Urban, Swift, Johnson & Zac Brown Band Lead BMI 2009 CMA Nominations
Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Jamey Johnson and the Zac Brown Band lead the BMI list of nominees for the 2009 CMA Awards. With four nominations each, the four distinct artists will vie for their respective prizes alongside a slew of additional BMI contenders at the association’s annual ceremony, slated Wednesday, November 11 in Nashville.
Keith Urban’s Entertainer of the Year nod comes as no surprise. A perennial favorite of both fans and the industry, Urban has developed one of the strongest stadium shows of any genre. He also garnered a slew of nominations recognizing his artistry, including Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Defying Gravity.
Jamey Johnson
Zac Brown Band
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift has shattered records and genre-boundaries over the past year, topping country and pop charts and crossing over into other media, including television and film. Her well-deserved Entertainer of the Year nomination applauds her broadening appeal, while nods for Female Vocalist and Album of the Year underscore her transition from promising new force to established superstar.
Jamey Johnson charmed both contemporary critics and outlaw country nostalgists with his masterfully crafted That Lonesome Song, up for Album of the Year. His single “In Color,” which he co-wrote with fellow BMI songwriters James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller, will compete in both Single and Song of the Year fields, while Johnson is also up for New Artist of the Year.
Touring veterans the Zac Brown Band enjoyed a leap into the mainstream over the past year, earning two #1 singles and a slew of new fans. In addition to New Artist and Vocal Group of the Year, the band’s “Chicken Fried” is nominated for both Single and Song of the Year.
Breakout trio Lady Antebellum will compete in Vocal Group and Single of the Year for recent chart-topper “I Run to You.” Powerhouse vocalist Carrie Underwood will compete in the Female Vocalist and Musical Event of the Year categories, while Sugarland also garnered two nods: Vocal Duo and Album of the Year for Love on the Inside. “People Are Crazy,” co-written by Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones, will compete in the Song of the Year field. Additional BMI nominees include Miranda Lambert and Martina McBride for Female Vocalist of the Year; Randy Houser and Jake Owen for New Artist of the Year; Eagles, Little Big Town and Rascal Flatts for Vocal Group of the Year; Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Joey + Rory and Montgomery Gentry for Vocal Duo of the Year; and The Raconteurs’ “Old Enough,” featuring Ashley Monroe, for the Musical Event of the Year trophy.
For a complete list of nominees, please visit www.cmaawards.com.
2009 BMI CMA Award Nominees
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Keith Urban
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
Zac Brown Band
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eagles
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown Band
Produced by Keith Stegall
Atlantic Records
“I Run To You”
Lady Antebellum
Capitol Records Nashville
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys
Mercury Nashville
“People Are Crazy”
Co-produced by Carson Chamberlain
Mercury Nashville
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
Defying Gravity
Keith Urban
Co-produced by Keith Urban
Capitol Records Nashville
Fearless
Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift
Big Machine Records
Love on the Inside
Sugarland
Co-produced by Byron Gallimore and Kristian Bush
Mercury Nashville
That Lonesome Song
Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys
Mercury Records
SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s)
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown/Wyatt Durrette
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto
“People Are Crazy”
Bobby Braddock/Troy Jones
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry”
Brooks & Dunn
Arista Nashville
“I Told You So”
Carrie Underwood
19 Recordings/Arista Nashville
“Old Enough”
The Raconteurs featuring Ashley Monroe
Third Man Records/Warner Bros. Records
“Start A Band”
Featuring Keith Urban
Arista Nashville
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Boots On”
Randy Houser
“Love Story”
Taylor Swift
“Start A Band”
featuring Keith Urban
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