Cmt Award Nominations Are Out!

Vote 4 CMT Awards

Video of the Year

Video: "American Ride"
Artist: Toby Keith

Video: "Cowboy Casanova"
Artist: Carrie Underwood

Video: "Need You Now"
Artist: Lady Antebellum

Video: "Out Last Night"
Artist: Kenny Chesney

Video: "'Til Summer Comes Around"
Artist: Keith Urban

Video: "Toes"
Artist: Zac Brown Band

Video: "The Truth"
Artist: Jason Aldean

Video: "Welcome to the Future"
Artist: Brad Paisley

Video: "White Liar"
Artist: Miranda Lambert

Video: "You Belong With Me"
Artist: Taylor Swift


Male Video of the Year

Video: "Alright"
Artist: Darius Rucker

Video: "American Ride"
Artist: Toby Keith

Video: "Out Last Night"
Artist: Kenny Chesney

Video: "People Are Crazy"
Artist: Billy Currington

Video: "Southern Voice"
Artist: Tim McGraw

Video: "'Til Summer Comes Around"
Artist: Keith Urban

Video: "The Truth"
Artist: Jason Aldean

Video: "Welcome to the Future"
Artist: Brad Paisley


Female Video of the Year

Video: "Consider Me Gone"
Artist: Reba McEntire

Video: "Cowboy Casanova"
Artist: Carrie Underwood

Video: "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You"
Artist: Kellie Pickler

Video: "Giddy On Up"
Artist: Laura Bell Bundy

Video: "I Just Call You Mine"
Artist: Martina McBride

Video: "Solitary Thinkin'"
Artist: Lee Ann Womack

Video: "White Liar"
Artist: Miranda Lambert

Video: "You Belong With Me"
Artist: Taylor Swift


Group Video of the Year

Video: "American Honey"
Artist: Lady Antebellum

Video: "Here Comes Goodbye"
Artist: Rascal Flatts

Video: "Highway 20 Ride"
Artist: Zac Brown Band

Video: "How Far Do You Wanna Go?"
Artist: Gloriana

Video: "Need You Now"
Artist: Lady Antebellum

Video: "Rockin' the Beer Gut"
Artist: Trailer Choir

Video: "Summer Nights"
Artist: Rascal Flatts

Video: "Toes"
Artist: Zac Brown Band


Duo Video of the Year

Video: "Address in the Stars"
Artist: Caitlin & Will

Video: "Fight Like a Girl"
Artist: Bomshel

Video: "Indian Summer"
Artist: Brooks & Dunn

Video: "Keep On Lovin' You"
Artist: Steel Magnolia

Video: "Keep You"
Artist: Sugarland

Video: "My Maria (Invitation Only)"
Artist: Brooks & Dunn

Video: "Nightswimming/Joey"
Artist: Sugarland

Video: "Play the Song"
Artist: Joey & Rory


CMT Performance of the Year

Video: "Consider Me Gone (Invitation Only)"
Artist: Reba McEntire

Video: "Heaven (from CMT Crossroads)"
Artist: Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams

Video: "Lookin' for a Good Time (from the 2009 CMT Music Awards)"
Artist: Lady Antebellum

Video: "Love Shack (from the 2009 CMT Music Awards)"
Artist: Sugarland and The B-52s

Video: "Sideways (from the 2009 CMT Music Awards)"
Artist: Dierks Bentley

Video: "Southern Voice (from Invitation Only)"
Artist: Tim McGraw

Video: "Temporary Home (from Invitation Only)"
Artist: Carrie Underwood

Video: "Then (from the 2009 CMT Music Awards)"
Artist: Brad Paisley

Full List

If you are in town for the CMA Festival you might want to attend the awards;

CMT wants you to be part of the action at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. Make plans to be in Nashville on June 9. Tickets go on sale Saturday (April 10), but look for a special pre-sale offer on Wednesday (April 7). The party can't start without the biggest country music fans.

Underwood and Lambert Want Female Collaborations

Carrie Wants More Female Projects

Back in February, Carrie appeared at the annual Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. Her record label puts together an incredible show for radio programmers, and Carrie did a couple of very special duets. The first was with Miranda Lambert on the classic Creedance Clearwater Revival song “Traveling Band.” Carrie says the song was Miranda’s idea. “I asked to sing with her, and texted her about it, but didn’t know what to sing. So she says, ‘I like old rock,’ and we went back and forth on a song until I said, ‘What about CCR?’ She goes, ‘I love them.’ And she suggested Traveling Band because her band knew it, so we did it. But we never rehearsed it. That was the first time we sang it. That was a lot of fun. I think that’s going to be the first of more. I also told my record label that we need to do some side project with all the women. Write our own stuff, see what we can do.”

Both Carrie and Miranda have openly expressed on multiple occasion their interest in touring/working together. Carrie has stated that she would love to do an all female tour that would have to include Lambert and Kelly Pickler. I wonder who else would join? All the country gals are blonde so maybe it could be called Country's Blonde Ambition Tour!

Here's Miranda and Carrie rocking out;

Country's Top 5 Biggest Happenings Of The Decade: #3 Taylor Swift

Teen Phenom Taylor Swift
Shortly after a new young blonde erupted into the Country Music world (she's to come later) there was a flood of you and what seemed to be blonde new female artist. Only one came close to matching that first one's success. She has done it in very different ways though.

Swift had PR people but she what seemed to be the most successful PR work on her own, through means that no other artist had done before.....digital, specifically MySpace. She blogged daily, chatted with fans, put up videos of her daily life, and shared all her thoughts. This proved to be the back bone to her rise. Swift has surpassed the 200 million mark for music streams on MySpace. She is currently ranked in the Top 10 for the most MySpace visits for all genres of music, and is MySpace's current top-ranking Country artist.

When Swift was fifteen, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on a development deal. Swift then performed at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, catching the attention of Scott Borchetta who signed her to his newly-formed record label, Big Machine Records. She also became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house at 14.

Taylor Swift originally released her self-titled debut album in late 2005 to deaf ears. After almost a year, and the success of another young female that opened the doors for Swift (and the other new females), and her label sent her album out to the shelves again, to a very weak start, but there was a start. Her debut album was later released on October 24, 2006. Swift wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 and sold 39,000 copies during its first week.[29] It later peaked at number one at Billboard Top Country Albums and number five on the Billboard 200. It also spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Top Country Albums charts and remained at the top for 24 out of 91 weeks. The only other country artists this decade to achieve the #1 sales position for 20 weeks or more are The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood. As of November 2008, Taylor Swift has sold over three million copies and 7.5 million single downloads.

Swift's latest studio album, Fearless, was released in the United States on November 11, 2008. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Its sales of 592,304 were the highest debut of any country artist in 2008. This is also the largest opening U.S. sales week in 2008 by a female artist in all genres of music, and the fourth biggest overall. She was the first artist in the history of Nielsen SoundScan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200.

In January 2009, Swift announced her first headlining tour. Swift is taking her North American Fearless Tour 2009 to 52 cities in 38 states and provinces in the US and Canada over the span of 6 months. Opening acts include Kellie Pickler and Gloriana, a new group in country music. The tour features a theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements designed by Swift; Swift plays guitar as well as piano. Multiple costume changes and a fairy-tale castle are some of the elements of the three-act show. The tour has also been extended.

Swift has expanded her skills to acting, appearing on C.S.I. and SNL, also will appear in the upcoming movie Valentine's Day. She also added some major awards to her cabinet this year. Most notably the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award, she broke Kenny Chesney's three year winning streak, and which made her the youngest artist to win. She also broke Carrie Underwood's three year winning streak taking home the Female Vocalist of the Year award. This brought a roar across the Internet, as Swift is known for her weak vocals, so it seemed she didn't meet the criteria but still got the award.

Taylor Swift has become a major crossover act now, never admitting that her songs have been remixed to fit the Pop genre when they clearly have. Some say she is no longer country or is riding the country train in case the Pop world doesn't continue it's support, which ever it is and whatever she is doing right now it is working, as Billboard named her the 2009 Artist of the Year.

Swift's song are still geared to young high school girls, and that is where the majority of her fan base lye's. Seeing how Fearlees is coming to the end of its lifespan, we will have to see if her turning 20 will have any affect on her writing skills, and bring out some more mature material to reach out to a wider range of listeners. Or she could stick to the same format as her first two albums, and hope for the best. Regardless right now she is riding a very high wave.

Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift Extend Tours!

Brad Paisley reigning CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year has announced the continuation of his highly successful American Saturday Night tour into 2010. Special guests for the 19 added dates will be Miranda Lambert and Justin Moore.

You don't want to miss this one, I saw him in July and it was an amazing show. Check out a show near you;

January 7 San Antonio, TX
January 8 Oklahoma City, OK
January 9 Wichita, KS
January 14 Sioux City, IA
January 15 Des Moines, IA
January 16 St. Paul, MN
January 21 Lexington, KY
January 22 Columbus, OH
January 23 Grand Rapids, MI
February 4 Tupelo, MS
February 5 Birmingham, AL
February 6 Biloxi, MS
February 18 Los Angeles, CA
February 19 Fresno, CA
February 20 Las Vegas, NV
February 21 Reno, NV
March 4 Greenville,
March 5 Knoxville, TN
March 6 Charleston, SC


Taylor Swift is extending her Fearless tour with 37 new concert dates through June 2010, she announced Thursday (Oct. 8). Kellie Pickler and Gloriana will continue touring with her as well. Tickets will go on sale later this month with prices starting at $25. She starts with five shows in Australia.

"I'm so excited to take the Fearless tour back out on the road again in 2010," Swift says. "This year's tour has been so much fun and even more unforgettable than I ever imagined. The fans have been so amazing, and I'm thrilled to play in new cities and see even more of my fans on the 2010 Fearless tour."

Check and see if there is a show near you;

March 4: Tampa, Fla.
March 5: Orlando, Fla.
March 7: Sunrise, Fla.
March 10: Austin, Texas
March 11: Dallas
March 12: Corpus Christi, Texas
March 18-19: Philadelphia
March 20: Charlottesville, Va.
March 26-27: Detroit
March 28: Cincinnati
March 31: Oklahoma City
April 1: Wichita, Kan.
April 2: Kansas City, Mo.
April 6-7: Denver
April 10: Fresno, Calif.
April 11: San Jose, Calif.
April 15-16: Los Angeles
April 29: Lexington, Ky.
April 30: Columbia, S.C.
May 1: Raleigh, N.C.
May 6: Des Moines, Iowa
May 7: St. Paul, Minn.
May 8: Moline, Ill.
May 12-13: Newark, N.J.
May 14-15: Uniondale, N.Y.
May 20: Ottawa
May 21-22: Toronto
May 25-26: Houston
June 2: Washington, D.C.

What's Happening In Country

Well Brooks & Dunn are going out with a bang. Their new album "#1's...And Then Some" debuted at #1, the album sold just over 55,000 copies its first week out according to Nielsen SoundScan. This is a good start to their year long departure set to start in 2010 with The Last Rodeo tour.

Jason Aldean's single "Big Green Tractor" spends a rare fourth week atop the country charts. Kudos to him.

New videos to watch, Kellie Pickler's emotional "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You?" It has Pickler showing off her sexy curves in a variety of steamy settings. Pickler told CMT Radio Live, “The first time I heard the song, I thought it would be cool to shoot this video on a beach or just some sort of exotic location.”, Pickler told CMT Radio Live, the video was shot in the Dominican Republic. This video is very rmeniscent of Shania Twain, the outfits, location and the sensual acting (but Shania is believable). It doesn't seem as though Pickler is connecting with what she is singing as much as she's connecting with her body language! Check it out...



There are some definite Country Chart Climbers this week, the biggest being Carrie Underwood's new single "Cowboy Casanova". In just two and a half weeks it has skyrocketing right over all other new singles in the past month and landed itself at #12 today, up from #24 a week ago, we got a hot one here. Then there is Taylor Swift with "Fifteen" which jumped 10 spots to #17 after almost five weeks. Last major jump was from Lady Antebellum wiht "Need You Now" which is up 9 spots to #16 in just four weeks on the charts.