Brooks & Dunn, Kris Kristofferson, Taylor Swift Receive Top Honors at BMI Country Awards

BMI-Award-Winners-2009

The 57th Annual BMI Country Awards toasted top hit-makers and honored Country musicians Tuesday night in Nashville. A news release stated the ceremony celebrated country music writers and publishers of 2009’s 50 most-performed songs from the BMI repertoire. The black-tie event also handed out awards to the following: Kris Kristofferson, Taylor Swift, Songwriter Bobby Pinson, Brooks & Dunn and Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Patty Griffin, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson performed a tribute to Kristofferson for his award, BMI Icon. Kristofferson has received 48 BMI Country and pop awards, most for songs written by himself.

Swift took home Song of the Year for “Love Story,” the first single from her sophomore album, Fearless. Composed by the 19-year-old herself, the song has topped the Billboard Country and pop charts and has become the most-downloaded Country single in U.S. history. This is Swift's second consecutive Song of the Year Award; in 2008 she took home the award for “Teardrops on My Guitar.”

Pinson received Songwriter of the Year for his four chart toppers, Sugarland’s “All I Want to Do” and “Already Gone,” Toby Keith’s “She Never Cried in Front of Me” and Josh Gracin’s “We Weren’t Crazy.”

Sony/ATV Music Publishing won Publisher of the Year for the eighth year in a row. Fourteen of its songs were on BMI’s Top 50 list, consisting of anthems like Billy Currington’s “Don’t,” Keith Urban’s “You Look Good in My Shirt” and George Strait’s “Troubadour.”

Brooks & Dunn received the BMI President’s Award due to their influence in the Country Music industry. The duo is the most-awarded artist in ACM and CMA history and this prestigious award admires their excellence.

BMI is an American performing right organization representing more than 400,000 songwriters, composers and publishers in all genres of music.