Elated country stars share their reactions after hearing the news yesterday that they are nominated for the upcoming ACM Awards on April 3, set to air live on CBS. Here are the responses from some of the contenders:
• Kenny Chesney has earned five ACM Awards nominations – more nominations than any other male artist. As both a writer and producer, Chesney is up for Album and Single Record of the Year (for Hemingway’s Whiskey and “The Boys of Fall,” respectively), and his music video for “The Boys of Fall” has been nominated for Video of the Year. He shares, “In making Hemingway’s Whiskey, it was important for me to push myself and my audience while at the same time staying true to who I am as an artist. That’s why I’m so proud of this album and even more proud of the nomination for ACM Album of the Year.”
• Easton Corbin has received three nominations from The Academy of Country Music Awards including Top New Solo Vocalist as well as Single and Song of the Year for his debut #1 hit, “A Little More Country Than That.” Corbin says, “The Academy of Country Music Awards are iconic because they are such an institution. I’ve watched the ACMs since I was a kid. It’s such an honor to be part of that. The nominations are confirmation from the people that you work with, and also the fans, because the new artist category is fan-voted. This is a dream come true. This is something I’ve wanted all my life. To be able to do this for a living and have people like it, I couldn’t ask for any better. I am so blessed.”
• Lee Brice garnered three ACM nods for “Love Like Crazy” including Song of the Year and as both an artist and producer for Single Record of the Year. He comments, “Wow! What a way to start the day! I’m out on the West Coast deep in dreamland and my hotel phone starts ringing at 5:30 AM and it’s my manager screaming, ‘Wake up! We got three ACM nominations!’ I grinned from ear to ear.” Brice explains about hearing the good news, “It’s such an honor just to be nominated and such a boost personally after putting so much time and work into this.”
• Jamey Johnson has received two nominations from The Academy of Country Music Awards, including Album of the Year for The Guitar Song. Johnson reacts, “The triumph of a gold-selling double album is shared by my family, my friends/bandmates/producers, my staff, my label, my booking agents, my publishers, my management, my publicists, my handlers, my wranglers, my fans, my dog, Willie’s braids and that beautiful brunette in Toledo.” He adds, “Thanks all for the hard work and dedication. You all deserve each accolade. And thanks to the Academy voters for the recognition.”
• Little Big Town‘s Kimberly Schlapman shares how she feels about their ACM Awards nomination in the Top Vocal Group of the Year category, noting, “I hold my breath hoping for a nomination every year. It was nice to wake up this morning and hear the great news.”
• Danelle Leverett of the JaneDear girls shares, “I am speechless – I can’t believe we have been nominated for Top Vocal Duo of the Year! I remember playing out acoustically with Susie [Brown] in backyards and colleges, living on taco soup, like it was yesterday. This doesn’t seem real.” Susie adds, “This year has been such an amazing year so far! We are out on our very first tour with Jason Aldean, we just found out that we’ve broken the Top 15 with our first single, ‘Wildflower,’ [Monday night] we performed for the first time on live TV on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and today we released our debut album across the country. Now to be nominated for ACM’s Top Vocal Duo of the Year is so overwhelming and I feel deeply honored to be in a category with so many amazing artists. I just want to thank all the wonderful radio stations and fans that believe in us and have embraced us so warmly. We can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces in 2011!”
• Randy Rogers of the Randy Rogers Band says their ACM nod for Top Vocal Group “means the world to the band and crew.” He adds, “We take this seriously, obviously, and it’s our livelihood, so being included in a category that is recognized nationally like that is validating for us for sure. I am proud to represent all of the hard-working touring bands who are in the trenches playing 200 shows a year that have strong fan bases.” He adds, “We have been playing now for ten years. We have been touring more than 200 shows a year for the past six or seven years. We have developed a fan base that has an identity. They know who they are and what they like, and they are opinionated. We have gotten to know them and we interact with them as much as we can on every level, through social media and at shows. We try to know who our fan is.”
• Colt Ford is thrilled with his first ever Academy of Country Music nomination in the Vocal Event of the Year category for his collaborative single, “Cold Beer,” with friend Jamey Johnson. He says, “I never dreamed I would get a nomination for anything. I just wanted to make a good song with my friend Jamey. I am so humbled to even be mentioned with the amazing artists in this category. I promise no one is more grateful than me!” The nominated single, “Cold Beer,” is featured on Ford’s Ride Through The Country album.
Source: Dial global
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
I like to go to GAC where all country fans hang out to see how they are voting — (Thumbs up or thumbs down for each comment) for who will win the ACM awards and each weeks video award —- We all found out that some and I say only some Carrie fans have been cheating for years on Fan voted sites – - >> This is just some of what was posted >> ((Carrie’s fan were very eager to give the information out on how to successfully vote (and cheat) multiple times per day right here at the GAC site under the Carrie Underwood message board – when the voting was going on for the ACA awards)) Did Carrie fans cheat? >>>>Will they cheat again this year for ACM’s? >> People here voted that they did! >>You can go vote yourself here http://blog.gactv.com/blog/2011/01/28/top-three-shake-up-on-gacs-top-20/