Academy of Country Music Awards

Posted by chound on 11/25/2008
Keywords:
The Academy of Country Music Awards began in the 1960s, with the first-ever award show honoring country music in 1966, and winners included country music legends Kay Adams, Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens and Buck Owens. The award program was televised for the first time in 1972, on ABC (it is now aired on CBS). The award show is part of the Academy of Country Music, founded in 1964 (as The Country and Western Music Academy) to help promote country music in the United States.
 
By 1968, the award statue had achieved its signature "cowboy hat" design, and in the 1970s the organization had several name changes before settling into the Academy of Country Music.
 
Today, the annual awards show still honors male and female artists in country music, with awards from Top Male and Female Artists of the Year to Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.
 
Academy of Country Music Awards Trivia
  • 2009 saw the first time Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw had ever met in person, in which Swift sang her hit song "Tim McGraw" as McGraw was sitting in the front row next to his wife, Faith Hill.
  • There have only been five total awards given for Artist of the Decade. These include: George Strait, 2000s; Garth Brooks, 1990s; Alabama, 1980s; Loretta Lynn, 1970s; Marty Robbins, 1960s.
  • In 2008, the award show included a first-ever instance of fan voting, in which fans voted for the Entertainer of the Year category online. The vote for this category came with stern opposition, including from the 2009 winner, Kenny Chesney.
 
45th Annual Academy of Country Music Award Nominees
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
  • Kenny Chesney
  • Toby Keith
  • Brad Paisley
  • George Strait
  • Taylor Swift
  • Carrie Underwood
  • Keith Urban
  • Zac Brown Band
TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
  • Kenny Chesney
  • Brad Paisley
  • Darius Rucker
  • George Strait
  • Keith Urban
TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
  • Miranda Lambert
  • Reba McEntire
  • Taylor Swift
  • Carrie Underwood
  • Lee Ann Womack
TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
  • Lady Antebellum
  • Little Big Town
  • Randy Rogers Band
  • Rascal Flatts
  • Zac Brown Band
TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
  • Brooks & Dunn
  • Joey + Rory
  • Montgomery Gentry
  • Steel Magnolia
  • Sugarland
TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST OF THE YEAR *
  • Luke Bryan
  • Jamey Johnson
  • Chris Young
TOP NEW VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR *
  • Bomshel
  • Joey + Rory
  • Steel Magnolia
TOP NEW VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR *
  • Eli Young Band
  • Gloriana
  • The Lost Trailers
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]
  • American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley (Arista Nashville)
    Produced by: Chris DuBois, Frank Rogers
  • Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)
    Produced by: Victoria Shaw, Paul Worley
  • Play On - Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville)
    Produced by: Mark Bright
    "Quitter" Produced by Max Martin & Shellback for Maratone Productions and Mark Bright
  • Revolution - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)
    Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
  • The Foundation - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
    Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown
SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]
  • Need You Now - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)
    Produced by: Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley
  • People Are Crazy - Billy Currington (Mercury)
    Produced by: Carson Chamberlain, Billy Currington
  • Red Light - David Nail (MCA Nashville)
    Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
  • Toes - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
    Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown
  • White Liar - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)
    Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
  • Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood
    Composers: Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood
    Publishers: Brett James Cornelius Music (ASCAP), Carrie Okie Music (BMI), Rincon Ave Music
    (ASCAP), Stage Three Songs (ASCAP)
  • Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
    Composers: Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott
    Publishers: EMI Foray Music (BMI), Darth Buddha (ASCAP), Dwhaywood Music (BMI), Hillary Dawn Publishing (SESAC), Radiobullets Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Year Of The Dog Music (ASCAP)
  • People Are Crazy - Billy Currington
    Composers: Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones
    Publishers: Crozier Music Enterprises LLC (BMI), Mighty Nice Music (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)
  • White Liar - Miranda Lambert
    Composers: Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
    Publishers: Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)
  • You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
    Composers: Liz Rose, Taylor Swift
    Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Taylor Swift Music (BMI)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] (Off Camera Award)
  • Boots On - Randy Houser
    Producer: Eric Welch
    Director: Eric Welch (Drake footage: Vickie Vaughn)
  • Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
    Producer: Clarke Gallican
    Director: David McClister
  • Welcome To The Future - Brad Paisley
    Producers: Mark Kalbfeld, Jim Shea, Peter Tilden
    Director: Jim Shea
  • White Liar - Miranda Lambert
    Producer: Tameron Hedge
    Director: Chris Hicky
  • You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
    Producer: Randy Brewer
    Director: Roman White
VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (Off Camera Award)
  • Hillbilly Bone - Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins (Reprise Records / Warner Music
    Nashville)Producer: Scott Hendricks
  • Honky Tonk Stomp - Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons (Arista Nashville)
    Producer: Ronnie Dunn, Terry McBride
  • I Told You So - Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis (19/Arista Nashville)
    Producer: Mark Bright
  • I'm Alive - Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews (Blue Chair/BNA)
    Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
  • Seeing Stars - Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin (Big Machine Records)
    Produced by: Jack Ingram, Jeremy Stover
* Fan voting for Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo began at VoteACM.com on Friday, February 26 and will close on Friday, March 12. The winner in each of the three categories will be announced March 23, and will move on to compete for Top New Artist. Fan voting for Top New Artist and Entertainer of the Year begins on Thursday, April 1 at VoteACM.com. Fan voting for Top New Artist will close at 5pm PT on April 18th (before the LIVE show starts) and fan voting for Entertainer of the Year will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast.
 
ACM Official Website
http://www.acmcountry.com/home/index.php