All posts in "Keith Urban"

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

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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Sara Evans arrives at the 2009 BMI Country Awards, held November 10 in Nashville. Photo courtesy of BMI.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sara Evans on the country music scene.  Last night Sara showed up at the 2009 BMI Country Awards, looking as beautiful as ever! 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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Tim McGraw photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Curb Records.

There are five Southern voices in the home of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and it looks like that’s the limit. Tim, who occupies the cover of the newest edition of People magazine, originally had more kids in mind, but with three girls already in the family, there’s not much thought of expansion.

“We talked about it once,” he says in the story. “We even have names for boys. I would love to have a boy also, but if we start again now, we’re going to be old when they’re gone. We started out wanting five [kids], and life just…got busy.”

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Randy Houser photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

You could call it back-seat karaoke. Randy Houser’s video for “Boots On,” built around the sing-along of young Drake Dixon while Randy filled his gas tank, became one of the most-talked-about videos of 2009, even earning a thumbs up from fellow singer Keith Urban.

It’s also gotten the attention of the country industry at large, as “Boots On” is one of the finalists for the Country Music Association’s Music Video of the Year honor during next week’s 43rd annual awards. Not that Randy’s putting much stock in winning.

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Trace Adkins has claimed the top spot for the last three years, Toby Keith was first in 2005 and Keith Urban in 2004. Who will you make No. 1 in this year’s Top 50 Videos of 2009? It’s up to you! You can vote every day for up to 10 of your favorite videos, November 2 through November 30.

Join our special hosts, Martina McBride and Trace, for GAC’s Top 50 Videos of 2009. The countdown kicks off on Monday, December 28 at 8 p.m. ET.

But wait, there’s more! You can also enter our sweepstakes every day for your chance to win $2,500 in cash and a VIP trip for two to see Martina and Trace in concert! Continue Reading

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