Brad Paisley and Lee Ann Womack Lead Nominees With Six Nominations Each for 'The 39th Annual CMA Awards,' Country Music's Biggest Night

Brad Paisley and Lee Ann Womack Lead Nominees With Six Nominations Each for 'The 39th Annual CMA Awards,' Country Music's Biggest Night

Toby Keith and Keith Urban Receive Four Nominations; Newcomer Group Sugarland Scores Three Nominations

Brooks & Dunn Hosts 2005 CMA Awards From New York City's Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The final list of nominees for "The 39th Annual CMA Awards" is an across-the-board collection of hard-core traditionalists, Country Music hitmakers, mainstream innovators with a healthy dose of up-and-comers added to the mix.

"Country Music is thriving on the talent and creativity of an outstanding group of artists and they are well represented with our nominees," said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson. "These talented performers, musicians, songwriters and producers demonstrate the artistic depth and creativity driving the burgeoning growth of our format. It is an exciting time for Country Music and the 2005 CMA Awards will definitely reflect that in November."

"The 39th Annual CMA Awards" will be hosted for the second year by Arista Nashville super duo Brooks & Dunn and broadcast live from New York City's Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, Nov. 15 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the CBS Television Network.

For the first time in the history of the CMA Awards, the announcement of the final nominees was made in New York City, which is hosting the CMA Awards for the first time in 2005. CMA chose to move the Awards for this year from its traditional home in Nashville, Tenn., as a platform to reach a broader consumer base, placing Country Music in the heart of the media and marketing capital of the world.

"New York City has long established itself as the premiere destination for the biggest events in entertainment," Benson said. "With the city as the backdrop of this year's CMA Awards, we will add even more excitement, energy and glamour to what is already one of the most anticipated events of the year."

Announcing the finalists in the 12 Award categories were reigning Male Vocalist of the Year Keith Urban and three-time CMA Awards winner Lee Ann Womack. It was a good day for both of them.

Womack received six nominations for the 2005 CMA Awards including Female Vocalist of the Year (which she won in 2001); Album of the Year for her MCA Nashville release, There's More Where That Came From; Single and Music Video of the Year for "I May Hate Myself In The Morning;" and two nominations for Musical Event of the Year, one with George Strait for "Good News, Bad News," and one with Willie Nelson for "I'll Never Be Free." "I May Hate Myself In The Morning," was also nominated for Song of the Year, which goes to the songwriter Odie Blackmon. The last time a female received six nominations was Faith Hill in 2000.

Nelson is a proven winner with Womack. In 2002, they won Vocal Event (now Musical Event) of the Year with "Mendocino County Line." She claimed the Single of the Year trophy in 2000 with her smash "I Hope You Dance."

Womack tied for the most nominations with Brad Paisley. Paisley has won five CMA Awards since he received one of his first nominations in 2000 for the Horizon Award. In 2005, Paisley is nominated for Entertainer of the Year (his first nomination in the category); Male Vocalist of the Year; Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for "Alcohol;" and Musical Event of the Year with Sara Evans for "New Again." In 2004, Paisley won Musical Event and Music Video of the Year for "Whiskey Lullaby" with Alison Krauss. And songwriters Bill Anderson and Jon Randall are nominated for "Whiskey Lullaby" for 2005 Song of the Year.

Keith Urban and Toby Keith each had four nominations. Urban was nominated for Entertainer of the Year (his first nomination in the category); Male Vocalist of the Year; Album of the Year for Be Here; and Music Video of the Year for "Days Go By." Urban is two-for-two with CMA Award nominations and wins. He won his first CMA Award in 2001, when he picked up the Horizon Award. In 2004, he received his first nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year and won that, too. He can win an additional trophy as co-producer of his album in 2005.

Keith, who won his first CMA Award in 2001 for Male Vocalist, received four nominations for Entertainer of the Year; Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for "As Good As I Once Was." Keith is eligible for an added trophy as co-producer of "As Good As I Once Was."

Several artists had three nominations each including Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Sugarland and Gretchen Wilson.

Reigning Vocal Group of the Year Rascal Flatts is nominated again in that category as well as Album of the Year for Feels Like Today and Single of the Year for "Bless The Broken Road." The song is also nominated for Song of the Year, with songwriters Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd and Jeff Hanna. Rascal Flatts is also eligible for additional trophies as co-producers of their album and single.

In 2005, George Strait added Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Somewhere Down in Texas; and Musical Event of the Year for his duet with Lee Ann Womack to his outstanding list of career nominations. He is also eligible for an additional Award as co-producer of his album.

Red hot trio Sugarland have hit it big in 2005 with their first, second and third CMA Award nominations including Single of the Year for "Baby Girl," the longest running single on the Billboard Country Singles Chart in the history of the monitored chart era; Vocal Group of the Year and the coveted Horizon Award.

Wilson won the Horizon trophy in 2004, and she is nominated again in 2005 for Female Vocalist of the Year; Song of the Year for "Redneck Woman," which she co-wrote with John Rich of Big & Rich; and Music Video of the Year for "When I Think About Cheatin'."

Artists picking up nominations in multiple categories and incarnations are not uncommon this year. Rich picks up two more nominations with Big & Rich duo partner Big Kenny Alphin for Vocal Duo of the Year and the Horizon Award. Alison Krauss is nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year (her fourth consecutive year in the category) and in the Vocal Group of the Year category for Alison Krauss + Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas. And speaking of Douglas, he picks up an additional Musician of the Year nod.

Completing the list of artists with two nominations each were reigning Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney and Alan Jackson, who were both nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year; and Sara Evans and Martina McBride, who were both nominated in the Female Vocalist of the Year category with Krauss, Wilson and Womack.

McBride has won the Female Vocalist of the Year trophy four times in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004 - surpassing Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette's record and tying her with Reba McEntire for the most wins in the Female Vocalist category.

In the Male Vocalist of the Year category, four of the five nominees were nominated in 2004 including Chesney, Jackson, Strait and Urban. Paisley makes his return to the list in 2005, after being nominated in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Jimmy Buffett continues his love affair with the format in 2005 nominated for Musical Event of the Year with Martina McBride. In 2003, Buffett won his first-ever music award when he and Alan Jackson won Vocal Event (now Musical Event) for their party-ode "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." Buffett received his first CMA Award nomination in 1977 when he was nominated for Single of the Year for "Margaritaville."

CMA Awards hosts Brooks & Dunn scored a nomination in the increasingly competitive Vocal Duo of the Year category, which they have won a record setting 12 times. Making a run at the impressive Brooks & Dunn winning juggernaut are Big & Rich, Montgomery Gentry, The Warren Brothers and Van Zant, made up of Southern rock royalty brothers Donnie Van Zant (.38 Special) and Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd).

In addition to Van Zant and Sugarland, Country artists receiving their first CMA Award nominations in 2005 include Billy Currington for Musical Event of the Year with Shania Twain for "Party For Two," and Miranda Lambert for the Horizon Award.

The 2004 CMA Awards, which aired on a Tuesday night for the first time, posted an 11.5 rating with an 18 share. CBS estimates that more than 37 million viewers watched all or part of the gala event. CBS was first in households, viewers and key demographics during the three-hour broadcast (8:00-11:00 PM/ET). CBS won every half-hour in households, viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. This marked CBS' best delivery in households, viewers and adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since November 2001.

To put the success of the CMA Awards rating in perspective, during the 2004-2005 television season, the CMA Awards trailed only the Academy Awards and was a statistical tie with the GRAMMY Awards.

The CMA Awards were first broadcast on network television in 1968 - making it the longest running music awards program on network television. Winners of "The 39th Annual CMA Awards" will be determined in the third and final round of voting by nearly 6,000 industry professional members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

In addition to live coverage of today's event on CMT, a video news release with footage from the 2004 CMA Awards and interviews with some of the 2005 nominees will be serviced today, Wednesday, Sept. 7 (4:00-4:30 PM/EDT; 3:00- 3:30 PM/CDT). The VNR package will be available by KU Digital, IA6/Transponder 3E, downlink frequency 11787.375 Vertical, Data rate 5.5, Symbol rate 3.978723, FEC 3/4; C-Band, IA5/Transponder C23, downlink frequency 4160V. For information about picking up the VNR feed, please contact Bob Winsor in CBS Communications at (212) 975-2881 or Ryan Noreikas in the CMA Communication Department at (615) 664-1647 or by e-mail at Rnoreikas@CMAworld.com.

The CMA Awards are produced by Walter C. Miller and directed by Paul Miller. MJI Programming is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards, which includes Red Carpet coverage and a stereo-radio simulcast of the gala event. Chevy, an American Revolution, is the official automotive sponsor of the 2005 CMA Awards. American Airlines is the official airline of the 2005 CMA Awards. Additional promotional sponsors include Prilosec OTC and Creme Savers. Charles Fazzino is the official artist of the 2005 CMA Awards.

The final nominees for the 2005 CMA Awards are:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Kenny Chesney Alan Jackson Toby Keith Brad Paisley Keith Urban

SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Award goes to artist and producer) "Alcohol" Brad Paisley Produced by Frank Rogers Arista Nashville

"As Good As I Once Was" Toby Keith Produced by James Stroud/Toby Keith DreamWorks Records Nashville

"Baby Girl" Sugarland Produced by Garth Fundis Mercury Records Nashville

"Bless The Broken Road" Rascal Flatts Produced by Mark Bright/Marty Williams/Rascal Flatts Lyric Street Records

"I May Hate Myself In The Morning" Lee Ann Womack Produced by Byron Gallimore MCA Nashville

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award goes to artist and producer) Be Here Keith Urban Produced by Dann Huff/Keith Urban Capitol Records Nashville

Feels Like Today Rascal Flatts Produced by Mark Bright/Marty Williams/Rascal Flatts Lyric Street Records

Live Like You Were Dying Tim McGraw Produced by Tim McGraw/Byron Gallimore/Darran Smith Curb Records

Somewhere Down In Texas George Strait Produced by Tony Brown/George Strait MCA Nashville

There's More Where That Came From Lee Ann Womack Produced by Byron Gallimore/Greg Droman MCA Nashville

SONG OF THE YEAR (Award goes to songwriter and primary publisher) "Alcohol" Brad Paisley EMI April/Sea Gayle Music

"As Good As I Once Was" Toby Keith/Scotty Emerick Tokeco Tunes/Sony/ATV Songs/Big Yellow Dog Music/Florida Cracker Music

"Bless The Broken Road" Marcus Hummon/Bobby Boyd/Jeff Hanna Careers-BMG Music/Floyd's Dream Music/Jeff Diggs Music

"I May Hate Myself In The Morning" Odie Blackmon Cal IV Songs

"Redneck Woman" Gretchen Wilson/John Rich Sony/ATV Cross Keys/Hoosiermama Music/WB Music Corp

"Whiskey Lullaby" Bill Anderson/Jon Randall Sony/ATV/Mr. Bubba Music/Reynsong/Wha Ya Say Music

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Sara Evans Alison Krauss Martina McBride Gretchen Wilson Lee Ann Womack

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Kenny Chesney Alan Jackson Brad Paisley George Strait Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR Alison Krauss + Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas Diamond Rio Lonestar Rascal Flatts Sugarland

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR Big & Rich Brooks & Dunn Montgomery Gentry Van Zant The Warren Brothers

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR George Strait (Duet with Lee Ann Womack) "Good News, Bad News" MCA Nashville

Willie Nelson with Lee Ann Womack "I'll Never Be Free" Lost Highway Records

Brad Paisley/Sara Evans "New Again" Wind Up Records

Shania Twain (with Billy Currington) "Party For Two" Mercury Records Nashville

Jimmy Buffett with Martina McBride "Trip Around The Sun" RCA Records

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR Jerry Douglas - Dobro Paul Franklin - Steel Guitar Dann Huff - Electric Guitar Brent Mason - Guitar/Electric Guitar Randy Scruggs - Guitar/Mandolin

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR (Award goes to artist and director) "Alcohol" Brad Paisley Directed by Jim Shea

"As Good As I Once Was" Toby Keith Directed by Michael Salomon

"Days Go By" Keith Urban Directed by Wayne Isham

"I May Hate Myself In The Morning" Lee Ann Womack Directed by Trey Fanjoy

"When I Think About Cheatin'" Gretchen Wilson Directed by Robert Deaton/George J. Flanigen IV

HORIZON AWARD Dierks Bentley Big & Rich Miranda Lambert Julie Roberts Sugarland

Source: Country Music Association

CONTACT: Press, Wendy Pearl or Scott Stem, both of CMA, +1-615-244-2840; or Bridget Klein, +1-212-704-4453, or Stephanie Figura, +1-212-704-4533, both of Edelman for CMA; or Beth Stoller-Feldman of CBS-NY, +1-212-975-3183; or Photo, Athena Patterson or Ryan Noreikas, both of CMA, +1-615-244-2840; or Brooke Michael of FilmMagic, +1-212-812-4112

Web site: http://www.cmaworld.com/ http://www.cmaawards.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For downloadable high-resolution images from today's press announcement visit www.CMApress.com or www.FilmMagic.com, CMA's photo partner. You can also visit www.CMApress.com for online media credential registration for the 2005 CMA Awards, which begins Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 11:00 AM/ET. Both of these sites are for your convenience and not for the public. The public should be directed to www.CMAawards.com.

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