Reba McEntire & Blake Shelton photo courtesy of the ACM.

If you’ve heard any rumblings this morning about Reba McEntire‘s death, don’t worry — it isn’t true! A website called “Global Associated News,” which seemingly makes a habit of publishing fake stories (according to the site’s disclaimer), reported that Reba died this morning in Austria while filming a movie.

As the story began being re-Tweeted and shared on Facebook, Reba’s label, The Valory Music Co., released this statement in response: Continue Reading

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As the ACM Nominations came in yesterday, the honored stars were quick to respond. Kenny Chesney leads the way with nine total nods, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year. Kenny received the news just as he learned his Brothers of the Sun Tour with Tim McGraw has already sold over half a million tickets.

“It’s an honor to receive so much love from the Academy of Country Music after all they’ve done to support my music over the years,” Kenny said. “I can’t wait to get back on the road with my good friend Tim and throw one big spring break party all summer long.”

Blake Shelton is nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. He learned of his ACM nominations a week after losing his father, Dick Shelton. “The support I have felt this week is overwhelming,” Blake said. “Thank you everyone for this honor.”

Jason Aldean took to video to thank his fans for all of their support after learning he’s nominated for six ACMs, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year.


Jason Aldean on WhoSay

SEE THE FULL LIST OF ACM AWARDS ARTIST NOMINEES HERE >>

Reigning ACM Top New Solo Vocalist Eric Church is nominated for Video of the Year for “Homeboy” and his latest album, Chief, is up for Album of the Year. He sees the Album of the Year nod as an especially high honor.

“I’ve never minced words about the fact that my passion is making great records for the sake of the music,” he said. “The fact that the ACMs have nominated us for the album category is quite the honor and frankly the one I revere the most. “Homeboy,” both musically and visually, is a song that tells a compelling story. I have a very special place in my heart for the video, and I’m very grateful that it is getting recognized. It’s been one hell of a year!”

Chris Young woke up on a tour bus en route to his next show on Miranda Lambert’s On Fire Tour to learn he’s nominated for both Single Record of the Year for his No. 1 hit “Tomorrow” and Male Vocalist Of The Year. He also recorded a video message to share his excitement with his fans.

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Have you ever watched the stars announce the nominees at an awards show press conference? Sure you have! But now, YOU could be one of the folks doing the announcing! Beginning today, you can visit the ACM YouTube Channel to learn how to post a video announcing the name of the artist or artists YOU would like to see receive an Entertainer of the Year nomination.

On Thursday, January 26, the ACM will host the first-ever ACM digital press conference (also hosted by CBS Television and dick clark productions) via the ACM social media channels, www.facebook.com/AcademyOfCountryMusic and www.twitter.com/ACMAwards.

The press conference will announce the nominees for the 47^th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, to be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. live ET/delayed PT on CBS.

During the real-time digital press conference, you can watch to see if your video submission was chosen to announce your pick for the Academy’s biggest prize. If your video is selected, you’ll be in good company. Past participants in the ACM nominations press conferences have included Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood and many more!

Academy of Country Music Awards co-host Reba will participate in the nominees announcement, with more VIP surprise guests to announce categories via videos posted in real time to fans and media simultaneously.  The press conference will culminate with country music fans announcing the nominees for Entertainer of the Year.

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Luke Bryan & Eric Church.

Luke Bryan and Eric Church will headline the Fremont Street Experience during ACM Awards Weekend March 30-31. Luke will headline Friday, March 30, and Eric on March 31. The concerts will be part of ‘The Week Vegas Goes Country’  leading up to the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

For the sixth year in a row, the ACM will hold free and open-to-the-public concerts starting at 6:30 p.m. on two stages in downtown Las Vegas. The weekend-long party is sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and features performances by headliners and emerging artists. Show times, additional performers and stage locations will be announced soon. Continue Reading

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Fan voting for the ACM New Artist of the Year semi-finalists runs from Jan. 16-30, 2012!

Eight of country music’s most talented newcomers — each competing for the Academy of Country Music’s New Artist of the Year honor – will be featured on ACM Showcase, Monday, January 16 at 8/7c on GAC, check schedule for more times. The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be held Sunday, April 1, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Host Storme Warren will interview Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, JT Hodges, Scotty McCreery, Justin Moore, David Nail, Jerrod Niemann and duo Thompson Square, catching up with each on the remarkable year they’ve had. These eight semi-finalists were chosen by the first round of ACM professional membership voting and the fans will help choose the three finalists. Online voting is now open at gactv.com/acm and closes Monday, January 30 Noon ET and fans may vote once per day. When the three final nominees are chosen, online voting for the New Artist of the Year honor begins Monday, March 19, at 3pm ET by logging on to VoteACM.com. Continue Reading

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The Academy of Country Music and Great American Country (GAC) announced today that for the fourth consecutive year, the newcomer category for the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards — New Artist of the Year—will be opened up to interactive fan voting through VoteACM.com and GACTV.com/ACM, beginning Monday, January 16, 2012.

The Academy of Country Music combined all newcomer categories into a single combined, overall category for New Artist of the Year.  The New Artist of the Year award absorbs all newcomer categories including New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, New Vocal Duo, New Vocal Group, New Solo Vocalist and New Vocal Duo or Group categories from past years, and the winner will be revealed on the LIVE telecast at the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.  The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. live ET/delayed PT on CBS.

The top 8 artists from the first round of ACM professional voting are considered semi-finalists and will compete via the GAC fan vote at GACTV.com/ACM, combined with the ACM professional membership vote, to determine the final 3 nominees for the Award.  The final 3 nominees will compete for the trophy, with a combined fan and professional membership vote to determine the winner. Don’t miss our special, ACM Showcase 2012, hosted by Storme Warren and featuring interviews with all 8 semi-finalists, premiering Monday, January 16 at  8/7c.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR semi-finalists are:

• Brantley Gilbert
• Hunter Hayes
• JT Hodges
• David Nail
• Jerrod Niemann
• Justin Moore
• Scotty McCreery
• Thompson Square

First round fan voting for New Artist of the Year will begin at www.VoteACM.com and www.GACTV.com/ACM on Monday, Jan. 16  at 9 a.m. ET, and will close on Monday, Jan. 30 at Noon ET.  The final three nominees will be announced in February and will move on to compete for ACM New Artist of the Year.  Final round voting for the New Artist category will begin at VoteACM.com on Monday, March 19 and will close on April 1, with the winner being announced live during the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast on CBS on Sunday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

As part of this partnership, GAC will air several stand-alone specials, including a show featuring the top eight semi-finalists, as well as a show featuring the final nominees who will compete for New Artist.  The first GAC special “ACM Showcase” will feature all eight semi-finalists, and will premiere Monday, January 16 at 8 p.m. ET. This special will re-air through January 30, when voting closes.  The GAC “ACM New Artist of the Year” special will feature interviews and exclusive performances with the final three nominees.  That special premieres March 19 at 9 p.m. ET and airs through April 1.

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Reba McEntire & Blake Shelton photo courtesy of the ACM.

Country Music’s Party of the Year®, the 47^th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, honoring country music’s best and introducing the industry’s hottest emerging talent, will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. live Eastern/delayed Pacific on CBS. The show is produced by dick clark productions and will be hosted for the second consecutive year by Reba and Blake Shelton.

The 2^nd Annual ACM Fan Jam, hosted by Zac Brown Band, will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Sunday, April 1, 2012. This live remote location gives country music lovers the ultimate fan-pass to be part of the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards!  Throughout the three-hour Awards telecast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there will be live ACM Fan Jam performances, via remote, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center by Zac Brown Band and other top-tier music acts, to be announced at a later date.

The ACM Fan Jam includes a profusion of entertainment, prizes and special giveaways only for attendees, including autographed guitars, trip packages to country music events and merchandise.  The ACM Fan Jam continues after the Awards telecasts ends, with performances by Zac Brown and friends. Details will be announced soon. The inaugural ACM Fan Jam, hosted by Sugarland, took place in 2011.

Additionally, the Academy and dick clark productions will tape an all-star concert special, ACM PRESENTS: Lionel Richie and Friends – A Lifetime of Hits, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Monday, April 2, 2012, to air at a later date on the CBS Television Network.  This country collaboration with the legendary Lionel Richie, featuring duets from his upcoming album Tuskegee along with solo performances, will include some of Richie’s greatest hits performed by Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers and many more. Tickets sales from ACM PRESENTS: Lionel Richie and Friends – A Lifetime of Hits will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, which works to improve lives through music. For more information, log onto www.ACMLiftingLives.org or www.ACMcountry.com. Continue Reading

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Eric Church photo by Jim Wright, courtesy of Capitol Nashville; The Band Perry photo by Joseph Anthony Baker, courtesy of Republic Nashville.

When it’s time for fans to cast their votes for ACM New Artist of the Year in early 2012, the category will look a little different. The Academy of Country Music has announced they will combine all newcomer categories including New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, New Vocal Duo, New Vocal Group, New Solo Vocalist and New Vocal Duo or Group into one overall New Artist of the Year award. The winner will be revealed during the telecast of the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards to be held in the spring.

The top 8 artists from the first round of ACM professional voting will be announced as semi-finalists for the award. Fans will then be able to cast their votes right here at GACTV.com and their votes, combined with the ACM professional membership vote, will determine the final 3 nominees in the New Artist category. The winner will then be determined from a combined fan and professional membership vote.

See videos, photos and more from the 46th Annual ACM Awards! >>

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LeAnn Rimes performing at Lifting Lives at Joe’s Bar. Photo by Jeff Dykhuis/Courtesy of ACM Lifting Lives.

LeAnn Rimes headlined the first-ever ACM Lifting Lives benefit concert in Chicago on August 15 which also featured Crystal Bowersox. The event raised $11,000 and took place at current ACM Nightclub of the Year, Joe’s Bar Chicago. The club’s owner, Ed Warm, headed the event and also underwrote the cost, including food and drinks for every ticket buyer, to ensure that each ticket purchased went to ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music.

“The generosity that Ed Warm has shown to ACM Lifting Lives is unparalleled,” Gayle Holcomb, Chairman of ACM Lifting Lives, said. “He took a small idea and turned it into a very successful first-ever club event for charity, which in turn benefits so many worthy organizations.”

“As someone whose life revolves around the music industry, I am honored to help support ACM Lifting Lives in their efforts to improve lives through the power of music,” Ed said. “The night was very special for everyone who attended and we can’t thank LeAnn and Crystal enough.” Continue Reading

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The Academy of Country Music has announced the addition of the Songwriter of the Year award. The honor will be awarded during the 2012 cycle in conjunction with the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, to be held this spring. The Songwriter of the Year honor has only been awarded once before, to Roger Miller in 1965.

“The Academy has always paid tribute to songwriters, whether it was through Song of the Year, hosting songwriter No. 1 parties or honoring legends with the Poet’s Award as we do every year,” said Michelle Goble, Senior Vice President, Membership & Events at the Academy of Country Music. “We are thrilled to dedicate this annual award to the composers that make the country music genre so special in its rich history of storytelling.” Continue Reading

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