The second annual American Country Awards nominees were announced yesterday. Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band have eight nominations each, Thompson Square has seven and The Band Perry and Taylor Swift each have six. The awards will be handed out December 5th, and the show will air live from Las Vegas on FOX. Fans can vote for their favorites now, with voting ending for all categories except Artist of the Year, ending on November 11th. Fans have until December 2nd to vote for Artist of the Year. Here's the list of nominees:
Artist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Lady Antebellum
Taylor Swift
Zac Brown Band
Artist of the Year: Male
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Artist of the Year: Female
Sara Evans
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Artist of the Year: Duo or Group
The Band Perry
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
Zac Brown Band
Artist of the Year: Breakthrough Artist
Eric Church
Eli Young Band
Justin Moore
Jake Owen
Chris Young
Artist of the Year: New Artist
The Band Perry
Scotty McCreery
Jerrod Niemann
Pistol Annies
Thompson Square
Album of the Year
Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party”
Kenny Chesney, “Hemingway’s Whiskey”
Brad Paisley, “This Is Country Music”
Taylor Swift, “Speak Now”
Keith Urban, “Get Closer”
Zac Brown Band, “You Get What You Give”
Single of the Year
Billy Currington, “Let Me Down Easy”
Tim McGraw, “Felt Good On My Lips”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Chris Young, “Voices”
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”
Single of the Year: Male
Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party”
Luke Bryan, “Someone Else Calling You Baby”
Billy Currington, “Let Me Down Easy”
Tim McGraw, “Felt Good On My Lips”
Chris Young, “Voices”
Single of the Year: Female
Sara Evans, “A Little Bit Stronger”
Miranda Lambert, “Heart Like Mine”
Reba, “Turn On The Radio”
Taylor Swift, “Mean”
Carrie Underwood, “Mama’s Song”
Single of the Year: Duo or Group
The Band Perry, “You Lie”
Rascal Flatts, “Why Wait”
Sugarland, “Stuck Like Glue”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Zac Brown Band, “Colder Weather”
Single of the Year: New Artist
The Band Perry, “You Lie”
Craig Campbell, “Family Man”
The JaneDear Girls, “Wildflower”
Jerrod Niemann, “What Do You Want”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Single of the Year: Vocal Collaboration
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, “You and Tequila”
Brad Paisley with Alabama, “Old Alabama”
Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffet, “Knee Deep”
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”
Touring Headline Act of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw
Brad Paisley
Rascal Flatts
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Music Video of the Year
Sara Evans, “A Little Bit Stronger”
Jerrod Niemann, “What Do You Want”
Blake Shelton, “Who Are you When I’m Not Looking”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Josh Turner, “I Wouldn’t Be A Man”
Music Video: Male
Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party”
Jerrod Niemann, “What Do You Want”
Blake Shelton, “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
Josh Turner, “I Wouldn’t Be A Man”
Keith Urban, “Put You In A Song”
Music Video: Female
Sara Evans, “A Little Bit Stronger”
Reba, “Turn On The Radio”
Ashton Shepherd, “Look It Up”
Taylor Swift, “Back To December”
Carrie Underwood, “Mama’s Song”
Music Video: Duo, Group or Collaboration
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
The Band Perry, “You Lie”
Lady Antebellum, “Hello World”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”
Music Video: New Artist
The Band Perry, “You Lie”
Craig Campbell, “Family Man”
Brett Eldredge, “Raymond”
Jerrod Niemann, “What Do You Want”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Rascal Flatts is releasing a live cd on November 8th. "The Best of Rascal Flatts Live" will include ten tracks recorded at venues all over the US. Songs include "What Hurts the Most," "Life is a Highway" and "Bob that Head." The encore includes a cover of Edgar Winter's "Free Ride."
Taylor Swift wants to help struggling libraries and also to encourage kids to read, so she donated 6,000 books to the library system in Reading, Pennsylvania, a struggling little city about 50 miles outside of Philadelphia. Taylor didn't personally make the donation, but everyone will know when they check out one of the books she donated - they're marked with a white star on the spine and a sticker inside.
Don't know when she finds time to do it, but Taylor Swift has recorded 25 songs for her next album. Will it be a double-disc? No word on how many of those songs will make the cut, or when the project will be released. It'll probably be at least a year.
Taylor was on ABC's Good Morning America yesterday morning, and a 14-year-old version of her was featured in the segment. Enjoy!
Sad news in the Charlie Daniels Band - longtime member, musician and songwriter, Joel "Taz" DiGregorio was killed in a single-car crash outside of Nashville while on the way to a show in Georgia. Taz played keyboards and sang harmonies for over 40 years and was co-writer with Charlie Daniels on some of their biggest hits, including "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Concerts yesterday and tomorrow night have been canceled. Taz was 67.
Dierks Bentley's 6th Annual Miles & Music for Kids event hits Nashville this weekend, and Dierks might need to do a little shopping before the ride. “I have like, the ‘I’m too cool for a helmet’ helmet, like the kinda like fake helmet thing, you know? But, I think I’m gonna invest in the like the real, real deal, get the face…maybe not the face mask but just a little bit more protection.” The ride starts in Columbia, Tennessee tomorrow and ends with a concert featuring Dierks, Colt Ford, Josh Thompson and the Eli Young Band. Dierks has raised over a million and a half dollars for children's hospitals around the country with these day-long events.
Martina McBride is on Good Morning America this morning. Sara Evans sings the National Anthem at tomorrow's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on ABC.
The tweet of the day is from Colt Ford: "Waffle House in Ala lord have mercy this Patty Melt is not Fat Free I don't think. Oh well don't wanna hurt cooks feelings so I will eat it!"
