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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Aaron Tippin earned a PhD, Merle Haggard’s got the blues and Travis Tritt asks for mercy. When it comes to country music, the working man is one busy guy. But only a few artists can “bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan” in their videos. We worked overtime to come up with the top country music videos in which a star takes on the role of “Regular Joe.” In no particular order, here’s our Top 10 (plus a couple extras). If you don’t see your favorite on the list, let us know by leaving a comment below!

“Is There Life Out There” – Reba McEntire

It’s 1991, and Reba is working her way through school as a part-time waitress and full-time mother. You’d think with ‘90s megastar Huey Lewis as her husband, she could afford a little help. More a short film than a music video, her acting led to the starring role in an actual TV movie by the same title. According to Reba, the song has inspired many women through the years to go back to college.

“40-Hour Week” – Alabama

Randy Owen’s a welder, Jeff Cook’s a truck driver, Mark Herndon’s a coal miner and Teddy Gentry is the “one out in the warehouse bringing in the load.” Be sure to catch his wink. But there’s no doubt that the hardest workers in this video are the dancers. It’s like a “Fame” factory!

“All-American Girl” – Carrie Underwood

From flight attendant to painter, firefighter to welder, Carrie is a jack of all trades in this fun clip. The costume changes alone are a full-time job. Check out all of Carrie’s occupations HERE! Continue Reading

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Sugarland hit the scene with “Baby Girl” and have been making their own rules ever since.  Their shows are electric and their tunes have a way of getting stuck in your head … “whoa-oh, whoa-oh, stuck like glue…” Whether they bring you to your feet or your knees, Sugarland knows how to make fans feel something different.

Have you seen this dynamic duo live? If you haven’t, you don’t want to miss the premiere of Sugarland: The Incredible Machine TONIGHT – Monday, March 14 at 10/9c! Get your sneak peek HERE!

In this week’s GAC Trivia Time*, we thought we’d give you some fun facts about Jennifer Nettles & Kristian Bush:

Jul 26, 2002 – Singer-songwriter Kristian Bush asks his wife for one more year to pursue music as a career. Some 362 days later, his band Sugarland does a showcase that nets a recording deal, preventing him from settling for life as a website designer

Aug 8, 2002 – Sugarland makes its first public appearance onstage, singing the only four numbers that the band knows

Sep 16, 2003 – Sugarland signs a recording deal with Mercury Records

Nov 12, 2004 – Sugarland performs “Baby Girl” during its Grand Ole Opry debut Continue Reading

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Marco Club Connection, a Nashville-based country music dance venue marketing company, has released its seventh annual Top Ten list of the year’s most requested country dance club songs — Sugarland tops the list with the sticks-in-your-head tune, ”Stuck Like Glue.”

Each year in December, Club Connection surveys a panel of more than 240 club owners, DJs and dance instructors from across the country to compile its Top Ten rankings.

“As country music continues to incorporate more and more of a pop element, the dance clubs can be a very important tool in breaking an artist,” says Club Connection Venue Marketing Specialist Bobbe Morhiser. “Look no further than Laura Bell Bundy for proof of that. ‘Giddy On Up’ was huge in the dance clubs, and for a brand new artist to place in Club Connection’s top five at the end of the year is very impressive.”

The results of the 2010 Top Ten Country Dance Club Hits are: Continue Reading

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Sugarland performs “Stuck Like Glue” at “The 44th Annual CMA Awards,” live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Donn Jones / CMA.

The stereotypical images associated with country music include cowboy hats, rhinestones and steel guitars, and with that in mind, Sugarland’s appearance on last week’s Country Music Association Awards shook up the standards.

The duo’s “Stuck Like Glue” has a reggae-influenced bridge, and lead singer Jennifer Nettles took to the stage as a wind-up, music-box ballerina to perform it. The fact that the song and the album, The Incredible Machine, both went to No. 1 suggests that country fans are open to music that tests the outer limits of the genre. Which doesn’t surprise Jennifer in the least.

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Martina McBride at the press conference announcing her new record deal with Big Machine/Republic Nashville on Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. Photo courtesy of twitter.com/martinamcbride.

To affix an old Reba McEntire album title on Martina McBride’s career, Martina is… Starting Over.

The Kansas-born powerhouse took part in a press conference Monday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to announce she’s ended an 18-year relationship with historic RCA Records to sign with a label still in its infancy, Republic Nashville Records.

Sound crazy? Well, at a very surface level, maybe. But there’s a much bigger picture to the whole deal. In the process, she becomes the biggest drawing card on Republic, which means she’s sure to get the kind of intense marketing attention that every artist craves. And it puts her at the hottest company in Nashville: Republic is one of three labels of the Big Machine family, part of a playpen that also includes Reba, Rascal Flatts, Justin Moore and The Band Perry. Oh, and some youngster named Taylor Swift.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Sugarland is a one-name duo, and both members of the act are now known by one name to their fans, too.

If people talk about “Jennifer and Kristian,” it doesn’t take too long for country fans to figure out they’re referring to Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. And that’s pretty much just the way they want it.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

“Do it, do it, one time.”

Sugarland might sing that line in the current Top 5 hit “Stuck Like Glue,” but the “one time” reference is already out of date — if you want to interpret the “it” they’re singing about as debuting at No. 1 on the country albums charts.

The duo’s new release, The Incredible Machine, sold more than 202,000 copies last week following its Oct. 19 release, launching it to No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart as well as the all-genre Billboard 200. It’s actually the third time Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have had a No. 1 debut. They also turned that trick with Love On The Inside and last year’s concert album Live On The Inside.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Two artists who are putting country music to the test will show up on this weekend’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown. Sugarland and Gwyneth Paltrow are on deck to visit with host Nan Kelley.

Gwyneth is an actress, but she’s taking a shot at being a country singer through the Country Strong soundtrack. She sings several songs on the album, which accompanies a movie that has her portraying a vocalist, and she’ll even make her live performance debut as a country singer during the CMA awards Nov. 10.

While Gwyneth is kind of an outsider working her way into country, Sugarland is an inside artist that’s pushing out against the stylistic boundaries of country. The duo just released a new album, The Incredible Machine. The first single, “Stuck Like Glue,” has some reggae elements in it, and it’s been a bit controversial as a result. And that’s exactly what Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush had in mind when they recorded it.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

When Sugarland shrank from a trio to a duo a few years ago, it wasn’t long before fans began speculating that Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush were an item. Never mind that he’s happily married, the thinking went. Guys and girls can’t be friends without wanting to become more.

Fortunately, Sugarland weathered that period and the public perceptions have become much more realistic. The world seems able to understand that they really are friends and creative partners — almost, as Jennifer puts it, like a brother and sister.

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