Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

“Need You Now” lofted Lady Antebellum from a well-regarded band within country music to one that’s recognized across multiple genres, and it already won Single Record and Song of the Year during the Academy of Country Music Awards in April.

With the Country Music Association set to hand out its trophies on Wednesday, “Need You Now” claimed yet another victory Monday when it won Song of the Year from SESAC and — combined with “I Run To You” and “Our Kind Of Love” — earned group member Hillary Scott recognition as the performing-rights organization’s Songwriter of the Year in a black-tie event on Music Row.

SESAC is one of three American PROs, responsible for collecting and distributing money for songwriters, so its recognition is symbolic of just how financially rewarding the song has been.

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Taylor Swift couldn’t ask for much better timing. As she heads into the last week of promotion for her new album, Speak Now, she was named Songwriter/Artist of the Year Sunday night during the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s annual songwriter awards at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin took Song of the Year for penning the emotional Miranda Lambert hit “The House That Built Me,” and Chris DuBois earned Songwriter of the Year for his work as an author of Craig Morgan’s “This Ain’t Nothin’” and the Brad Paisley singles “Then” and “Welcome To The Future.”

The awards were part of a formal evening that saw four new members added to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and had 11 titles recognized by the songwriting community as the cream of the crop: Songs I Wish I’d Written. That list included “Need You Now,” “White Liar,” “Big Green Tractor” and Taylor’s “You Belong With Me.”

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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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Miranda Lambert at the No. 1 party for her song, "The House That Built Me," on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, in Nashville.

“The House That Built Me” touched a lot of people during its four-week stay at No. 1 this year. A bunch of people who were responsible for it — particularly Miranda Lambert and the song’s writers, Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin — were honored for the accomplishment during a No. 1 party Tuesday at the swanky Nashville restaurant Sambuca.

Miranda’s fiancee, Blake Shelton, was there with his producer, Scott Hendricks — fitting because they relinquished the song to Miranda after she heard the demo while riding home from the airport with Blake.

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Lady Antebellum performs at the Nightly Concerts at LP Field on Thursday, June 10 in Downtown Nashville during the 2010 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: John Russell / CMA.

Lady Antebellum got into music in Nashville specifically because the three band members — Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — saw themselves as country artists.

But if people who listen to other genres take an interest, well, they’re not going to turn down a few extra fans. As a result, Lady A is an extremely interesting place. “Our Kind Of Love” is the third single from the Need You Now album, and it’s in the Top 20 on the Billboard country singles chart. But over in the pop world, the group’s record company is mining a track from the band’s first album.

“Need You Now” recently spent more than 10 weeks at No. 1 on the adult-pop chart — in fact, the song went back to No. 1 in Billboard this week. Understandably, Capitol looked for way to milk that pop success a little longer, but instead of grabbing something from the current CD, the label is working “I Run To You,” a song from the last album, to pop stations. It’s already won the Country Music Association’s Single of the Year award, so the move should not damage their country cred in the least bit. Especially since Lady A didn’t intentionally set out to go pop.

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Marty Stuart photo courtesy of The GreenRoom.

It’s a small, old-timey spot on Music Row, a boxy building that’s easily overlooked if you’re just driving by. But there’s a treasure trove of history at RCA Studio B in Nashville, and Marty Stuart used the joint on Wednesday to preview his Ghost Train album for a select group of media.

Studio B practically rings with history. The Everly Brothers, Skeeter Davis, Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley all recorded there. Marty’s first session, in October 1972, took place in the studio when he was a 13-year-old member of Lester Flatt’s band. And Marty’s wife, Connie Smith — who was among the guests Wednesday — recorded her first hit in the same place in 1964.

Marty stood in the back of the room — in the same general area where Elvis stood when he recorded “It’s Now Or Never” and “A Big Hunk O’ Love” — as he previewed the new CD, which required Marty to give a little extra effort to get the facility sounding right.

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

Just two years ago, Lady Antebellum was on the road for the first time on a major tour, opening shows for Martina McBride. Last year, the group played a bundle of stadiums on the Kenny Chesney summer tour, and Lady A is currently opening arena dates for Tim McGraw.

Last week, the group upped the ante a little more, taking top billing on a pair of sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Playing in the band’s hometown was part of the attraction for Lady A, but it was also an attempt to test the water and see if the group could deliver a strong enough set to warrant a full headlining tour. The trio — Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — has gone from playing about 25 minutes per show on Kenny’s tour to doing a full hour opening for Tim.

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Lady Antebellum on the Orange Carpet at the 44th Annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 5, 2009. Photo © Sara de Boer / Retna Ltd.

This was quite a week for Lady Antebellum’s recent monster hit “Need You Now.” The title was announced as a finalist for Single Record, Song and Video of the Year in the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, leading Lady A to the head of the pack with seven nominations total.

In addition, “Need You Now” has been tabbed for the next edition of a major pop CD series. It’s being included among 21 songs on Now That’s What I Call Music! 33, which comes out March 23.

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"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.

Even for jaded music media types who get to see and hear artists all the time, Lady Antebellum’s performance at Wednesday’s No. 1 party was special. Joined by songwriter Josh Kear, the trio sang “Need You Now” at Cabana in Nashville backed only by Dave Haywood’s acoustic guitar, and by the time the harmonies peaked in the second chorus, the rendition created a little tingle in the gut.

Lady A likewise gave an acoustic performance last August, and that too generated some very strong emotions that were hard to hold back. It’s a genuine sign of an act that’s making an impact, though the numbers in this case don’t hurt, either.

Not only did “Need You Now” hit the No. 1 position on the national country charts, it stayed there a whopping five weeks. And even though Capitol Records hasn’t picked up a phone once to ask a pop radio station to play the song, more than 50 are now doing so, label chief Mike Dungan said. “Need You Now” entered the Top 30 on the USA Today Mediabase Adult Contemporary chart this week. it’s sold more than 1.4 million copies via download.

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"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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