For the First Time Ever Country Music Fans Everywhere Have the Power to Vote for the 43rd Academy of Country Music(R) Awards Entertainer of the Year

For the First Time Ever Country Music Fans Everywhere Have the Power to Vote for the 43rd Academy of Country Music(R) Awards Entertainer of the Year

Starting Today, May 1, Anyone Can Vote for Nominees Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban or Rascal Flatts by Logging on to www.voteacm.com

Each Entertainer of the Year Nominee Is Scheduled to Perform During the Live Event Which Will Air Live From the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, May 18th at 8:00 PM ET/PT On CBS

LOS ANGELES, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Country Music today announced that for the first time ever music fans can vote for the prestigious Entertainer of the Year award. Starting today, May 1, anyone can vote for Entertainer of the Year nominees Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban or Rascal Flatts by logging on to http://www.voteacm.com/. Fans can vote through the last hour of the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS television Sunday, May 18th at 8:00 PM ET/ tape delayed PT. Each Entertainer of the Year nominee is scheduled to perform.

Kenny Chesney leads all nominees with eleven nominations, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. In addition, Chesney was nominated as an artist and producer for Album of the Year for Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year for "Don't Blink." If Chesney wins Entertainer of the Year, it will be his fourth consecutive win.

Brad Paisley is nominated in four categories, including Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist, Album of the Year for 5th Gear and Video of the Year for "Online." Last year, Paisley won Top Male Vocalist. Paisley recently celebrated his 10th No. 1 single, 10 million album sales and 10 years as an Arista Nashville recording artist.

George Strait received three nominations, a nod for Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist and Vocal Event of the Year for "Shiftwork" with Kenny Chesney. Strait has more No. 1 hits in a single chart format than any other recording artist. Strait's 37th album, Troubadour, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart.

Keith Urban is nominated both as Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. His most recent album Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing has already sold more than 2 million copies worldwide and came in at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Chart. Urban, who has built a reputation as a virtuoso guitarist, singer, songwriter and showman, just completed an 11-month World Tour featuring sold-out arenas in Germany, Australia, Canada and the United States.

In addition to their Entertainer of the Year nomination, Rascal Flatts is also nominated for Top Vocal Group. If they win the category, it will be their sixth consecutive win, tying them with Alabama, the current leader. Rascal Flatts has also been selected as the 2008 recipient of the Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot(R) Humanitarian Award. The band will host the Academy of Country Music Celebrity Golf Classic, a fund-raising effort benefitting the Academy of Country Music Charitable Fund to be held on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at TPC Las Vegas in Las Vegas.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 43rd Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by Dick Clark Productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. R.A. Clark is executive producer, Barry Adelman is producer and Bob Bardo is executive in charge of production.

For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC and the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, please visit http://www.acmcountry.com/. For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC CHARITABLE FUND, please visit http://www.acmcf.org/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Academy of Country Music

CONTACT: Julie Smith, jsmith@bncpr.com, or Enjoli Duval,
eduval@bncpr.com, both of BNC, +1-310-854-4800, for Academy of Country Music

Web site: http://www.acmcountry.com/

---

Profile: International Entertainment