Winners Announced For The 46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

LAS VEGAS, April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners have been announced for the 46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, a star-studded ceremony broadcast LIVE tonight on the CBS Television Network from MGM GRAND in Las Vegas. Fans named Taylor Swift Entertainer of the Year, the evening's biggest honor. This is the first year that Taylor Swift has been named Entertainer of the Year. This year marked a record breaking year with nearly 600,000 fans casting their vote for Entertainer of the Year, making it the largest vote ever for this category.

Swift is the eighth and youngest female to take the award in the 40 year history of this category; previous winners include Loretta Lynn in 1975, Dolly Parton in 1977, Barbara Mandrell in 1980, Reba McEntire in 1994, Shania Twain in 1999, The Dixie Chicks in 2000 and Carrie Underwood in 2008 & 2009.

Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist of the Year and Brad Paisley won Male Vocalist of the Year. This is Lambert's second consecutive win as Female Vocalist of the Year and Paisley's fifth consecutive win as Male Vocalist of the Year. Lambert won four awards during tonight's telecast, making her the night's top winner. Sugarland won Vocal Duo of the Year; the group who headlined the first-ever ACM Fan Jam tonight accepted their award from the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Lady Antebellum won Vocal Group of the Year; the group's second consecutive win in this category.

The Band Perry was honored as New Artist of the Year in tonight's broadcast. Nearly 155,000 fans casted their online and text votes for the New Artist of the Year category, making it the largest fan vote for this category.

Tonight, the Academy of Country Music sold-out two of the largest arenas in Las Vegas, the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Mandalay Bay Events Center for the inaugural ACM Fan Jam.

Following is the list of winners in the 14 categories voted on by the membership (excluding the Entertainer of the Year and New Artist categories, which were voted on by a combination of professional ACM members and fans):

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

NEW SOLO VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Previously Announced)

NEW VOCAL DUO or GROUP OF THE YEAR (Previously Announced)

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

SONG OF THE YEAR [Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off Camera Award)

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] *(Off Camera Award)

FAST FACTS ON THIS YEAR'S AWARDS:

• This is Reba's 13th year hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards and Blake Shelton's first.
• Brad Paisley is the only artist to win three or more consecutive honors in the Male Vocalist of the Year category; this is Paisley's fifth consecutive win.
• Miranda Lambert won four awards tonight in the categories of Female Vocalist of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year.
• Lady Antebellum won three awards tonight in the categories of Album of the Year (both as artists and producers) and Vocal Group of the Year. This is the group's first win in the Album of the Year category. The group previously won Vocal Group of the Year during the 2010 telecast.
• As previously announced, Entertainer of the Year winner Taylor Swift will be presented with the Jim Reeves International Award at ACM Honors, a special event held annually in the fall at the historic Ryman Auditorium. This ACM Special Award is presented to an individual for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.  

For a complete list of past and present wins and nominations, please visit www.acmcountry.com and search the ACM Awards Database located on the Homepage.

Getty Images is the official photographer for the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and photos can be accessed at www.gettyimages.com.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 46th 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 3, 2011 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