Tag Archive for: Awards

Newsflash: Teens Love Taylor, Miley and Carrie

mileyTaylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Miley Cyrus are among the nominees for the popular Teen Choice 2009 Awards. The star laden show catering to the coveted demographic will air Aug. 10 on Fox, honoring everything from music, TV, and film, to favorite athletes, celebrity babies and celeb pets.

There isn’t a Country category, so the music nominations listed here are all-genre. Swift received four nods, including favorite Female Artist, Love Song, Tour and Female Album. Underwood’s Carnival Ride is also competing for Female Album. Cyrus is one of the leading nominees, with the chance to take home 10 surfboard trophies, including one for her Country/Pop crossover single “The Climb,” which was written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe.

The most nominations, 12, went to vampire teen flick Twilight and its cast. Also up for 10 awards are High School Musical 3: Senior Year and its cast, and TV’s Gossip Girl.

Teens aged 13 to 19 will be choosing their favorites, with online voting underway now at www.teenchoiceawards.com. Teens can vote once a day if they like, with balloting continuing through Aug. 1 at 12:01 AM PT.

Canyon, Farrell, Pritchett To Play Canadian CMA Awards

Jessie Farrell

Jessie Farrell

George Canyon, Jessie Farrell and Aaron Pritchett will perform at this year’s Canadian Country Music Awards, to be held Sept. 13 in Vancouver, BC. This year’s CCMA Award nominees will be announced at a media conference in Toronto, ON, on Wed., July 29.

Canyon is a multiple CCMA Award winner, and two-time JUNO Award winner who will open for Alan Jackson this fall. Farrell took home three CCMA Awards in 2008, including Female Artist of the Year and Top New Female Talent of the Year. She was also nominated for New Artist of the Year at this year’s JUNO Awards. Pritchett has toured with artists including Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson and Toby Keith. He won a CCMA for Independent Male Artist of the Year and the Songwriter of the Year Award in 2007 for his anthem, “Hold My Beer.”

The show will be broadcast nationally on CBC TV with encore airings on CMT in Canada. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

Paisley, Swift Big Winners At CMT Music Awards

Taylor Swift Photo: Alan Mayor

Taylor Swift Photo: Alan Mayor

Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift emerged as the biggest winners with three and two trophies, respectively, at last night’s 2009 CMT Music Awards. Paisley took home top honors for Male Video of the Year (“Waitin’ On A Woman”), Collaborative Video of the Year (“Start A Band” with Keith Urban), and CMT Performance of the Year, along with Alan Jackson, George Strait and Dierks Bentley (for Alan Jackson’s “Country Boy” from CMT Giants: Alan Jackson). Swift brought home Female Video of the Year and the night’s highest honor for Video of the Year (“Love Story”). It was her second consecutive year to sweep these categories.

Racking up for the seventh consecutive year, Rascal Flatts won Group Video of the Year (“Every Day”); while Sugarland captured their third-in-a-row Duo Video of the Year (“All I Want To Do”).

Hosted by actor/comedian Bill Engvall, the Awards kicked off with an opening sketch featuring the hilarious collaboration between rap artist T-Pain and Swift, rapping to a new version of Swift’s hit “Love Story,” called “Thug Story.”

Brad Paisley Photo: John Russell

Brad Paisley Photo: John Russell

Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins, Rascal Flatts, Kellie Pickler, Toby Keith, and Paisley performed. In addition, a number of surprise performances marked the evening as Sugarland took the stage with Atlanta neighbors the B-52s for a confetti-filled version of their hit “Love Shack.” Urban ventured into the crowd with his No. 1 single, “Sweet Thing,” and then later joined Jason Aldean onstage for his rockin’ No. 1 hit, “She’s Country.” Swift and Def Leppard closed the show with a recreation of their CMT Crossroads performance of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”

A stage sponsored by Nationwide Insurance hosted up-and-coming artists Jason Michael Carroll, Carter Twins, Eric Church, Eli Young Band, Gloriana, and Joey + Rory. These six acts combined with the 13 main stage performances marked a record 19 total performances. A record seven million votes were cast online at CMT.com and on mobile to determine who walked away with trophies. The evening’s winners are as follows:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director.

* Taylor Swift – “Love Story” (Director: Trey Fanjoy)

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist

* Brad Paisley – “Waitin’ On A Woman”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist

* Taylor Swift – “Love Story”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video that featured a special collaborative appearance by artists; awarded to the artists (individual, group or duo)

* Brad Paisley with Keith Urban – “Start A Band”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)

* Alan Jackson featuring Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley and George Strait – “Country Boy” from CMT Giants: Alan Jackson

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Best video director of the year; awarded to the director for his or her body of work from the past year

* Trey Fanjoy (award eligible videos include: Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and George Strait’s “Troubador”)

GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a group; awarded to the artists

* Rascal Flatts – “Every Day”

WIDE OPEN COUNTRY VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist outside the mainstream of country music; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration)

* Kid Rock – “All Summer Long”

DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists

* Sugarland – “All I Want To Do”

USA WEEKEND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female, or group/duo)

* Zac Brown Band – “Chicken Fried”

Sugarland & the B-52s perform at the CMT Music Awards. Photo: John Russell

Sugarland & the B-52s perform at the CMT Music Awards. Photo: John Russell

Updated: Nashville Prepping For Tonight’s CMT Awards

Rumors abound that Taylor Swift will perform tonight with T-Pain. Photo: CMT.com

Rumors abound that Taylor Swift will perform tonight with T-Pain. Photo: CMT.com

Updated 2:15 PM: Jamey Johnson will be presented the inaugural Rhapsody Music Without Limits Award on the red carpet at the CMT Awards. The honor is for artists who have the ability to push boundaries with their artistry, exhibiting a willingness to explore and introduce new sounds into an existing music genre.

Randy Houser’s hit single “Boots On” will be the theme song for the CMT Music Awards Red Carpet Show. The song will be used as the bumper in and out of commercials. A recent hot topic of conversation for several media outlets, including, The CBS Early Show, CNN and Perez Hilton’s site, the video for “Boots On” incorporates the YouTube viral video of a 4-year-old rocking out to the song. The viral video is closing in on a million combined streams and continues to receive traffic on a daily basis.

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The 2009 CMT Music Awards are tonight (6/16) at 7 PM at the Sommet Center. The list of stars set for appearances or performances is an incredible mix of Country’s finest and celebs from outside Nashville. Just announced are presenters Toby Keith, Alison Krauss, Kellie Pickler, Heidi Newfield, Tennessee Titans’ Kerry Collins, ventriloquist (America’s Got Talent) Terry Fator, model Karolina Kurkova, and Melissa Peterman.

Leading up to the main show, the one-hour 2009 CMT Music Awards Red Carpet special will start at 6 PM with hosts Katie Cook and Lance Smith.

Hosted by actor/comedian Bill Engvall, there will be performances by Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Keith, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Pickler, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and British rockers Def Leppard. Jason Michael Carroll, Carter Twins, Eric Church, Eli Young Band, Gloriana and Joey + Rory will perform on the Nationwide Insurance performance stage.

Previously announced presenters include American Idol’s Randy Jackson, Dancing With The Stars’ recent champions Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas, The O’Reilly Factor’s Bill O’Reilly, actor Luke Wilson, rockers Kid Rock and Ted Nugent and rap artist T-Pain. In addition, country stars Rodney Atkins, Billy Currington, Julianne Hough, Naomi Judd, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack and CMT’s Cook and Smith will be on-hand to present.

Voting for the fan-voted show is now closed. The final nominees for Video of the Year will be announced at the beginning of the live show and fans can vote at CMT.com and via text on their Verizon Wireless phones throughout the live broadcast (ET/CT only) to determine the night’s big winner.

Save The Date: Leadership Music Awards

Leadership Music will honor Country Music Hall of Fame member/legendary label executive Jim Foglesong, superstar artist Garth Brooks, and Brooks’ longtime producer Allen Reynolds with its 6th annual Dale Franklin Awards, to be given out Sun., Aug. 23 at the Renaissance Hotel. Cocktails start at 5:30 PM, followed by dinner at 6:30 PM. Invitation only.

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(L-R): Foglesong, Reynolds, and Brooks

SOURCE Reveals 2009 Foundation Award Winners

SOURCE has announced the recipients of its 2009 Foundation Awards, honoring the pioneering women of the music industry. The select list comprises Joyce Jackson (Jim Reeves Enterprises, Floyd Cramer, Dottie West, Mae Axton, Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Writer); Peggy Lamb (Music City News, Hickory Records, Inc., Acuff Rose, Opryland Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing); Pat McCoy (American Federation of Musicians, Local 257, Television Production Assistant, Charlie McCoy Enterprises); Sandy Neese (Charlie Daniels Band/Sound Seventy Productions, The Tennessean, WMAK, MTM Records, PolyGram/Mercury Records); Margaret Parker (WSM, Gaylord Entertainment); and Marion Keisker MacInnes, posthumously, (WREC Radio, WHER Radio, Memphis Recording Services, SUN Records, Captain in United States Army). They will be recognized at the seventh annual awards dinner on Thurs., July 30 at the Musician’s Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN.

SOURCE, founded in 1991, is a non-profit organization of executive women in all facets of the Nashville music industry. Sponsorship opportunities for the awards event are available by contacting Sarah Brosmer at sarah@lytlemgmt.com.

CMA Awards Voting Schedule

The Country Music Association has alerted members of the voting schedule for the 2009 CMA Awards.

The ballot schedule is:
Nominating Ballot
(round 1): Email sent/polls open Tues., June 30 and close Wed., July 16 at 5:00 PM/CDT
Second Ballot (round 2): Will be sent Tues., Aug. 11 and close Mon., Aug. 24 at 5:00 PM/CDT
Final Ballot: Will be sent Friday, Oct. 16 and close Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 5:00 PM/CDT

Voting will be conducted entirely online and members will receive an e-mail on the “Polls Open” dates above. If your e-mail address changes during the balloting schedule, you must contact CMA at vote@CMAworld.com or at (800)788-3045. If you do not receive an email on the above “Polls Open” dates above, contact Election Services Corporation at CMAhelp@electionservicescorp.com. Members will need their CMA Member Number and PIN number to vote. The CMA member numbers will be e-mailed out separately. Only current CMA members, along with approved new CMA members whose applications were received by June 26 will receive the second and final ballots.

Grammy Changes Reflect Growth of Americana Music

amaIn what Americana Music Association Executive Director Jed Hilly calls a “huge shift in the musical landscape,” The Recording Academy announced today that it has changed the name of the Grammy Awards “Folk Field” to the “American Roots Music Field.” The newly renamed Field will now include the Best Traditional Blues Album, Best Contemporary Blues Album and Best Bluegrass Album categories.

jed-hilly-071

AMA Exec. Director Jed Hilly

NARAS has also divided the Grammy category for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album into two categories: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album.

MusicRow spoke with Hilly about the significance of today’s news. “This is recognition of the growing popularity and strength of Americana music,” he said. “It is exactly what we’ve been fighting for and trying to tell the world for 10 years.”

The Americana Music Association will host its 10th annual Festival & Conference Sept. 16-19 at the Nashville Convention Center and premier venues throughout the city. More than 12,000 fans, artists and industry professionals are expected at the event. The Music Festival will feature approximately 75 showcase or performance slots for both established and emerging artists, while the Conference will include numerous educational panels, seminars and more.

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In other Nashville-related NARAS news, award-winning music video director/producer George Flanigen was elected Chair of the Board of Trustees. Music supervisor/composer/film music executive Doug Frank was elected Vice Chair, and engineer/producer Glenn Lorbecki was elected Secretary/Treasurer at its annual spring Trustees meeting. Outgoing Chair of the Board and five-time GRAMMY® winner Jimmy Jam will become Chair Emeritus.

Bobby Karl Works the DJ and Radio Hall of Fame Banquet

(L-R): Hall of Fame Inductees Chuck Collier (DJ), Bob McKay (Radio), Moon Mullins (Radio), Shelia Shipley Biddy (Presidents Award) and Gerry House (DJ). Photo: Bev Moser

(L-R): Hall of Fame Inductees Chuck Collier (DJ), Bob McKay (Radio), Moon Mullins (Radio), Shelia Shipley Biddy (Presidents Award) and Gerry House (DJ). Photo: Bev Moser

Chapter 305

House and Haggard rocked the room at this year’s Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame banquet.

Nashville’s favorite morning jock and the poet of the working man were in the spotlight in the Convention Center ballroom Tuesday evening (3/3) as we eased our way into this year’s Country Radio Seminar whoop-de-doo.

Merle Haggard received the Career Achievement Award from Larry Daniels. It seems that Larry was a DJ at the Bakersfield, CA radio station when a young Merle came by and asked if he could listen to records in the station’s library. Larry also had a band. Merle asked if he could sit in and sing some songs for $35. By the time Larry was on the air in Phoenix, Merle was making $35,000 per show!

Singer Jack Ingram recalled that in Dallas, his first set list had 25 songs, 12 of which were Merle Haggard tunes. “I sang this one at every show,” Jack said, referring to 1982’s “Are the Good Times Really Over.”

“I was in my car when I first heard that,” said Emmylou Harris, “and I nearly drove off the road….I’m nervous about singing my favorite Merle Haggard song in front of Merle. It is also a waltz.” Accompanied by Carl Jackson and Phil Madeira, Emmy sang 1985’s “Kern River.”

Merle was greeted by a long standing ovation as Larry brought him to the stage. The first thing Merle did in his acceptance speech was to thank Jack and Emmy. He is back to touring and recording following a period of ill health.

“I’ve been battling pneumonia, and I think I’m winning,” said Merle. “I’m one of the lucky few who survived lung cancer without chemo or radiation.”

He reminisced about label execs Jimmy Bowen and Rick Blackburn, recalling that the latter repeatedly criticized and made fun of “Kern River.”

“I said, ‘Are you the s.o.b. who fired Johnny Cash yesterday? You’re the dumbest s.o.b. I’ve ever met!’” The crowd roared.

Attendees roared even louder during Gerry House’s evening-closing acceptance speech. Peppered with gags, it was easily the jolliest in the event’s history.

An early radio job was in Richmond, KY, where Gerry recalled that the station was owned by a shyster preacher who said, “Send me your tumors. I’lll heal them and send them back.” He referred to sidekick and inductor Mike Bohan as “my male escort.” “It’s good to see you back in men’s clothes,” he wisecracked. WSIX sidekicks Duncan Stewart and Al Voecks were also ribbed, the latter having endured Gerry’s age jokes for years. “We played ‘What’s in your wallet.’ And when we opened Al’s there was a picture of Jesus. And it was a Polaroid!” Gerry quipped. He thanked his mother for giving him his sense of humor. Back in the day, she was often on his show.

Mother: “I painted the toilet seat, forgot and sat on it.”

Gerry: “What color was it?”

Mother: “Well, I have the only Blue Moon in Kentucky.”

Gerry’s wife Allison and daughter Autumn House were also on the receiving end of his quips. In concluding, Gerry said, “I just hope radio doesn’t forget we’re in the entertainment business.” In his case, it certainly is.

The other DJ Hall of Fame inductee was Chuck Collier, who was inducted by Cleveland’s WGAR p.d. Brian Jennings. Chuck is rare in this industry in that except for a 1975-76 stint in New York City, he has spent his entire career, 37 years, at the same station, WGAR.

Quoting Bill Anderson, Chuck said, “If you can find something you’re so passionate about that you’d do it for free, but they pay you anyway, you’ll never work a day in your life….I’m very blessed.”

A Radio Hall of Fame category was added to this ceremony in 2001 to honor folks who made contributions off the microphone. This year’s honorees were Moon Mullins and Bob McKay.

Bob Moody inducted Moon as “a man who has programmed some of the truly great radio stations in the history of this format.” Moon’s itinerary has included Lubbock, Kansas City, Wichita, Louisville, New York City, Nashville and Tulsa.” He’s currently in Owensboro, KY.

“I’m glad to be going in with a bunch of good guys,” he said, referring to his fellow honorees.

McKay was inducted by Lon Helton. “He has programmed major market country radio stations for 32 years,” said Lon. “He retires at the end of this year after 43 years.”

Bob was the most emotional of the honorees, choking up several times during his acceptance speech. “I really am overwhelmed by this tremendous honor,” he said.

Becky Bremer presented the CRB President’s Award to Shelia Shipley-Biddy.

“I look around and I see many of you who have become my extended family,” said Shelia. “The two areas of my career that I hold most dear are country music and country radio. I’m proud that I worked during the era of this format’s greatest growth.”

Charlie Monk and R.J. Curtis recognized the Hall of Famers in the audience, including Bob Kingsley, Johnny K, Charlie Douglas, Smokey Smith, Romeo Sullivan, Cayote Calhoun, Dandelion, Dr. Bruce Nelson, Les Acree, Ed Salamon and Ted Cramer.

Working the room were Phil Vassar, Radney Foster, Craig Morgan, Darius Rucker and Jeffrey Steele, not to mention Jewel Coburn, Ed Benson, Mike Dungan, Joe Galante, Gregg Brown, Hank Adam Locklin, Sarah Brosmer, Butch Waugh, Jimmy Harnon, Fletcher Foster, Tammy Genovese, David Haley, Tom Baldrica, Bill Catino and Chuck Chellman, who founded the Country Disc Jockey Hall of Fame way back in 1975.

(L-R): CRB Executive Director Ed Salamon, Jack Ingram, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, guitarist Carl Jackson, CRB President Becky Brenner. Photo: Bev Moser

(L-R): CRB Executive Director Ed Salamon, Jack Ingram, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, guitarist Carl Jackson, CRB President Becky Brenner. Photo: Bev Moser

Bobby Karl Works the MusicRow Meet & Greet

Eli Young Band

Eli Young Band

Gloriana

Gloriana

Major Label Breakout Artist of the Year Lady Antebellum

Major Label Breakout Artist of the Year Lady Antebellum

Chapter 304
Photos: Alan Mayor

Our favorite reporting stations got an earful.

The 7th Annual MusicRow Country-Breakout™ Meet & Greet had the best music of any such event to date. After David Ross welcomed one and all, he introduced Rob Dalton of New Revolution Entertainment. Rob informed the throng that both CMT and GAC have added “Wild at Heart,” the debut video and single by Gloriana.
The band absolutely tore up the stage of Cadillac Ranch on Tuesday (3/3) with a harmony-soaked, vivid and energetic set, backed by their own mandolin, acoustic rhythm guitar and electric guitar playing. I have a feeling that this Emblem Records foursome earned itself some

Small Label Breakout Artist of the Year Rick Huckaby and MR Chart Dir. Jon Freeman

Small Label Breakout Artist of the Year Rick Huckaby and MR Chart Dir. Jon Freeman

enthusiastic new fans. I, for one, was thrilled by their sound.

Not to be outdone, Universal South’s Mark Wright presented his label’s new group, The Eli Young Band.

“We got a call about a buzz band down in Texas,” Mark recalled. “So I went down, and there were 2,500 college kids singing along with every word.” The group has been building a fan base for eight years. And that experience showed in a flawless, perfectly tuned set that featured the band’s hit single “When it Rains.”

The MusicRow reception was the kick-off event for the 40th annual Country Radio Seminar. As such, it attracted a fresh-eyed and eared crowd that wasn’t burned out after days of discussions and nights of partying. It also grows larger each year, hence the move to Cadillac Ranch.

CountryBreakout™ Reporter of the Year Jason Drake

CountryBreakout™ Reporter of the Year Jason Drake

The magazine’s commitment to independent as well as major-label music means that all types of artists attended.

Working the reporting stations were Eric Durrance, members of Ricochet, Derek Joseph, The Roys, pretty-in-pink Stella Parton, Sarah Taylor, Billy Dean, studly Stephen Dale, Clay Underwood and award winners Jason Aldean, Rick Huckaby, Lady Antebellum and Cody McCarver.

A sideboard held chicken fingers, barbecue sandwiches, hot wings and other snacks. But the bar was busier.

Schmoozing fabulons included Scott Hendricks, Allen Butler, Arthur Buenahora, Fletcher Foster, Barry Coburn, Ree Guyer-Buchanan, Woody Bomar, Tony Darren (who is the son of actor-singer James

Mid-size Label Artist of the Year Jason Aldean and Robert K. Oermann

Mid-size Label Artist of the Year Jason Aldean and Robert K. Oermann

Darren, by the way), Chuck Thompson, Martha Moore, Neil Speilberg and son David, Chris Lacy, Bill Wence, Eddie Mascola (“Go, Steelers!”),

Rick Murray and Gene Kennedy. Entertainment reporter Brad Schmitt was covering the gig with a Channel 2 TV crew and was ga-ga over the two gals in Gloriana.

Among the label honorees were Keith Andrews (PLC Records), Mike Borchetta and Richard Franco (Lofton Creek), Dale Turner (Lyric Street, accepting for Rascal Flatts, who were performing at the Houston Rodeo) and Diane Richey (stepping up to the plate for an absent Capitol Records rep).

Back to the subject of our beloved reporting stations, Jon Freeman introduced us to Jason Drake, who won Reporter of the Year. “This guy

Small Label Artist of the Year Cody McCarver and Robert K. Oermann

Small Label Artist of the Year Cody McCarver and Robert K. Oermann

has never missed a reporting week, ever,” said Jon. “That’s almost unheard of.” Jason is at KAIR in Atchison, Kansas. “It’s an honor to report to MusicRow,” said Jason. Awwwww.

Michelle Ross handled the check-ins. Sarah Skates and Susana Ross were greeters. Christie King handed out the award plaques. Alan Mayor snapped the pics. Making his debut as a MusicRow staffer was Peter Cronin. He’ll be the new Sarah while she’s off on maternity leave starting next week.

“You only hired me because I’m guaranteed not to get pregnant,” he quipped.