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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Reba McEntire photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

Reba McEntire debuted her new single, “When Love Gets A Hold of You,” on the Academy of Country Music Awards last week. The song is all about a person who realizes they have fallen in love and the crazy things love can do to you. According to Reba, love makes level-headed people lose their minds.

“When love gets a hold of you, you really have no control. You go stupid,” Reba said. “I mean, it’s like an out-of-body experience. ‘What? I did that? Are you kidding me?’ Yeah, it just takes over. You’re giddy. You just go stupid. That’s the best way I know how to describe it.” Continue Reading

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Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

Yesterday, Reba McEntire celebrated her 60th hit single, “Turn On The Radio.” She’s been topping the charts since 1982′s “Can’t Even Get The Blues.” Pretty impressive!

Reba feted the accomplishment at her offices, Starstruck Entertainment.

“It’s just so much fun to perform,” Reba told Nashville’s NewsChannel5.com, “and when that note hits, and that drum, that thing at the beginning, I mean the audience is on their feet going whoa-up with me and it’s just too much fun.” 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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Reba McEntire photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

It’s hard not to think about the Energizer® bunny when you think about Reba McEntire.  She just keeps going, and going and going.  Only it appears as if Reba is gaining more passion and energy with time.  Reba’s 34th album, All The Women I Am, hits stores today and features 10 brand new tracks including the hit lead single “Turn On The Radio.”  This song recently went Top 10 on the charts marking the 59th time in her career she’s entered that territory, and continues her reign as the female artist with the most Top 10s in the 67-year history of the Billboard Country Songs Chart.

Who better to give you a guided tour through her new album than Reba herself.  Kick back and watch the video clip below as Reba shares stories behind all the songs featured on The Women I Am.  After you watch the clip,  click on each of the tracks and, as Reba shares in her liner notes with the CD, “let your mind paint the video for each of the songs you’re fixing to hear.  Some sad, some happy and some that’ll make you go ‘hmmmmm’.” Continue Reading

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Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

Reba McEntire is making an impact in all sorts of locations these days, and she’ll join Nan Kelley this weekend to co-host the latest edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

Fans who bought tickets to last Tuesday’s We’re All For The Hall concert in Nashville got a chance to see Reba honored by Martina McBride, who did a version of one of Reba’s biggest hits, “Is There Life Out There,” with Vince Gill and Keith Urban on guitar and backing vocals.

But that’s hardly the only place you can find the iconic redhead. She was a surprise guest on Brooks & Dunn’s very last concert in September, and she’s been tapped to host a Grammy Salute to Loretta Lynn in Nashville on Oct. 12. Reba is an appropriate host for that event, since she’s singing “If You’re Not Gone Too Long” on the album Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn, set for release Nov. 9. That same day, Reba’s own album, All The Women I Am, will also hit the streets. It includes her current hit, “Turn On The Radio,” the No. 10 video on this week’s Top 20.

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Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

It was a good 30 years ago that Reba McEntire picked up her first Top 10 hit, “(You Lift Me) Up To Heaven.” Since that time, she’s watched scores of country stars come and go, but kept her own spot among the elite performers in the genre.

At the time she had that first hit, the biggest star in country music was Kenny Rogers, and even now, Reba remembers how much the Gambler was driven to stay at the top.

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Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

With fall looming, country stars are lining up with dates for new albums and with some brand new singles.

Among the acts with new songs in release are Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney and Sugarland, each of whom put out a new single in the last three weeks. Reba’s “Turn On The Radio” comes from an album due in November — her first with in-demand producer Dann Huff, known for his work with Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts. Kenny’s new song, “The Boys Of Fall,” embraces high-school football, and it landed in country’s Top 15 in just its second week on the charts. And Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue” was written with two other people, including a member of the rock band Better Than Ezra.

Here’s what they’re saying about their new music:

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