Miranda Lambert Matches Personal Record For Most Nominations For "The 48th Annual CMA Awards" With Nine Nods

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Miranda Lambert tops the list of final nominees for "The 48^th Annual CMA Awards" with nine nominations, matching the record she set in 2010 – the most for any female artist in the history of the CMA Awards. Alan Jackson received 10 nominations in 2002. Prior to that, Merle Haggard held the record with nine in 1970.

Dierks Bentley received five nominations. Eric Church and Keith Urban collected four nominations each and Luke Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood each received three nominations for trophies that will be handed out on "Country Music's Biggest Night™." CMA industry voters also gave their support to Country Music Hall of Fame members Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and George Strait, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year.

"This is a great slate of nominees with established superstars, industry icons, and breakthrough acts all represented," said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. "The 2014 CMA Awards are destined to be the best yet."

"The 48^th Annual CMA Awards" will be hosted for the seventh time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 5 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

For the ninth year, the announcement of the final nominees in five of the 12 CMA Awards categories was made live on ABC News' "Good Morning America" with Little Big Town and Darius Rucker delivering the news from the heart of New York City's Times Square. They then went to the Best Buy Theater to announce the finalists in the remaining seven categories during a press conference that was made available across the world via live stream at CMAawards.com.  

"It is great for the industry to be able to announce our nominees for Country Music's top honors on the world's biggest stage and still be able to share it with the industry in Nashville and fans around the world," added Trahern.   

Lambert's nominations include Entertainer (she received her first nomination in this category in 2010); Female Vocalist; Album for Platinum, which was produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf; two nominations for Musical Event for "Somethin' Bad" with  Underwood and "We Were Us" with Urban; and two nominations for Music Video of the Year for "Automatic" and "Somethin' Bad" with Underwood, which were both directed by Trey Fanjoy. In addition, "Automatic" picked up nominations for Single (produced by Liddell, Ainlay, and Worf) and Song of the Year for songwriters Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, and Lambert. This brings Lambert's career CMA Awards nominations to 34. Reba holds the record for female artist nominations with 49, followed by Parton (44), and Loretta Lynn (39), which places Lambert fourth on the list.

Bentley collected five nominations including Male Vocalist; Album for Riser, which was produced by Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.; Song for "I Hold On" which Bentley wrote with Brett James; and Single and Music Video of the Year for "Drunk On A Plane," which was produced by Copperman, Johnston, and Buenahora, and directed by Wes Edwards.

Church doubled his 2013 nominations in 2014 with four including Male Vocalist, Album for The Outsiders, produced by Jay Joyce and Buenahora; Single for "Give Me Back My Hometown" produced by Joyce and Buenahora; and Song of the Year for "Give Me Back My Hometown," which Church wrote with Luke Laird.

Urban also collected four nominations including Entertainer of the Year, which he won in 2005; Male Vocalist, which he has won three times (2004-2006); Album for Fuse, which was produced by Benny Blanco, Nathan Chapman, Copperman, Zach Crowell, Mike Elizondo, Dann Huff, Joyce, Stargate, Butch Walker, and Urban (Urban only receives one nomination for the category, but can receive a second trophy as producer); and Musical Event with Lambert for "We Were Us."

Bryan, who received his first Entertainer of the Year nomination in 2013, is back in the top category in 2014. He also collected nominations for Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Crash My Party, which was produced by Jeff Stevens.

Musgraves, who won New Artist of the Year in 2013, came back with three nominations this year including Female Vocalist; Song for "Follow Your Arrow," which she wrote with Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally; and Music Video of the Year for "Follow Your Arrow," which Musgraves directed with Honey (Musgraves only receives one nomination in the category, but can receive a second trophy as video director).

Shelton, who is the reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, was nominated three times including Entertainer; Male Vocalist; and Single of the Year for "Mine Would Be You," which was produced by Scott Hendricks.

CMA Awards co-host Underwood will be busy during the three-hour broadcast on ABC. She has three nominations for Female Vocalist; and Music Video and Musical Event of the Year with Lambert for "Somethin' Bad."

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill collected two nominations each for "Meanwhile Back At Mama's," which was nominated for Musical Event and Single of the Year, and was produced by Byron Gallimore and McGraw (McGraw only receives one nomination in the category, but can receive a second trophy as producer).

Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Strait enters the coveted field again in 2014 and retains his status as the most nominated artist in CMA Awards history with 83. Strait now has a total of 19 nominations and three trophies for Entertainer of the Year (1989, 1990, 2013).

Strait, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, joins several other members of this prestigious group on the list of nominees.

Vince Gill, who hosted the CMA Awards a record 12 times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, was nominated for Musical Event of the Year with Paul Franklin for Bakersfield.

Kenny Rogers, who received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Hall in 2013, was nominated for his duet with Dolly Parton (1999 Hall of Fame inductee) for "You Can't Make Old Friends." Parton won her last CMA Award in this category in 2006 for "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Paisley. Rogers and Parton received their last nomination together in 1986 for Vocal Duo of the Year.

Lee Brice's hit "I Drive Your Truck" won Song of the Year in 2013 for the songwriters. This year, Brice is collecting a songwriter nomination of his own for "I Don't Dance" with songwriters Rob Hatch and Dallas Davidson.

The Female Vocalist of the Year category is an interesting one to watch in 2014 with several records on the line. In addition to Lambert, Musgraves, and Underwood, Martina McBride and Taylor Swift are nominated. Three women have won this Award four times including Lambert (2010-2013), McBride (1999, 2002-2004), and Reba (1984-1987). With a win, Lambert or McBride could set a new record; if Underwood wins, there would be a four-way tie in the category for most wins to date. Swift last won the Female Vocalist trophy in 2009.

Two-time CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town (2012, 2013) has been nominated in the category every year since 2006 and this year they are joined by Eli Young Band; Lady Antebellum, who have won three times (2009-2011); The Band Perry; and Zac Brown Band.

Lady Antebellum has a second nomination for Music Video of the Year for "Bartender" directed by Shane Drake.

Two first-time nominees enter the category for the Vocal Duo of the Year – Dan + Shay and The Swon Brothers. They join reigning CMA Vocal Duo winners Florida Georgia Line; Love and Theft, who have been nominated three times in the category; and Thompson Square, who won the trophy in 2012.

Three acts debut in the New Artist of the Year category in 2014 including Clark (who was also nominated for Song of the Year), Thomas Rhett, and Cole Swindell.  Returning to the category a second time are Brett Eldredge and Kip Moore. Artists can only be included in this category twice.

The Musician of the Year category includes Sam Bush (mandolin); Jerry Douglas (dobro), Franklin (steel guitar), who was also nominated for Musical Event of the Year; Huff (guitar), who was also nominated for Album of the Year (producer); and Mac McAnally (guitar), the current title holder. 

Winners of "The 48^th Annual CMA Awards" will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday, Oct. 9. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Monday, Oct. 27 (5:00 PM/CT).

Tickets for "The 48^th Annual CMA Awards" go on sale to the public Saturday, Sept. 6 (10:00 AM/CT). Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com; by calling (800) 745-3000; or in person at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, located at 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville). CMA Awards information is available at CMAawards.com. Or follow the conversation on Twitter at #CMAawards.

A video highlights package including footage of the nominee announcements, interviews, music video clips, and more will be serviced today, Sept. 3 (3:00-3:30 PM/ET; 2:00-2:30 PM/CT).

The video highlights package will be available via satellite at GALAXY 17 (KU) Digital, Transponder 13 – Ch A, 9 MHz, Downlink Frequency: 11946.5 (H), FEC: 3/4, Symbol Rate: 6.1113. In addition, the video highlights package will be available via FTP download at http://www.vistaworldlink.com/CMA/.

If you have difficulty picking up the video highlights package or have questions about the feed, please contact Scott Sklarin with Sklarin Communications at (917) 929-5564. For questions regarding the FTP download, please call (954) 838-0900, ext. 1.

"The 47th Annual CMA Awards" on ABC (Nov. 6, 2013) dominated the night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (16.8 million and 4.7/13), winning each half-hour and out delivering runner-up CBS by 7.4 million viewers and by 114 percent in Adults 18-49. In fact, with the broad-appealing Awards special the Network swept the evening, finishing No. 1 in Viewers, all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) and Teens 12-17 – and was the top broadcaster with Kids 2-11. 

The 2013 CMA Awards was up by double digits from the previous year's telecast (Nov. 1, 2012), gaining 23 percent in Total Viewers and 24 percent in Adults 18-49. The CMA Awards drew its biggest audience in four years, representing its second-most-watched broadcast in eight years (since 2009 and 2005, respectively). In addition, the CMA Awards shot up 41 percent year-to-year with Men 18-34 (3.1/11 vs. 2.2/8) to a nine-year high – since 2004.

The first "CMA Awards Banquet and Show" was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on television for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network TV. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC will be the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA's other two television properties, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" and "CMA Country Christmas," through 2021.

"The 48^th Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer and Paul Miller is the Director. The CMA Awards will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

The Final Nominees for "The 48^th Annual CMA Awards" (by ballot category order):
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
"Automatic"
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf
RCA Nashville

"Drunk On A Plane"
Dierks Bentley
Produced by Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Capitol Records Nashville

"Give Me Back My Hometown"
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
EMI Records Nashville

"Meanwhile Back At Mama's"
Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill
Produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw
Big Machine

"Mine Would Be You"
Blake Shelton
Produced by Scott Hendricks
Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
Crash My Party
Luke Bryan
Produced by Jeff Stevens
Capitol Records Nashville

Fuse
Keith Urban
Produced by Benny Blanco, Nathan Chapman, Ross Copperman, Zach Crowell, Mike Elizondo, Dann Huff, Jay Joyce, Stargate, Keith Urban, and Butch Walker
Capitol Records Nashville

Platinum
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf
RCA Nashville

Riser
Dierks Bentley
Produced by Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Capitol Records Nashville

The Outsiders
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
EMI Records Nashville

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
"Automatic"
Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, and Miranda Lambert

"Follow Your Arrow"
Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, and Shane McAnally

"Give Me Back My Hometown"
Eric Church and Luke Laird

"I Don't Dance"
Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, and Dallas Davidson

"I Hold On"
Brett James and Dierks Bentley

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Love and Theft
The Swon Brothers
Thompson Square

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each artist)
Bakersfield
Vince Gill and Paul Franklin
Mercury Nashville

"Meanwhile Back At Mama's"
Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill
Big Machine

"Somethin' Bad"
Miranda Lambert duet with Carrie Underwood
RCA Nashville

"We Were Us"
Keith Urban featuring Miranda Lambert
Capitol Records Nashville

"You Can't Make Old Friends"
Kenny Rogers duet with Dolly Parton
Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Sam Bush (Mandolin)
Jerry Douglas (Dobro)
Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
Dann Huff (Guitar)
Mac McAnally (Guitar)

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
"Automatic"
Miranda Lambert
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

"Bartender"
Lady Antebellum
Directed by Shane Drake

"Drunk On A Plane"
Dierks Bentley
Directed by Wes Edwards

"Follow Your Arrow"
Kacey Musgraves
Directed by Kacey Musgraves and Honey

"Somethin' Bad"
Miranda Lambert duet with Carrie Underwood
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Brandy Clark
Brett Eldredge
Kip Moore
Thomas Rhett
Cole Swindell

Chevrolet™ is the Official Ride of Country Music.

A high-resolution, downloadable 2014 CMA Awards logo and photography from the 2013 CMA Awards is available at CMApress.com. The site is for media use only. Credentialing for the 2014 CMA Awards is no open. Keep up to date with the latest CMA news by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/CMAmedia and request to join the CMA Press Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/CMApress.

SOURCE Country Music Association