Laura Bell Bundy, Billy Currington, John Fogerty, Jack Ingram Featuring Dierks Bentley, Toby Keith With Dave Koz, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker To Perform At The 45th Annual Academy Of Country Music(R) Awards Country Music's Party Of The Year(TM)

ENCINO, Calif., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Country Music announced today that Laura Bell Bundy, Billy Currington, John Fogerty, Jack Ingram featuring Dierks Bentley, Toby Keith with Dave Koz, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker are scheduled to perform as part of the 45th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, hosted by Reba McEntire.  In addition, Kristen Bell, Jamie Foxx, Julianne Hough, LL COOL J, Matthew McConaughey and LeAnn Rimes are scheduled as presenters.  The ceremony, which honors country music's top talent as well as the industry's hottest emerging artists, is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

These artists join previously announced performers Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

Performers:

Dierks Bentley won Top New Artist of the Year in 2003 and was nominated for Top Male Vocalist in 2005.  Bentley's next studio album, Up on The Ridge, will be released this summer.  As a prelude to the release, Bentley will kick off his Up on The Ridge Tour on April 21. 

Laura Bell Bundy is a singer/songwriter/dancer/entertainer from Lexington, KY who began her performing career at Radio City Music Hall at the age of nine. Bundy's singing, dancing and acting abilities led to numerous roles on Broadway, including originating the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical which earned her a Tony nomination. The music video for Bundy's debut single, "Giddy On Up," has been streamed over 1 million times to date. Her Mercury Records debut album, Achin' and Shakin', hits stores on April 13.

Billy Currington is nominated for three ACM Awards.  He is nominated for Song of the Year for "People are Crazy," and, as both an artist and a producer, for Single Record of the Year for the same title.  He was previously nominated in 2004 for Vocal Event of the Year for "Party For Two" and in 2005 for Top New Male Vocalist.  Currington's recently released single "That's How Country Boys Roll" from his third studio album, Little Bit of Everything, became his fifth Number One hit in March 2010.

John Fogerty is a quintuple threat: songwriter, singer, lead guitarist, arranger and producer from his legendary recordings with Creedence Clearwater Revival to his Grammy award winning solo work and recent 2009 acclaimed sequel The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, which includes a collaboration with Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles.  Fogerty is responsible for an entire songbook of hits that have become part of the fabric of American music including: "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Travelin' Band," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "The Old Man Down The Road," "Fortunate Son,"  and "Centerfield." Fogerty's songbook also reflects his deep roots in country, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," "Lookin' Out My Backdoor" and "Down On The Corner," among others.

Jack Ingram is nominated as both an artist and a producer for Vocal Event of the Year for the song "Seeing Stars."  Ingram previously won the ACM Award for Top New Male Vocalist in 2007.  Ingram's latest single "Barefoot and Crazy," from his album Big Dreams & High Hopes, is his second Top 10 hit.

Toby Keith is nominated for Entertainer of the Year. He has previously won the category twice – first in 2002 and then again the following year. Keith has won 10 ACM Awards, including two wins for both Top Male Vocalist and Album of the Year. Keith has two #1 singles, "American Ride" and "Cryin For Me (Wayman's Song)," off his current album American Ride.

Dave Koz is a platinum selling Artist, radio host and instrumental music advocate who received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2009.  Koz is currently working on his next studio album and preparing for a summer tour.

Miranda Lambert is six-time ACM nominee this year.  She is nominated for Top Female Vocalist, Album of the Year for Revolution, Single Record of the Year for "White Liar," Song of the Year for "White Liar" as both an artist and composer, and Video of the Year for "White Liar."  Lambert previously won Top New Female Vocalist in 2006 and Album of the Year in 2007 for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Rascal Flatts has taken home ten ACM Awards and is nominated for Top Vocal Group of the Year.  In 2007, the group was honored for their philanthropic work with The Home Depot Humanitarian Award. The band's current single "Unstoppable" is the title track off their 2009 album.

Darius Rucker is nominated for Top Male Vocalist this year, his first ACM Award nomination.  Rucker's current single, "History in the Making" is from his first country album, Learn to Live. Rucker was previously the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish.

Presenters:

Actress Kristen Bell starred in the 2009 comedy, Couples Retreat, and is also the voice of Cora in Astro Boy.  In 2007, she joined the cast of Heroes playing the character Elle Bishop, and Gossip Girl as the off-screen titular narrator. Additionally, she played the lead character in the comedy movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and When In Rome.

As an actor, Jamie Foxx's work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a musical/comedy. He is also a Grammy Award winning musician, producing two albums which have charted highly on the Billboard 200: Unpredictable, which topped the chart, and Intuition. Foxx performed on the George Strait – ACM Artist of the Decade All-Star Concert in 2009.  

Last year Julianne Hough took home the ACM Awards for Top New Female Vocalist and Top New Artist.  Her self-titled debut album, released in 2008, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart and #3 on the Billboard 200. She is also a two-time winner of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She's currently working on her second studio album for Mercury Nashville.

LL COOL J is an iconic rapper and actor, who has written four books including a second fitness book out this May and founded Boomdizzle.com, a world-wide digital platform for everyone to create, promote, perform and distribute music. He currently plays Special Agent Sam Hanna on the #1 new drama series NCIS: LOS ANGELES on the CBS Television Network.

Actor Matthew McConaughey has played the leading man in several romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Fool's Gold and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. McConaughey was also a presenter at the ACM Awards in 2009.

LeAnn Rimes was honored at last year's ACM Awards with The Home Depot Humanitarian Award for her philanthropic work and has won three ACM Awards – Top New Female Vocalist as well as Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Blue."  A multi-platinum, two-time Grammy Award winning artist, Rimes will release a new album later this year.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 45th 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, April 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.  Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers.  Barry Adelman is producer, and Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.  For more information, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

SOURCE Academy of Country Music