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 photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

Earlier this year, Reba was honored with the Career Achievement award from the Academy of Country Music for all of her accomplishments in music, movies, TV and on Broadway. But if the award signifies that Reba’s career is coming to an end or she is supposed to stop, Reba says she’d rather just give it back.

“I’m just still having the best time of my life,” she  said. “I think I’m having more fun now than I ever have had in the past. Mainly because the older you get, the more settled you are in your skin and you like what you’re doing and you only do what you want to do. I like that part about it.” Continue Reading

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Brett Eldredge photo courtesy of WMG Nashville.

Brett Eldredge, JT Hodges, Steve Holy and James Wesley are among the artists that will appear on the Academy of Country Music’s ‘Academy of Country Music Stage’ during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo). Held in Las Vegas Thursday, December 1 through Saturday, December 10, the stage will feature country music artists in the Cowboy Corral of the WNFR, a special area created by Las Vegas Events to entertain rodeo fans. The event is free and open to all ticket holders.

“The Academy is happy to continue the sponsorship with WNFR, giving us the opportunity this year to present some of country music’s seasoned Texas bands and new artists for the WNFR ticket holders,” Michelle Goble, SVP, Membership & Events, Academy of Country Music, said.

Check out GAC’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo section »

Doors to the Cowboy Corral will open at 5 p.m. PST every day except Sunday, December 4, when they will open at 11 a.m. PST. Music will begin at 5:45 p.m. PST except for Dec. 4, when artists will begin playing at 11:45 p.m. PST. The shows continue after the rodeo ends with a second post-rodeo performance by each artist.   Continue Reading

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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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One of the ACM Lifting Lives Music Campers sings to and with Wynonna Judd at Winners Bar on June 28, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for ACM)

A group of just over 30 developmentally challenged individuals visiting Nashville this week for the 2^nd Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp got the surprise of a lifetime last night. It was karaoke night for the campers as they gathered for a private event at Winners Bar & Grill, a local nightclub, to take the stage and belt out some of their favorite tunes.  A couple songs in, a group of campers were onstage performing “No One Else On Earth” when none other than Wynonna Judd herself appeared. Jaws dropped and the stunned campers’ looks of shock quickly gave way to smiles a mile wide.  Wynonna wasted no time joining in on the fun. But this was not her night to perform, it was the campers’ night to shine and Wynonna made sure all eyes were on them. Continue Reading

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Little Big Town at the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp. Photo credit: Getty Images/Courtesy of ACM Lifting Lives.

The 2nd Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp is underway in Nashville this week and stars including Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood are lending their time to the program. The camp is open to campers with developmental disabilities who are also talented in music and serves as a study of Williams syndrome and other developmental disabilities. ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music, funds the camp, which allows the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities to advance it’s mission of improving the lives of those with developmental disabilities.

On Monday, campers were treated to a songwriting workshop with Gary Allan, Odie Blackmon and Brett James. They crafted a song from concept to final lyrics and will record the song with Carrie and producer Mark Bright. Last year’s song penned by the campers, Chris Young and Brett was performed by campers during the 46th Annual ACM Awards. Later Monday evening, Little Big Town participated in Art N’Music, a session that allowed campers to create Warhol style self-portraits while using music to inspire them. Continue Reading

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Clockwise from top left: Reba McEntire; Martina McBride; Miranda Lambert; Jennifer Nettles and Carrie Underwood. Photos of Martina, Miranda and Carrie courtesy of Sony Music Nashville. Photo of Reba courtesy of the Valory Music Co. Photo of Jennifer courtesy of UMG Nashville.

The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions announced today that country superstars Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, Reba and Carrie Underwood are the first artists scheduled to appear and be honored at the “Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country” taping on Monday, April 4, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.  The special will air at a later date on CBS.

“Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country” is a special tribute concert featuring an A-list lineup of performers paying respect to today’s most incredible country music female artists, all of whom will be honored with unique accolades from the Academy for special achievements in their careers. Additional honorees and participating talent announcements are forthcoming and ticket sales from the special will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy.

• Miranda Lambert – Will be recognized for being the only female artist in the Academy’s history to ever win Album of the Year, twice, first for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” in 2007 and again for “Revolution” in 2009

• Martina McBride – Will be recognized by ACM Lifting Lives for her dedication to raising social consciousness through songs such as “Independence Day” and “Concrete Angel,” which raise awareness of domestic violence and encourage female empowerment; McBride has won Top Female Vocalist three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2003 Continue Reading

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Keith Urban at the ACM Honors on September 20, 2010. Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

He hails from Australia and New Zealand, he conquered America and he’s found an audience in Europe. Keith Urban’s global assault was hailed Monday as the Academy of Country Music handed him its Jim Reeves International Award during the fourth annual ACM Honors at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

The award wasn’t just a nicety. While country music was born and bred in the U.S.A., it’s had a bit of a rocky road in building audiences beyond American borders. Keith’s made a point of taking his music to other territories, leading host Lee Ann Womack to hail “the world domination of Keith Urban.”

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Mel Tillis at the ACM Honors on September 20, 2010. Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

Martina McBride, Randy Travis, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Kenny Rogers were among the artists who showed up to perform on their behalf.

Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and Barbara Mandrell were among the acts who sent their support via video.

But even more can be said by taking an inventory of the artists who were not on hand that were affected by the people who graced the stage Monday at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium: George Strait, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain… The real task would be to find artists who did not benefit from the raft of people — musicians, producers, concert executives, songwriters and pioneering artists who were honored at the fourth annual ACM Honors.

The event allowed the Academy of Country Music to give a more detailed account of the behind-the-scenes people and the pioneers of the genre than it could provide during its fast-moving televised awards.

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Brooks & Dunn photo: Getty Images/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music & dick clark productions.

Tune in on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS to watch superstars of country music pay tribute to all-time leading ACM Award winners Brooks & Dunn at ACM PRESENTS: BROOKS & DUNN – THE LAST RODEO, featuring performances by Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban with presenters Dr. Maya Angelou, Miranda Cosgrove & Matthew McConaughey.

Ticket proceeds from the live event went to ACM Lifting Lives, which in turn quickly earmarked funding for those affected by the recent floods in Middle Tennessee.

During the tribute concert special, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn receive the Academy’s Milestone Award in recognition of their astounding 20-year career and are honored for holding the record for the most wins of any artist in the Academy’s history. Continue Reading

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