MORE GOOD STUFF…with pretty much everybody!
- Award Central: It’s been a big week for award nominations! After the American Music Awards announced their nominees earlier this week, today comes word of the final nominees for the second annual American Country Awards! Once again this year, the ACAs are fan voted, and you have your chance to make your picks across 19 categories filled with such favorites as Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, and many more! You can see all the nominees and complete information at www.theacas.com. Voting runs through November 11th in all categories except Artist of the Year, which continues through December 2nd. Hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Trace Adkins, catch this year’s American Country Awards on December 5th, at 8pm, ET, on FOX. You can vote once a day, so let your voice be heard!
- On Tuesday, Miranda Lambert was among the nominees announced for the 2011 American Music Awards! Miranda’s in the running with Sara Evans and Taylor Swift as Favorite Female Artist – Country Music, while hubby Blake Shelton is vying for the Male title alongside Jason Aldean and Brad Paisley. For the fifth year, the AMAs are also fan-voted — visit www.amavote.com to sign-up! The 2011 American Music Awards will air Sunday, November 20th, at 8pm, ET, on ABC.
- And speaking of the AMA-and-ACA-nominated, always-fabulous Sara Evans, look for Sara on TV this Saturday night when she performs the National Anthem to kick-off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Bank of America 500 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. ABC’s coverage of the race begins at 7:30pm, ET! Sara, by the way, is climbing the charts with “My Heart Can’t Tell You No,” the latest favorite from her album, Stronger.
- Congratulations to Jerrod Niemann, who’s among the multiple nominees for the second annual, fan-voted American Country Awards (www.theacas.com), raking in five nominations including New Artist of the Year, while his hit song and video for “What Do You Want” has Jerrod in the running for Single by a Breakthrough Artist, Music Video of the Year, Music Video by a Male Artist, and Music Video by a New Artist. “What Do You Want,” as well as Jerrod’s latest hit, the fun-filled “One More Drinkin’ Song,” are both from his judged-to-be-awesome album, Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury. Look for Jerrod on tour now with Dierks Bentley!
- This week, Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter were added to the list of performers for The 45th Annual CMA Awards. They’ll sing their smash, “You and Tequila,” nominated for Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year, while Kenny is also up for Male Vocalist. Catch the show November 9th, at 8pm, ET, on ABC. Kenny is on the radio now with “Reality,” which follows “You and Tequila” as the latest favorite from his hit-packed Hemingway’s Whiskey album.
- Tune-in this weekend for GAC’s Opry Live, which features a salute to Randy Travis‘ 25th anniversary on the Opry, including performances with Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, and more. With additional Sunday airings, look for the episode premiere at 9pm, ET, October 15th, on GAC.
- Quotable: On songwriting, Miranda Lambert recently told the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus Leader, “I believe that authenticity and honesty are some of the most important qualities of great country music. Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn are two of my favorite songwriters, and I try to follow their no-holds-barred approach to writing. Their songs have stood the test of time, and I hope mine will do the same.” Miranda’s newest album, Four the Record, hits stores 11-1-11, and includes her current smash, “Baggage Claim.”
