Search Results for "Darius Rucker"

Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

The dust has barely settled here in Nashville from last week’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards Show and here we go again, sort of…

The 2009 American Music Awards will air this Sunday, November 22 at 8 p.m. CT on ABC LIVE from the NOKIA Theatre in L.A.  The AMA’s honor artists in the categories of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin and Contemporary Inspirational.   For the third year in a row, the winners are determined by fan voting.  Voting has already closed for all the major categories with the exception of the “Breakthrough Artist Award.”  Fans that want to show their love of country can vote for Gloriana in this category all the way up until show time. Continue Reading

"I Run to You," performed by Lady Antebellum and produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley, wins Single of the Year and the group wins Vocal Group of the Year at "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Jim Hagans / CMA.

Taylor Swift might have gotten the most ink, but she wasn’t the only act to win more than one trophy at Wednesday’s CMA Awards. So did double-winners Brad Paisley and Lady Antebellum, and all three of those artists will be among the guests appearing on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown after chatting with host Nan Kelley backstage at the awards.

Lady A had a particularly good night. Their first Vocal Group of the Year win ended a six-year run in that category for Rascal Flatts. And when they picked up the Single of the Year honor for “I Run To You,” Lady A followed in the footsteps of such classic hits as Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee,” Garth Brooks’ “Friends In Low Places,” Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” and George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

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Darius Rucker wins New Artist of the Year at "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Donn Jones / CMA.

A certain amount of irony accompanied Darius Rucker’s victory as New Artist of the Year at Wednesday’s 43rd annual CMA Awards. He is, under the Country Music Association’s voting rules, a new artist to the genre, though he’s hardly new to the music business. He experienced the big time before as the lead singer for Hootie + The Blowfish.

Still, he’s done such a good job of reinventing himself that he’s now begun to encounter fans who know nothing of his history. That became clear when he played a concert in Houston. Two women stood throughout the show singing all of his songs verbatim, but when Darius launched into “Let Her Cry,” from the 16-times-platinum Cracked Rear View, they sat down.

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Taylor Swift performs “Forever & Always” at “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: John Russell / CMA. Provided by Country Music Association.

Judging from the early online comments from GACTV.com readers, Taylor Swift’s four wins at the 43rd annual Country Music Association Awards will be accompanied by controversy. She won Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist, Album and Music Video, setting records as the first teen victor in each category and ending streaks of three-year reigns for Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood.

Taylor is not a traditional artist in any sense of the word — not in sound, not in age and not in the demographic she appeals to. So when her band and record company president, Scott Borchetta, gave her a group hug at the end of the evening, it was a physical manifestation of the embrace she got at the ballot box from the country business.

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Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood rehearse on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Sommet Center in Downtown Nashville for "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," which will broadcast live on the ABC Television Network on Wed., Nov. 11th, 8-11PM/ET. Photographer: John Russell / CMA

The wait for the 43rd Annual CMA Awards is almost over! We’ll be blogging during the show tonight and we want your participation! Watch along with us and leave your comments at the end of this blog entry. Continue Reading

If you answered yes to this question, then GAC’s wants you! GAC wants you to decide the Top 50 Videos of 2009. It’s time to rally your family, friends and fellow fan club members to get the vote out. We have over 140 videos from over 100 unique artists nominated. You can vote for up to 10 of your favorites every day.

So what are you waiting for? If you’re a fan of any of the artists listed below then it’s your duty as a card carrying country music fan to vote today and every day through Nov. 30, 2009 when the ballot closes.  Vote Now »

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Jake Owen photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Jake Owen’s “Eight Second Ride” uses a rodeo phrase for a sexy come-on that has his latest video at No. 18 on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, but some real rodeo pros join Suzanne Alexander from this week’s CBR (Championship Bull Riding) finale in Kansas City.

Suzanne checks in with a bunch of bull-riding cowboys — including Jarrod Craig, Ardie Maier, retired champ Gary Leffew and the Kansas City winner, Hugo Pedrero — as she works through the biggest videos in country music.

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Tim McGraw photo courtesy of Curb Nashville.

When Gregg Allman showed up Tuesday with Tim McGraw on “The Jay Leno Show,” it was a bit of an event, though maybe not quite as unusual an event as it would have been in years gone by.

Gregg was an appropriate musical partner — after all, Tim’s current single “Southern Voice,” which he performed on “Leno,” namechecks the Allman Brothers along with Tom Petty and Chuck Berry.

But Gregg’s hardly the only pop star or rocker with an attachment to country these days. The Zac Brown Band’s “Toes” is co-written with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins, who referred to Los Angeles as “Nashville with a tan” in his 1998 pop hit “Lullaby.” Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” counts Mike Elizondo, who’s worked with Maroon 5 and Snoop Dogg, among its writers. Brooks & Dunn’s “Honky Tonk Stomp” gets a signature vocal stamp from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Jimmy Wayne enlisted Daryl Hall & John Oates to back him on his remake of “Sara Smile.” And Darius Rucker came to country music after first establishing himself in Hootie + The Blowfish.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. photo courtesy of Wortman Works.

The Country Music Association has announced the first group of presenters for The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, and airing live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

The first celebrities announced as Awards presenters during “Country Music’s Biggest Night” are NASCAR superstar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle,” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser (for both New Artist and Music Video of the Year for “Boots On”); nominee Jake Owen (New Artist of the Year); Kellie Pickler; CMA Award winner LeAnn Rimes; and ABC News’s Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America” and host of the upcoming “Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” ABC television special (airing Nov. 10). Continue Reading

Kenny Chesney (l) photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville; Dave Matthews photo courtesy of Red Light Management.

When Kenny Chesney performs at The 43rd Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 11, he’ll share the mic with rock artist Dave Matthews on their new duet, “I’m Alive.”  Kenny and Dave recorded the song for Kenny’s Lucky Old Sun album and it’s also the current single from Kenny’s  Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 CD.

“I’m Alive” was originally recorded by Willie Nelson for Willie’s 2008 album, Moment Of Forever (which was produced by Kenny).

Other performers already announced include Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Billy Currington, Vince Gill and Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Zac Brown Band. Continue Reading