PRESS RELEASE: 46th Annual ACM Award Nominations

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE
46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® AWARDS
COUNTRY MUSIC’S PARTY OF THE YEAR™

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For Additional Exclusive Photos of the Announcement Visit: http://MomentsByMoser.zenfolio.com/46thannualacmawards

FANS WILL VOTE AGAIN FOR ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR;
TOP NEW ARTIST CATEGORY FAN VOTED FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW

TELECAST TO AIR LIVE FROM MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGASSunday, April 3, 2011 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network

Miranda Lambert leads with 7 nominations;
Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band each receive 5 nominations, with Zac Brown receiving 4 additional nods;
The Band Perry and Taylor Swift each receive 4 nominations;
Lady Antebellum, Lee Brice, Easton Corbin, Alan Jackson and Keith Urban each receive 3 nominations

NASHVILLE, TN (February 1, 2011) – Nominations were announced today for the 46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, a star-studded event produced for television by dick clark productions broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.
Nominees were announced at a press conference this morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum in Nashville. Country superstars Miranda Lambert and Ronnie Dunn read the nominations live during CBS’ The Early Show broadcast. As previously announced, Blake Shelton will join forces with country music star Reba to host the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
For the third year, fans will select the winner of the Academy’s most prestigious honor, Entertainer of the Year and for the third year, the two newcomer categories for the annual Academy of Country Music Awards —Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Duo or Group— will also be opened up to fan voting. The winner in each of the two newcomer categories will then move on to compete for Top New Artist, which is also a fan voted category. Online voting for all fan voted categories will be available at www.voteACM.com.  The winners of Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist will be announced live during the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. 
This morning Miranda Lambert led with seven nominations, including Top Female Vocalist and her first ever nomination for Entertainer of the Year. In addition, Lambert was nominated for Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “The House That Built Me” and received two nominations for Video of the Year for “Only Prettier” and “The House That Built Me.” She is nominated for Vocal Event of the Year with Sheryl Crow and Loretta Lynn for “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lambert is the reigning ACM Top Female Vocalist.
Kenny Chesney is nominated for five awards, including Album of the Year for Hemingway’s Whiskey and Single Record of the Year for “The Boys Of Fall,” both of which he is nominated for as an artist and producer.   He is also nominated for Video of the Year for “The Boys Of Fall.” 
Zac Brown Band is nominated for five awards including Top Vocal Group and Album of the Year.  Zac Brown Band is also nominated for Song of the Year, Single Record of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year for “As She’s Walking Away” featuring Alan Jackson.
Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band also received four additional individual nominations as the producer for Album of the Year contender You Get What You Give, Single Record of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year for “As She’s Walking Away” and additionally as a composer for Song of the Year for “As She’s Walking Away.”
The Band Perry is nominated for four awards, including Top Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo or Group.  They are also nominated for Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “If I Die Young.” Kimberly Perry of The Band Perry also received an additional individual nomination as a composer for Song of the Year contender “If I Die Young.”
Taylor Swift is nominated for four awards, including her second nod for Entertainer of the Year.  If Swift wins Entertainer of the Year, this will be her first Entertainer of the Year win. Swift is nominated as an artist and producer for Album of the Year for Speak Now and she also received a nomination for Top Female Vocalist. 
Lady Antebellum is nominated for three awards including Top Vocal Group.  They are also nominated for Album of the Year as artists and producers for Need You Now. They are the reigning Top Vocal Group.
Lee Brice is nominated for three awards for Song of the Year and as both an artist and producer for Single Record of the year for “Love Like Crazy.”  This is Brice’s first year to be nominated.
Easton Corbin is nominated for three awards for Top New Solo Vocalist and for Song of the Year and Single Record of the Year for “A Little More Country Than That.” This is Corbin’s first year to be nominated.
Alan Jackson is nominated for three awards for Song of the Year, Single Record of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year for “As She’s Walking Away,” with the Zac Brown Band.
Keith Urban is nominated for three awards including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist.  Urban is also nominated for Vocal Event of the Year for “Blue Sky” with Emily West.
Members of the Academy of Country Music select the nominees and winners of the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, and select the final top six nominees of the Entertainer of the Year category and the top three nominees in newcomer categories, Top New Solo Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group. Presenters and performers who will appear at the ceremony will be announced at a later date.
Following is the list of final nominees. Winners in each of the following categories, except where noted, will be presented with an ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD during the live television broadcast:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
• Jason Aldean
• Toby Keith
• Miranda Lambert
• Brad Paisley
• Taylor Swift
• Keith Urban
TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR• Jason Aldean
• Brad Paisley
• Blake Shelton
• George Strait
• Keith Urban
 TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR• Miranda Lambert
• Reba McEntire
• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Lee Ann Womack
TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR• the JaneDear girls
• Joey + Rory
• Montgomery Gentry
• Steel Magnolia
• Sugarland
TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR• Lady Antebellum
• Little Big Town
• Randy Rogers Band
• The Band Perry
• Zac Brown Band
TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Previously Announced)• Eric Church
• Easton Corbin
• Randy Houser
TOP NEW VOCAL DUO or GROUP OF THE YEAR (Previously Announced)• the JaneDear girls
• Steel Magnolia
• The Band Perry
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (TIE)• Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kenny Chesney (BNA)
Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)
Produced by:  Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley
• The Guitar Song – Jamey Johnson (Mercury)
Produced by: Arlis Albritton, Dave Cobb, The Kent Hardly Playboys
• Speak Now – Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records)
Produced by: Nathan Chapman, Taylor Swift
• Up On The Ridge – Dierks Bentley (Capitol Records Nashville)
Produced by: Jon Randall Stewart
• You Get What You Give - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Roar / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
Produced by: Zac Brown, Keith Stegall
 SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (TIE) • A Little More Country Than That – Easton Corbin (Mercury)
Produced by: Carson Chamberlain
• As She’s Walking Away - Zac Brown Band Featuring Alan Jackson (Southern Ground / Roar / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
Produced by: Zac Brown, Keith Stegall
• If I Die Young – The Band Perry (Republic Nashville)
Produced by: Paul Worley
• Love Like Crazy – Lee Brice (Curb Records)
Produced by: Lee Brice, Doug Johnson
• The Boys Of Fall – Kenny Chesney (BNA)
Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
• The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)
Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
SONG OF THE YEAR [Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]• A Little More Country Than That – Easton Corbin
Composers:  Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress, Wynn Varble
Publishers:   A Sling And A Prayer Music (ASCAP), Chrysalis One Music (ASCAP), Don Poythress Songs (ASCAP), Precious Flour Music (BMI), Universal Music-MGB Songs (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
• As She’s Walking Away – Zac Brown Band Featuring Alan Jackson
Composers: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette
Publishers: Angelika Music (BMI), Weimerhound Publishing (BMI)
• If I Die Young – The Band Perry
Composer:  Kimberly Perry
Publishers:  Pearlfeather Publishing (BMI), Rio Bravo Music, Inc. (BMI)
• Love Like Crazy – Lee Brice
Composers:  Tim James, Doug Johnson
Publishers:  Mike Curb Music (BMI), Sweet Radical Music (BMI), T-Bird’s Music (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
• The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert
Composers:  Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin
Publishers:  Built On Rock (ASCAP), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tomdouglasmusic (BMI)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off Camera Award)• Hillbilly Bone – Blake Shelton Featuring Trace Adkins
Producer:  Randy Brewer
Director: Roman White
• Only Prettier – Miranda Lambert
Producer: Trent Hardville
Director: Trey Fanjoy
•  Stuck Like Glue – Sugarland
Producer: Tony McGarry
Director: Declan Whitebloom
• The Boys Of Fall – Kenny Chesney
Producer:  Don Lepore 
Director: Shaun Silva
• The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert
Producer:  Trent Hardville
Director:  Trey Fanjoy
VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] *(Off Camera Award)• As She’s Walking Away – Zac Brown Band Featuring Alan Jackson (Southern Ground / Roar / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
Produced by: Zac Brown, Keith Stegall
• Blue Sky – Emily West Featuring Keith Urban (Capitol Records Nashville)
Produced by: Mark Bright
• Coal Miner’s Daughter – Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)
Produced by:  John Carter Cash, Patsy Lynn Russell
• Cold Beer – Colt Ford Featuring Jamey Johnson (Average Joes)
Produced by:  Shannon Houchins, Adrian Young
• Good To Be Me – Uncle Kracker Featuring Kid Rock (Top Dog/ Atlantic / Bigger Picture)
Produced by: Kid Rock

The Academy of Country Music is announcing nominees in the esteemed radio categories, which due to time constraints, are not televised during the 46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWRDS but are instead honored at a special pre-Awards reception:
Fan voting for Top New Solo Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group began at VoteACM.com and GACtv.com/ACM on January 28, 2011 and will close on Thursday, February 24 at 12noon EST.  The winner in each category will be announced in March, and will move on to compete for Top New Artist.  Fan voting for Top New Artist and Entertainer of the Year begins on March 11 at noon PT at VoteACM.com. Fan voting for Top New Artist will close at 5 p.m. PT on April 3 (before the LIVE show starts) and fan voting for Entertainer of the Year will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast.
IMPORTANT NOTE:  Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count. For example, Lee Brice received two nominations in the Single Record of the Year category—one each as artist and producer—because that category recognizes both.
In addition, the Song of the Year category recognizes the artist, composer and publishing company as a nominee but does not recognize an individual as owner or partial owner of the publishing company. 
Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.
As previously announced, country superduo Sugarland will headline the first-ever ACM Fan Jam, a fans-only live concert event taking place in Las Vegas during and after the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast. The ACM Fan Jam will take place at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, during and after the ACM Awards from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and will give fans the ultimate opportunity to be part of the LIVE telecast. Throughout the three-hour live show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there will be performances from the Mandalay Bay Events Center by Sugarland and other top-tier music acts, to be announced at a later date.  Tickets for the ACM Fan Jam are available now at Ticketmaster.com priced at $35 and $55.
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – NATIONAL
Kix Brooks - American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks
Big D and Bubba - Big D and Bubba
Crook and Chase - Crook and Chase Countdown
Blair Garner - After MidNite with Blair Garner
Lon Helton - CMT’s Country Countdown USA
Shawn Parr - The Country’s Hot List
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKETCliff and Brooks on KSON (Cliff, Brooks and Tori) - KSON-FM San Diego, CA
Trish Biondo - WUSN-FM  Chicago, IL
Cornbread, Pat James, Annie Henson and Capt. Mac Douglas - WIL-FM St.  Louis, MO
Dr. Don, Rachael Hunter and Grunwald - WYCD-FM Detroit, MI
Edwards & Lee (Chuck Edwards & Linda Lee) - WYCD-FM Detroit, MI
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
J.D. Cannon - WFMS-FM  Indianapolis, IN
Karen Scott & Radar - WMIL-FM  Milwaukee, WI
Mike, Marty and Janie - WQDR-FM  Raleigh, NC
Jeff Roper and Angie Ward - WTQR-FM  Greensboro, NC
Chris Carr, Jason Statt and Maverick - WUBE FM  Cincinnati, OH 
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKETBrian Pierce & Kellie Michaels - KFDI-FM  Wichita, KS
Jack Ryan - WIVK-FM  Knoxville, TN
Andy Ritchie, Alison Mencer and Jimmy Holt - WIVK-FM  Knoxville, TN
Dan Brennan & Shelby Mitchell - WKSJ-FM Mobile, TN
Scott Wynn & Sue Wilson (Wynn and Wilson in the Morning) - WQMX-FM  Akron, OH 
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKETBill Barrett, Tim Fox and Tracy Berry - KKNU-FM  Eugene, OR
Brian Gary, Todd Harding, and Susan Moore (The Good Morning Guys) - KUAD-FM Windsor, CO
Jimmy Lehn and Shelly Martinez - WCTY-FM  Norwich, CT
Mark Ericson and Karen Kiley - WOKQ-FM  Dover, NH
Dex and Mo - WUSY-FM  Chattanooga, TN 
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKETKEEY-FM   St. Louis Park, MN
KNIX-FM   Phoenix, AZ
WPOC-FM   Baltimore, MD
WSOC-FM   Charlotte, NC
WYCD-FM   Detroit, MI
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
KCYY-FM - San Antonio, TX
WFMS-FM - Indianapolis, IN
WGH-FM - Virginia Beach, VA
WMIL-FM - Milwaukee, WI
WSIX-FM - Nashville, TN
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
WBBS FM - Syracuse, NY
WIVK-FM - Knoxville, TN
WKHK-FM - Richmond, VA
WKMK-FM & WTHJ-FM - Neptune, NJ
WYRK FM - Buffalo, NY
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKETKCLR-FM - Columbia, MO
KCTR-FM - Billings, MT
KUAD-FM - Windsor, CO
WFRE-FM - Fredrick, MD
WYCT-FM - Pensacola, FL

The Academy of Country Music is announcing nominations for the Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist (MBI) and Industry Awards categories, which, due to time constraints, are not televised during the 46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS. These awards are presented to honorees at ACM Honors, an annual event held in Nashville in the fall.
MUSICIAN / BANDLEADER / INSTRUMENTALIST (MBI) AWARDS:
PRODUCER OF THE YEARNathan Chapman
Frank Liddell
Frank Rogers
Paul Worley
Mike Wrucke
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEARChuck Ainlay
Jeff Balding
Drew Bollman
Steve Marcantonio
Clarke Schleicher
TOP BASS PLAYER OF THE YEARMike Brignardello
Kevin "Swine" Grantt
Larry Paxton
Jimmy Lee Sloas
Glenn Worf
TOP PERCUSSIONIST/DRUMMMER OF THE YEAREddie Bayers
Chad Cromwell
Paul Leim
Chris McHugh
Greg Morrow

TOP GUITARIST OF THE YEAR
Tom Bukovac
Pat Buchannan
J.T. Corenflos
Kenny Greenberg
Dann Huff
TOP FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Glen Duncan
Larry Franklin
Rob Hajacos
Aubrey Haynie
Joe Spivey
TOP PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEARJim "Moose" Brown
Tony Harrell
John Hobbs
Gordon Mote
Steve Nathan
TOP SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Eric Darken
Mickey Raphael
Bryan Sutton
Ilya Toshinsky
Biff Watson
TOP STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bruce Bouton
Dan Dugmore
Mike Johnson
"Cowboy" Eddie Long
Russ Pahl
INDUSTRY AWARDS:
CASINO OF THE YEARAgua Caliente Casino - Rancho Mirage, CA
Island Resort Casino - Harris, MI
Mohegan Sun Casino - Uncasville, CT
Peppermill Casino - Wendover, NV
WinStar World Casino - Thackerville, OK
NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEARBuck Owens’ Crystal Palace - Bakersfield, CA
Coyote Joe's - Charlotte, NC
Joe's Bar - Chicago, IL
Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill - Mesa, AZ
Wild Bill's - Duluth, GA
VENUE OF THE YEAR
BOK Center - Tulsa, OK
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Chicago, IL
Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion - Gilford, NH
Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN
Sprint Center - Kansas City, MO
DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR
Steve “Bogie” Bogdanovich - Romeo Entertainment Group
Billy Brill - Billy Alan Productions
Jimmy Jay - Jayson Promotions, Inc.
Gary Osier - Gary Osier Presents
David Snowden - Triangle Talent, Inc.

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Ben Ferrell - Varnell Enterprises, Inc.
Ali Harnell - AEG Live/The Messina Group
Louis Messina - The Messina Group
Ed Warm - Joe’s Bar
Sally Williams - Ryman Auditorium