Ricky Skaggs photo courtesy of Skaggs Family Records.

The winners of the 2011 ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards have been announced. The awards were held October 28 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.  The ceremony wrapped up Inspirational Country Music Week, presented by the Inspirational Country Music Association.

Ricky Skaggs was the big winner of the night. He took home the ICM Award for Entertainer of the Year as well as the ICM for Musician of the Year. Christian artist Chuck Day was another double winner, earning the ICM Male Vocalist award and the Inspirational Country Song of the Year award for his song “I’ll Stand Up And Say So.” ICM Female Vocalist went to Kali Rose while Jeff Bates was awarded the ICM for Mainstream Country Artist.   Continue Reading

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Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records; Zac Brown Band photo courtesy of Southern Ground Artists/Atlantic Records.

The second annual American Country Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 5, 8-10 p.m. ET live/PT tape-delayed, on FOX. Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band lead the nominees with eight nominations each; Thompson Square earned seven nods; and The Band Perry and Taylor Swift each garnered six.

Starting today, fans can vote once each day for their favorite American Country Awards nominees at www.theacas.com. Voting is open until Friday, Nov. 11 for all categories, except for Artist of the Year, which closes on Friday, Dec. 2. The nominees for each award category have been determined by four media measurement companies: BigChampagne (record sales and media consumption); Great American Country (video airplay); Mediabase (radio airplay); and Pollstar (touring data).

Hosted by Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth, the two-hour live music spectacular is the only country music awards show that gives fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists not only in traditional categories but also in previously unrecognized areas of the business such as touring, encompassing the entire spectrum of country music and bestowing honors that no other awards show has.

The American Country Awards will feature performances and appearances by the year’s chart-topping country artists. Performers and presenters will be announced soon.

Following is the list of categories and nominees for the American Country Awards:

ARTISTS:
Artist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Lady Antebellum                          
Taylor Swift
Zac Brown Band

Artist of the Year: Male
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton

Artist of the Year: Female
Sara Evans
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Artist of the Year: Duo or Group
The Band Perry
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
Zac Brown Band

Artist of the Year: Breakthrough Artist
Eric Church
Eli Young Band
Justin Moore
Jake Owen
Chris Young

Artist of the Year: New Artist
The Band Perry
Scotty McCreery
Jerrod Niemann
Pistol Annies
Thompson Square

Album:
Album of the Year
Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party”
Kenny Chesney, “Hemingway’s Whiskey”
Brad Paisley, “This Is Country Music”
Taylor Swift, “Speak Now”
Keith Urban, “Get Closer”
Zac Brown Band, “You Get What You Give”

SINGLES:
Single of the Year
Billy Currington, “Let Me Down Easy”
Tim McGraw, “Felt Good On My Lips”
Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Chris Young, “Voices”
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away” Continue Reading

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Lady Antebellum's 2011 CD, Own The Night. Photo courtesy of The Greenroom PR.

In the roughly year-and-a-half since Lady Antebellum released their breakout album Need You Now, the young Nashville trio has quickly turned into one of the most recognizable and promising acts in any genre. Need You Now, with worldwide sales in excess of five million copies and five Grammy awards to its credit, introduced fans to the group’s dynamic harmonies and powerful delivery. Now, on their third album, Own The Night, Lady A shows their continued growth with a set of 12 songs wrapped in emotion and displaying a vibrant presence.

Working again with Producer Paul Worley, Own The Night focuses much of its attention on individual moments in time. “Dancin’ Away With My Heart,” with wistful open chords and a dreamy guitar melody, captures the interaction between older versions of two young first loves. I brush the curls back so I can see your eyes, Charles Kelley sings with a comfortable familiarity before Hillary Scott adds, And the way you move me was like you’re reading my mind. On the ballad “As You Turn Away,” Hillary takes the lead to explore the exact moment a heart breaks at the end of a relationship. Over deep, dramatic piano tones and stirring strings, Hillary sings with touching sadness through the bridge, One step my heart is breaking, one more my hands are shaking/ The door is closing and I just can’t change it. Charles adds backing harmonies in a poignant display of what makes Lady A so special. Continue Reading

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Earlier today Tom Roland posted a great story, Lady Antebellum: “Hello World,” Life Is Good, offering up insights and the backstory behind Lady Antebellum’s powerful new single “Hello World.”    The equally powerful video premiered yesterday on the ABC Television Network’s website.  The song and video really shows off a side of of the band that fans aren’t used to seeing.  Watch the video and see for yourself, then leave me a comment below and let me know what you think about the clip.

“Hello World” Music Video:

“Hello World” is featured on Lady Antebellum’s latest album Need You Now.

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

The new Lady Antebellum single, “Hello World,” is one of the key tracks on the band’s Need You Now album.

It’s a gorgeous song that builds dramatically, and the lyrics build almost cinematic images. It instantly feels like a deep piece, but a lot of fans have found it a little difficult — the meaning isn’t clear on the first listen or two.

That is, in fact, what makes it such a great song. The title, “Hello World,” is a phrase that’s routinely used by computer students when they first learn to write programs. And that makes it extremely appropriate because it’s intended pretty much as an awakening.

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Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, producer Paul Worley and Lady A's Dave Haywood at the No. 1 party for their song, "Our Kind of Love" on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville.

Good music makes the listener feel something. Good parties can make visitors feel something, too, and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott went through a whole range of emotions when the trio was honored at Nashville’s Hard Rock Café Wednesday during a No. 1 party for “Our Kind Of Love.”

“Wow! Look at that!” she exclaimed when the band got an unexpected dividend. Hillary, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood received a triple-platinum album for selling three million copies of Need You Now.

She went from that exclamation of happiness to tears of joy just a few minutes later when her publishing company, EMI Music, announced it was making a donation to Brent Gambrell Ministries, an agency dedicated to rebuilding Haiti.

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

OK, so Halloween isn’t quite here yet, but country stars are already working to make sure you have a merry little Christmas.

In fact, A Merry Little Christmas is the name of a new holiday project Lady Antebellum has on the docket. The six-song mini-album is due Oct. 12 at Target stores featuring mostly seasonal classics. But it also boasts one new title, “On This Winter’s Night,” written by Tom Douglas, the same guy who authored “I Run To You” and the trio’s new single, “Hello World.”

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Lady Antebellum on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Photo courtesy of The Greenroom.

With the No. 1 album in the nation and the most nominations for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards, Lady Antebellum picked a perfect time to have its personal history intersect with country’s bigger history. The band headlined Wednesday for the first time at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and left little doubt that it will soon be headlining everywhere.

View photos from yesterday’s rehearsal and show — and check back tomorrow for more pics from tonight’s concert!

In the first of two sold-out shows, the trio deftly tied together its pop-sprinkled sound and the venue’s traditional-country background, getting a standing ovation for its encore and demonstrating a flexibility that should serve the group well.

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