticket prices include sales tax but exclude applicable
service/handling fees.
"The 43rd Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country
Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer, Paul
Miller is the Director, and David Wild is the writer. The special
will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive
(720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.
Source: Country Music
Association
Click
here to view the complete list of nominees for the 43rd Annual
CMA Awards.
AmericaJR.com
is Detroit's exclusive media outlet for this syndicated weekly column!
|
