See Who Wins 11/10 8pm

CountryMusic’s Biggest night lived up to the hype with a CMA Awards telecast that seemed to continue the evolutionof modern country.    The Band Perry has exploded onto the scene thanks to a young appeal and a cutting edge Single and Song of the year in “If I Die Young.”   There was a moving tribute to Glen Campbell, who revealed in June that he has Alzheimer’s disease. Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Vince Gill will all saluted the famed guitarist and Country Music Hall of Fame member.

Other notable performances came from Scotty McCreery, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Martina McBride, Zac Brown Band, Faith Hill, and co-hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

Major winners include:

Entertainer of the Year:  Taylor Swift

Female Vocalist of the Year:  Miranda Lambert

Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton

New Artist of the Year: The Band Perry

Vocal Group of the Year:  Lady Antebellum

Vocal Duo of the Year: Sugarland

Single of the Year: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry.

Album of the Year: “My Kinda Party” – Jason Aldean,

Music Video of the Year:  “You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney f/ Grace Potter.

There is a clear evolution taking place… surprising that Kenny, Keith, Flatts and others seem to have been passed by with a new crew.

See Who Wins 11/10 8pm

This Years CMA Awards (different from the ACM Awards) will be held in Nashville on November 9th (Televised on ABC at 8pm Eastern).  Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are set to host.

By Andy McCarthy

Each year, the Country Music Association, composed of country music industry professionals, presents the County Music Association Awards – more succinctly known as Country Music Awards or CMAs – to recognize excellence among the latest in country music. In 1958, the Country Music Association formed and became the first trade association for a single musical genre, with the mission to provide professional and educational resources that would contribute to advancements within the country music industry. Their first Country Music Awards banquet took place in 1967, introduced as a vehicle for furthering the organization’s mission and providing honor and recognition to outstanding contributions to the genre and the industry during the past year.

The first ceremony took place in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Municipal Auditorium, with Eddy Arnold taking home the CMA’s very first honor for Entertainer of the Year. The first two years’ banquets were not televised; 1969 was the first year that the awards ceremony was broadcast live on television for all the viewing public to see. Beginning in 1978, the awards have been broadcast live nationwide on both television and radio stations.

The twelve awards distributed each year include:

� Entertainer of the Year

� Single of the Year

� Album of the Year

� Song of the Year

� Female Vocalist of the Year

� Male Vocalist of the Year

� Vocal Group of the Year

� Vocal Duo of the Year

� Musical Event of the Year

� Musician of the Year

� Music Video of the Year

� New Artist of the Year

In order to qualify as a nominee, Music singles, albums, and videos must have been released during the given year’s eligibility period, usually from the 1st of July of the previous year through the 30th of June of the ceremony year. Country music charts harts used to determine eligibility for certain categories include Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart, Music Row Country Breakout Chart, and Country Aircheck Chart.

The voting process that determines each year’s winners involves all Country Music Association industry professional members and consists of three rounds, all supervised by Deloitte and Touche, an international accounting firm. During the first round, members may nominate a single act in each category. From those selections, the top twenty qualifiers are compiled as official nominees for the next round of voting. During the second round, members may select up to five nominees in each category – and the top five nominees selected in each category after the votes have been tabulated become the official nominees for the final ballot. During the third and final round of voting, members choose one nominee in each category as their picks for the winners.

The trophy that Country Music Award winners receive was designed in 1967, made of walnut and marble, signifying the genre’s warmth, strength, and durability, constructed to resemble a chart bullet, and decorated with a music note labeled by the caption, “Best Liked World Wide.” Since 1982, fine Italian crystal has been used in place of walnut due to the wood’s limited supply. Constructed of hand-blown crystal in Florence, Italy, then assembled in Nashville, TN by Francis & Lusky, the trophy in its finished form is now a crystal obelisk award that stands at fifteen inches tall and weighs seven and a half pounds, with the Country Music Association logo engraved on a die-struck medallion with three levels in polished bronze. After winners are announced, a satin brass nameplate displaying the name of the winner and category is added to each winner’s trophy.

The author of this article is 10 year veteran in the crystal awards and recognition gifts industry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_McCarthy
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***BRAD PAISLEY WINS ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR***

Brad Paisley pays tribute to his Grandfather in a humble acceptance speech. Thanks wife and the fans. “If you see a turtle on a fencepost it’s because he had help getting there…”

Single of the Year:   Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”

New Artist Of The Year: Zac Brown Band

Vocal Group Of The Year: Lady Antebellum

Single Of The Year: “Need You Now” Lady Antebellum

Song Of The Year: “The House That Built Me” Miranda Lambert

Male Vocalist Of The Year: Blake Shelton

Vocal Duo: Sugarland

Female Vocalist: Miranda Lambert

Musical Event: “Hillbilly Bone” Trace Adkins / Blake Shelton

Entertainer Of The Year: Brad Paisley

Entertainer Of The Year
LADY ANTEBELLUM
MIRANDA LAMBERT
BRAD PAISLEY
KEITH URBAN
ZAC BROWN BAND 

Song
• “A Little More Country Than That,”Easton Corbin
• “Need You Now,”Lady Antebellum
• “The House That Built Me,” Miranda Lambert
• “Toes,” Zac Brown Band
• “White Liar,” Miranda Lambert 

Single
• “A Little More Country Than That,” Easton Corbin
• “Hillbilly Bone,” Blake Shelton f/Trace Adkins
• “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum
• “The House That Built Me,” Miranda Lambert
• “White Liar,” Miranda Lambert 

Video
• “Hillbilly Bone,” Blake Shelton f/Trace Adkins
• “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum
• “The House That Built Me,” Miranda Lambert
• “Water,” Brad Paisley
• “White Liar,” Miranda Lambert 

Musician
• Paul Franklin
• Dann Huff
• Brent Mason
• Mac McAnally
• Randy Scruggs 

New Artist
• Luke Bryan
• Easton Corbin
• Jerrod Niemann
• Chris Young
• Zac Brown Band 

Duo
• Brooks & Dunn
• Joey+Rory
• Montgomery Gentry
• Steel Magnolia
• Sugarland 

Group
• Lady Antebellum
• Little Big Town
• Rascal Flatts
• The Band Perry
• Zac Brown Band 

Swift’s victories along with surprise wins from Lady Antebellum (Flatts are now left to do Wendy’s commercials?!) and Darius Rucker’s new artist win (great speech) signals a seismic shift in Country Music.  Is it the class of 2009?  It may be too early to tell but with the “departure” of Brooks and Dunn it feels a bit different.   Are things leaning too pop?  Can’t stop change.

The other surprise of the evening was, perhaps, that Zac Brown walked away empty handed after the best musical performance of the night.

Overall the best awards show in decades.

Other winners:

Musical Event – Paisley / Urban “Start a Band”

Male Vocalist – Brad Paisley

Song Of The Year – Jamey Johnson “In Color”

Single Of The Year – Lady Antebellum “I Run To You”

 Rucker surprises with at least two nominations and Taylor Swift could with the BIGGIE.

2009 CMA Nominees:

Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

Female Vocalist
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban

New Artist
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
Darius Rucker
Zac Brown Band

Musical Event of the Year
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry” Brooks & Dunn ft. Reba McEntire
“Down The Road” Kenny Chesney (with Mac McAnally)
“Everything But Quits” Lee Ann Womack (duet with George Strait)
“I Told You So” Carrie Underwood ft. Randy Travis
“Old Enough” The Raconteurs ft. Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe

Vocal Group
Eagles
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey & Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland

Single of the Year
(Award goes to artist and producer.)
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown Band
Producer: Keith Stegall
Atlantic Records

“I Run to You”
Lady Antebellum
Producers: Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley
Capitol Records Nashville

“In Color”
Jamey Johnson
Producers: The Kent Hardly Playboys
Mercury Nashville

“People Are Crazy”
Billy Currington
Producers: Carson Chamberlain and Billy Currington
Mercury Nashville

“Then”
Brad Paisley
Producers: Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois
Arista Nashville

 

Album of the Year
(Award goes to artist and producer.)
American Saturday Night
Brad Paisley
Producers: Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois
Arista Nashville

Defying Gravity
Keith Urban
Producers: Dann Huff and Keith Urban
Capitol Records Nashville

Fearless
Taylor Swift
Producers: Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift
Big Machine Records

Love on the Inside
Sugarland
Producers: Byron Gallimore, Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles
Mercury Nashville

That Lonesome Song
Jamey Johnson
Producers: The Kent Hardly Playboys
Mercury Nashville

 

Song of the Year
(Award goes to songwriters.)

“Chicken Fried”
Songwriters: Zac Brown and Wyatt Durette

“I Told You So”
Songwriter: Randy Travis

“In Color”
Songwriters: Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto

“People Are Crazy”
Songwriters: Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones

“Then”
Songwriters: Brad Paisley, Chris DuBois and Ashley Gorley

 

Musical Event
(Award goes to each artist.)
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry”
Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire
Arista Nashville

“Down the Road”
Kenny Chesney (with Mac McAnally)
Blue Chair Records, BNA Records

“Everything But Quits”
Lee Ann Womack (duet with George Strait)
MCA Records

“I Told You So”
Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis
19 Recordings/Arista

“Old Enough”
The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe
Third Man Records, Warner Bros. Records

 

Music Video
(Award goes to artist and director.)
“Boots On”
Randy Houser
Director: Eric Welch

“Love Story”
Taylor Swift
Director: Trey Fanjoy

“People Are Crazy”
Billy Currington
Directors: The Brads

“Start a Band”
Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)
Directors: Jim Shea

“Troubadour”
George Strait
Director: Trey Fanjoy

 

Musician of the Year
Eddie Bayers — drums
Paul Franklin — steel guitar
Dann Huff — guitar
Brent Mason — guitar
Mac McAnally — guitar