BMI Icon Billy Sherrill and Taylor Swift with her awards for BMI Songwriter of the Year and Co Writer of BMI Song of the Year and BMI President Del Bryant at the 58th Annual BMI Country Music Awards at BMI on November 9, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI)

Through songs such as “Mine,” “White Horse” and “Fifteen,” Taylor Swift has shown a real appreciation for great drama and complex character development.

This week, she’s experienced drama firsthand. On Tuesday, she won BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year award, becoming the youngest person ever to claim it. And she and co-writer Liz Rose shared Country Song of the Year for “You Belong With Me,” recognized as the most-played country title over a full year, according to the performing rights organization.

Just a day earlier, Taylor sang at a funeral for a friend.

“It’s been a really emotional week,” she told the crowd. “He was 21, and I used to play my songs for him first. So I would like to thank Jeff Lang.”

Taylor’s top honors capped a star-studded night at the BMI offices on Nashville’s Music Row, where the parking lot is rather amazingly converted into a ballroom each year to honor the agency’s top writers in the genre. It was possible to reach the ballroom by sharing an elevator with both Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban (we know this from firsthand experience). And the room was filled with familiar faces: Jason Aldean, Kristian Bush, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Uncle Kracker, the Zac Brown Band, Rodney Atkins and Clay Walker, just for starters. Click HERE to see photos from the night!

Awards were handed out to a ream of songwriters and music publishers to honor significant airplay for such titles as “Cowboy Casanova,” “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” “Big Green Tractor,” “American Ride,” “One In Every Crowd” and “White Liar.”

Taylor’s drama was not the only emotional moment during the proceedings. Just six months removed from his entry in the Country Music Hall of Fame, songwriter and producer Billy Sherrill was honored as a BMI Icon, putting him in a class with Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, James Brown, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

Billy authored a ton of hits during his career, including David Houston’s “Almost Persuaded,” Joe Stampley’s “Soul Song,” Keith Whitley’s “Ten Feet Away” and Johnny Paycheck’s “Friend, Lover, Wife.” Billy’s eyes grew moist as four vocal icons delivered new versions of some of his biggest songwriting titles: Ronnie Dunn sang the Charlie Rich million-seller “The Most Beautiful Girl,” Martina McBride covered the Tammy Wynette classic “‘Til I Can Make It On My Own,” George Strait delivered “My Elusive Dreams” and Faith Hill closed the tribute with Tammy’s signature “Stand By Your Man.”

“This has overwhelmed me,” Billy said in a short acceptance speech.

Nashville does it for the cameras Wednesday night. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will host the 44th annual Country Music Association Awards on ABC. Check out our by-the-minute coverage of the awards show HERE, including the stars on the carpet, the show, the winners, backstage interviews and more!

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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.”

“Since I can remember,” Taylor said, “my favorite thing in the whole world was a good story, going back to when my mom and dad would read me stories when I was little and then discovering poetry in English class. And then I discovered this town called Nashville, where they tell the coolest stories and in my opinion, they tell them in the most magical ways.”

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so generous with me,” she continued. “Whether it was telling fairytales or sad stories or stories that were just about my life and what I was going through, you’ve been wonderful to me, and I’m havin’ a blast telling stories.”

Chris deflected attention during his acceptance speech to Tom Douglas. In addition to writing “The House That Built Me,” Tom also penned Lady Antebellum’s “I Run To You” and Tim McGraw’s “Southern Voice,” giving him a trio of high-impact No. 1 singles.

“I feel like Tom Douglas should demand a recount!” Chris said.

Tom had already claimed his honor for “The House That Built Me.” His acceptance speech found him contemplating one of songwriters’ biggest foes: over-used language.

“You see people at awards shows and you often think, ‘Gosh, how cliché,’ ‘cause everybody kind of says the same thing,” he acknowledged. “But I think the reason why it sounds cliché is because you feel so small at a moment like this and you realize how many people have invested into your life to make a moment like this possible.”

The 11 “Songs I Wish I’d Written” include:
• “Need You Now” (Lady Antebellum), Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott, Josh Kear, songwriters
• “Use Somebody” (Kings Of Leon), Nathan Followill, Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill
• “A Little More Country Than That” (Easton Corbin), Don Poythress, Rory Lee Feek, Wynn Varble
• “Big Green Tractor” (Jason Aldean), David Lee Murphy, Jim Collins
• “I Run To You” (Lady Antebellum), Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott, Tom Douglas
• “Red Light” (David Nail), Dennis Matkosky, Jonathan Singleton, Melissa Peirce
• “Southern Voice” (Tim McGraw), Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas
• “The Climb” (Miley Cyrus), Jessi Alexander, Jon Mabe
• “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert), Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin
• “White Liar” (Miranda Lambert), Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby
• “You Belong With Me” (Taylor Swift), Taylor Swift, Liz Rose

Which songs do you wish YOU had written? Leave us a comment below!

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Shopkeeper Management.

“The truth,” Miranda Lambert sang in “White Liar,” “comes out a little at a time.”

For the first time in history, the Country Music Association rolled out its nominations in a two-day process, and when it was all said and done, the truth is that Miranda had set a new all-time mark. She joined Dierks Bentley to read the finalists in the last five categories Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and discovered she’d amassed nine nominations in all — more than any other female in history.

“I never would have even thought I was eligible for nine categories,” she told “GMA” host Robin Roberts. “So it’s unbelievable.”

Having picked up five nominations on day one, Miranda’s second-day haul put her in the running for Entertainer, Female Vocalist and Album of the Year, the latter category recognizing her CD Revolution. She also scored a nomination with Dierks and Jamey Johnson for “Bad Angel,” a track from Dierks’ Up On The Ridge.

The only artist ever to receive more nominations in one year is Alan Jackson, who was on the ballot 10 times in 2002, a year in which he picked up multiple nods for two particular singles: “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” and “Drive (For Daddy Gene).” With “White Liar” and “The House At Built Me” each appearing among the finalists for Single, Song and Music Video of the Year, Miranda’s list of nominations was quite similar to Alan’s ‘02 collection. One difference that kept her from 10: She did not write “The House That Built Me,” so she’s not eligible for Song of the Year.

Click here for the complete list of the 2010 CMA Awards Nominees »

Not that Miranda’s complaining. She collected two trophies this year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and she got engaged to Blake Shelton in May. Thus 2010 has already been a winner for her.

“I’m gonna start puttin’ 10 on everything,” she said. “It’s my lucky number, I guess.”

Several other acts ended the two-day nominations roll-out with good numbers. Lady Antebellum scored five nods, the Zac Brown Band and Blake finished with four. Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins and Dierks each came away with three. Dierks’ trio of nominations all came on the second day: Musical Event, for “Bad Angel”; Male Vocalist; and Album of the Year, for Up On The Ridge.

“I think it speaks a lot of the CMA,” Dierks said of the album nod. The project folds in several genres that don’t typically appear on mainstream country radio, including bluegrass and Americana. That the industry supported that kind of project, he said, “means a lot to me.”

Brad and double-nominee Carrie Underwood will co-host the 44th annual CMA Awards Nov. 10 on ABC.

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville. Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

In a day of firsts, the Country Music Association began a two-day unveiling of the nominations for its 44th annual awards Tuesday, leaving Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band in an unprecedented overnight drama as they wait to see if they can maintain the lead positions in the list of finalists.

Miranda’s “The House That Built Me” and “White Liar” each ended up as finalists in both Single and Music Video of the Year, accounting for four of her five first-day nominations. Additionally, both titles are up for Song of the Year, though Miranda received only one nomination in that category; she was a co-writer on “White Liar” but did not compose “The House That Built Me,” which brought Song of the Year nods to songwriters Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin.

Lady A rode “Need You Now” to four nominations, and Zac Brown Band came through with three as Chris Young, Steel Magnolia and Justin Moore read the entries in seven of the CMA’s 12 categories at the Ryman Auditorium. It marked the first time in history that that historic venue has hosted a CMA nominee ceremony, appropriate since it was the venue when the awards were televised for the first time in 1968.

By turning the nominations announcement into a two-day event, the CMA increases the number of stories that media are likely to devote to the process, stretching public attention to the awards over a longer period of time. Finalists were acknowledged Tuesday for New Artist, Single, Song, Music Video, Vocal Duo, Vocal Group and Musician of the Year.

Still to come during Wednesday’s ABC telecast of “Good Morning America” are the nominees for the five remaining categories: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Vocal Event and Album of the Year. Miranda and Dierks Bentley are set to read the results in those fields from New York at 8:30 a.m. ET.

“It’s a huge honor to have your peers in the music industry [recognize you] — it makes you feel like you’re gaining some ground,” said Meghan Linsey of Steel Magnolia, which swiped a nod for Vocal Duo. “We’ve been workin’ really hard the last year and been out on tour and haven’t really had a chance to look up and see what’s goin’ on. So to have a nomination, I think it’s always nice to be noticed by your peers.”

Chris Young was certainly noticed by fellow nominee-reader Justin Moore, who complimented Chris for his “stunning” silver jacket. After Chris picked up a New Artist nomination, Justin was the first to give the selection a thumbs-up.

“This guy’s an incredible singer,” Justin said, “but he’s even a better person.”

Chris quickly reached in his pocket and handed Justin a little cash for the positive p.r.

“I think I gave him 40 bucks and a receipt,” Chris said later. “I love that guy, and it was so cool to have him be so cool with what he said about me. Just an amazing guy, an amazing singer, and we’ve known each other entirely too long at this point, so we always goof off with each other every time we see each other.”

Justin did, by the way, give Chris the $40 back later.

Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins and Easton Corbin were all double nominees. Blake and Trace earned Single and Music Video recognition for “Hillbilly Bone.” They’re likely to pick up a third nomination apiece on Wednesday, since “Bone” is a probable finalist for Vocal Event.

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will host the 44th annual CMA Awards on ABC Nov. 10 from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Click here for the list (thus far) of the 2010 CMA Awards Nominees.

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Nan Kelley, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill at the Nashville Rising Flood Benefit. Photo by Jenny Dew, GAC staff.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill assembled an impressive array of stars for this week’s Nashville Rising flood-relief concert, and a bunch of them join host Nan Kelley on this week’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

Jason Aldean, Julie Roberts, Luke Bryan and LeAnn Rimes all found their way onto the stage at Music City’s Bridgestone Arena as Nashville’s music community gathered together to assist the town as it recovers from a devastating flood the first weekend in May. Altogether, organizers expect the show will generate $2 million to $3 million total to aid a bevy of rejuvenation efforts.

Tim closed the show with “Live Like You Were Dying,” and Faith added “Piece Of My Heart.” Among the other highlights were LeAnn’s version of “Swingin’,” Jason’s “Big Green Tractor,” Miranda Lambert’s “White Liar,” Carrie Underwood’s “How Great Thou Art” and Trace Adkins’ surprise appearance to perform “Hillbilly Bone” with Blake Shelton.

Top 20 Country Countdown counts down the week’s top country videos from No. 20 to No. 1 as voted by viewers on each week on GACTV.com. A new countdown premieres every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on GAC and airs again Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET; Sundays at 1 p.m. ET; and Mondays at 10 a.m. ET. Viewers can vote for their favorite videos, as well as purchase Top 20 artists’ albums and ringtones at GACTV.com.

THIS WEEK’S CHART:

1. Carrie Underwood “Undo It”
2. Miranda Lambert “The House That Built Me”
3. Kellie Pickler “Makin’ Me Fall In Love Again”
4. Clay Walker “She Won’t Be Lonely Long”
5. Little Big Town “Little White Church”
6. Reba McEntire “I Keep On Lovin’ You”
7. Emily West “Blue Sky”
8. Carrie Underwood “Temporary Home”
9. Luke Bryan “Rain Is A Good Thing”
10. Danny Gokey “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me”
11. Laura Bell Bundy “Giddy On Up”
12. Lady Antebellum “American Honey”
13. Jerrod Niemann “Lover, Lover”
14. Tim McGraw “Still”
15. Martina McBride “Wrong Baby Wrong”
16. Jaron And The Long Road To Love “Pray For You”
17. Jewel “Satisfied”
18. Kenny Chesney with Brooks & Dunn “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone”
19. Brad Paisley “Water”
20. Jake Owen “Tell Me”

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Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton at the Fremont Street Experience during ACM Week in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

It’s barely been a week since Miranda Lambert received a ring — and a wedding proposal — from longtime boyfriend Blake Shelton.

Since they began dating in 2005, she’s fielded frequent questions from the media about when they might tie the knot, which only put more focus on the possibility. But while she hoped internally that it would happen, she gave Blake the space to pop the question when he was ready. He asked her May 9 in the woods near her home in Tishomingo, Okla., and she didn’t see the proposal coming.

“I was very surprised — very surprised,” she says. “You know, bein’ a girl, you’re always like, ‘When are we gonna get married? When are we gonna get married? When am I gonna get a ring? I don’t care if we get married…just give me the ring,’ you know? And I was shocked. I just — I didn’t know when or where or how, and I’m glad, ’cause I love surprises. Usually I can figure those things out, but I had no clue.”

The best part of it all, as far as Miranda’s concerned: The ring is from Blake.

“I know he’s the one, without a shadow of a doubt,” she says. “And so does my mom, and she’s always like, ‘I’ll know if it’s the one.’ My parents love him, and family is a huge thing to me. So if our families didn’t get along, it would be tragic. But our families get along great, and I love his parents, and so it’s perfect. It’s literally the fairytale that every girl dreams of. And you know, I think I’ve earned it!”

One thing their wedding guests won’t need to buy Blake and Miranda are his-and-her trophies. They each won at least one during the Academy of Country Music Awards in April. Blake and Trace Adkins shared the Vocal Event of the Year honor for “Hillbilly Bone.” Miranda collected three different awards: Top Female Vocalist; Album of the Year, for Revolution; and Video of the Year, for “White Liar.”

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Lady Antebellum pictured at the 45th Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Resort in Las Vegas, NV on April 18, 2010. © RD/ Erik Kabik/ Retna Digital

If anyone had doubts about Lady Antebellum’s rise to prominence, the band likely erased them Sunday night when it won five trophies in three different categories during the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards telecast at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood collectively ended Rascal Flatts’ seven-year run as Top Vocal Group. They also shared Song of the Year for “Need You Now” with fellow composer Josh Kear, becoming the first band ever to win that honor and win an additional trophy by penning its own song. “Need You Now” also got them victories as artist and producer for Single Record of the Year.

“We’re havin’ a blast tonight,” Charles said during Lady A’s final trip to the podium. “We love you! We will never forget this night!”

Miranda Lambert likewise won in three different categories, taking Top Female Vocalist and earning Album of the Year for Revolution. Additionally, “White Liar” netted the Music Video of the Year award, presented off-camera on Saturday. In the process, Miranda became the first woman ever to win Album twice as a solo artist.

“This music is what I do,” she said. “It’s the only thing I live for. Thanks for lovin’ it.”

Carrie Underwood delivered two acceptance speeches, too, during Sunday’s show. She repeated as Entertainer of the Year, and she also picked up a Triple Crown trophy, issued by the ACM to acts that win the Entertainer award plus the Top Vocalist and Top New Vocalist honors during their careers.

Brooks & Dunn, prepared to hit the road next weekend at the start of its final concert tour, reclaimed the Top Vocal Duo award from Sugarland, winning the trophy for the 16th time in their career. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn sang “My Maria,” a three-time ACM nominee in 1997, after fans voted online for their ACM awards swan song.

“We’re gonna be out there all this year sayin’ thank you, and we hope you’ll come party with us ‘cause you have given us the dream that every country music singer and musician dreams of,” Kix told fans. “Thank you so, so very much. This has just been a wonderful, amazing, incredible-dream experience.”

Not that Kix and Ronnie are completely done with the ACM. They’ll stick around Las Vegas to tape a CBS special, “ACM Presents Brooks & Dunn: The Last Rodeo,” Monday night with appearances by Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire, who hosted Sunday’s show for the 12th time in her career.

More than 20 acts performed during the awards, including Blake Shelton, Gloriana, Joey+Rory, New Artist of the Year winner Luke Bryan, Toby Keith, Laura Bell Bundy and Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty, who teamed on a show-opening version of CCR’s “Travelin’ Band” with Miranda, Carrie, Charlie Daniels and Brad Paisley.

With Lady A halting Rascal Flatts’ winning streak, Brad now owns the longest-running string of victories in any category, having taken the Top Male award four straight years. He arguably had the most interesting live effect of the night, falling backward into a hot tub as he ended his performance of “Water.” And he had one of the evening’s best quips, telling presenter Matthew McConaughey that his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, sends her regards.

“She loved — loved — playing your wife in We Are Marshall,” Brad told the actor. “But she says I’m a better kisser. They didn’t have any kissing scenes in the movie, so I don’t know how she knows that.”

Visit GACTV.com’s ACM awards section for a complete list of winners.

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Miranda Lambert rehearses on Friday, April 16, 2010 for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

Miranda Lambert‘s entertaining clip for her feisty song, “White Liar” won the ACM award for Video of the Year last night in an off-camera country  radio event, reports The Tennessean.

The paper says Miranda thought she was there to take photos with the broadcasters — and then found out she was being honored.

“It was a total surprise,” she said. “I really wasn’t sure what I was coming to do. I was afraid I was going to have to talk in public. I can sing in public, but I can’t talk in public. Then they presented me with the award. I was looking at the names in the category, and it was really anybody’s game. That’s why they call it the top five.”

Miranda told The Tennessean she “had a blast” making the video because she was surrounded by her band, crew and good friends. But it was Jamey Johnson, who played the preacher in the video, who made things more interesting by bringing a special ingredient to the set.

“Jamey came and brought moonshine,” she said.

Watch the video here:

Miranda tells the paper she’s both nervous and thankful for tonight’s ACM Awards. “Really everybody who has ever been anybody in country music is right there,” she said. “I’m playing in front of my heroes. And I feel so blessed to be here with so many nominations. I can feel things changing. We’ve been working really hard for a really long time and it’s been a gradual build. But, I can finally feel it picking up.”

Last night was likely a very celebratory evening for Miranda and her boyfriend, Blake Shelton. Blake also won an ACM trophy last night – his first ever — for Vocal Event of the Year, for his duet with buddy Trace Adkins. You can see Miranda, Blake and Trace tonight on the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which airs on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern. But if you come back to GACTV.com at 5:30 p.m. Eastern today, you may just catch a glimpse of them walking down the ACM Orange Carpet. We’ll have a  LIVE stream of all the stars dressed in their Sunday best!

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Reba McEntire hosts the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday, and many of the genre’s biggest stars — including Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney — are already getting prepped for a bevy of performances and trophy presentations in Las Vegas.

The West Coast-based ACMs are a friendly rival of the Nashville-based Country Music Association awards, but the two are often confused by fans (and by some journalists outside of Nashville) because their acronyms — ACM and CMA — are so similar. The ACM has taken some steps to differentiate itself, and one of the biggest is allowing fans to vote for a few of the trophies. The Top New Artist and Entertainer of the Year have a fan-voted component, in effect creating a competition among some fan groups to have their favorite stars recognized.

“Doing things differently is good, making these shows different,” says Brad Paisley, who refused to campaign for the Entertainer trophy. “They can’t just be two different versions of the same exact thing. [The ACMs] need to be unique and they’re certainly getting there in the unique sense.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the excitement the awards generate among the artists who are finalists.

“It’s just going to be really amazing if we’re able to get up on the stage and win one,” Cheyenne Kimball, a member of the New Artist nominee Gloriana, told the Associated Press. “We’re the babies. We’re very new, so I think it would be very special for us.”

“I started getting random text messages from people just saying congratulations,” David Nail says, recalling the moment when he discovered “Red Light” was an ACM finalist. “At that point, I was overcome with emotion and excitement, but still unaware of what exactly I had been nominated for and so, selfishly, when I found out that it was for Single of the Year, before I realized the other people in the category and the fact that I had no real chance of winning, I was simply glad that it was Single of the Year, so in case some miracle happened and we did win, I would get to go out on stage.”

Even Miranda, who pocketed Album of the Year in 2008 for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, was taken aback at some of her six nominations.

“Most shocking to me really was Song of the Year,” she says. “I didn’t think I had a Song of the Year, top song, ’cause I always think those are inspirational, and you know, have some [positive] message. And ‘White Liar’ was not the one I thought would be.”

Miranda believed “The House That Built Me” stood a better chance at being Song of the Year, but it wasn’t released as a single until 2010, so it wasn’t even eligible.

“I was just shocked and surprised and so honored to have six nominations,” she added. “I never would have thought that. I was just hopin’ for one.”

Even though it’s an awards show, the actual trophies are just part of the attraction. The performances carry a lot of weight within the industry, since they give artists a chance to showcase their songs and their talents for millions of people across the nation. Thus, when the opportunity to do the ACMs came up, Jack Ingram didn’t quibble about the fact that he was going to have to fly from New York on Saturday and shoehorn in a rehearsal with Dierks Bentley to coordinate their performance of “Barbie Doll” with the camera crew.

“It’s a big deal to me,” Jack admits. “It’s an especially big deal because I get to perform a song that I wrote over 10 years ago, and do it in front of 15 million people. Just another lesson to ‘keep on keeping on.’”

Jack has been making country albums for more than 15 years. At the other end of the spectrum, Laura Bell Bundy just released her very first CD, and she was lucky enough to land a spot on the show. It’s unusual for an artist who’s that new and doesn’t have a nomination to get a slot, and she doesn’t take it lightly.

“My main goal is to provide everyone watching with a performance that is entertaining and unpredictable,” she says. “You know, I’m not opposed to being shot out of a cannon!”

While the awards are intended as entertainment, producers look to provide some emotional moments, too. It’s why there’s often been a performance with a military component in the last decade. And it’s why Toby will be joined by sax player Dave Koz to play “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song).” It was written in honor of former NBA player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, who died last May. Fans will be able to download the performance, with the proceeds slated for a charity, Stand Up To Cancer.

“Wayman was an amazing guy,” Toby says. “In the song there’s a line that says ‘he showed us how to live and now he showed me how to die.’ Both of those were true. He didn’t frown on people for how they live, he led by example. He showed you how you’re supposed to live, and he died with so much dignity. I am happy to partner with ACM Lifting Lives and SU2C to donate proceeds of the performance downloads to support this important cause.”

The 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards airs at 8 p.m. ET on CBS — but the fun starts way before that! Visit GACTV.com on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern for our live coverage of the Orange Carpet, as hosts Suzanne Alexander and Nan Kelley talk to your favorite stars!

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

It’s rare when the taste of music critics lines up with what the general public likes, but in the case of Miranda Lambert, both factions seem to be in agreement.

Earlier this month, “White Liar” was named the Best Country Single of 2009 in the Nashville Scene Country Music Critics Poll. This week, the song went to No. 1 on the USA Today Mediabase country chart, indicating it’s the song heard most by country fans on the radio. Stations would not play it so heavily if it weren’t, in fact, one of the public’s favorite songs of the moment.

It’s the first chart-topping hit for Miranda, who sent out a photo over Twitter of her enjoying the moment with champagne and a cigar.

“Celebrating Number 1!,” she tweeted. “First class all the way!”

While it might be a mainstream success, the song actually owes its tone to a country subgenre.

“I was listenin’ to a lot of bluegrass at the time that I wrote ‘White Liar,’” Miranda says. “That kind of a vibe was kind of what I was into at the moment, and so ‘White Liar’ just sort of happened out of that.”

It’s not the only song working for Miranda at the moment. The previous single, “Dead Flowers,” is in the running for a Grammy award Sunday for Best Country Vocal by a Female. Her competition includes Martina McBride’s “I Just Call You Mine,” Taylor Swift’s “White Horse,” Carrie Underwood’s “Just A Dream” and Lee Ann Womack’s “Solitary Thinkin’.”

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