Melody Plant

Lady Antebellum leads with seven nominations, Miranda Lamber and Carrie Underwood with six nominations, Taylor Swift with five nominations; Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, and Zac Brown Band with four nominations:
2010 Academy of Country Music Awards Nominations Full List:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack

TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Randy Rogers Band
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland

TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Bryan
Jamey Johnson
Chris Young

TOP NEW VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Bomshel
Joey + Rory
Steel Magnolia

TOP NEW VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eli Young Band
Gloriana
The Lost Trailers

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

American Saturday Night – Brad Paisley
Lady Antebellum – Lady Antebellum
Play On – Carrie Underwood
Revolution – Miranda Lambert
The Foundation – Zac Brown Band

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
People Are Crazy – Billy Currington
Red Light – David Nail
Toes – Zac Brown Band (
White Liar – Miranda Lambert

SONG OF THE YEAR

Cowboy Casanova – Carrie Underwood
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
People Are Crazy – Billy Currington
White Liar – Miranda Lambert
You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Boots On – Randy Houser
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
Welcome To The Future – Brad Paisley
White Liar – Miranda Lambert
You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR

Hillbilly Bone – Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
Honky Tonk Stomp – Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons
I Told You So – Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis
I’m Alive – Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews
Seeing Stars – Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin

When cornered on the Golden Globes red carpet this past Sunday, Chace Crawford was asked if he was happy to have learned that his ex-girlfriend, country singer Carrie Underwood had gotten engaged to hunky hockey player Mike Fisher. The ‘Gossip Girl’ actor very humbly said that he was happy for her and wished her the best with her future plans. I’m glad to hear that there aren’t any sour grapes from Chace. After all, he was the one who let her get away in the first place. I’m sure he’s a tough one to get over but I’m glad she is happy.

Carrie Underwood has dated some pretty hot guys in the last couple of years. So when it came time to find someone new, a member of her band suggested her current boyfriend Mike Fisher. The American Idol alum was a little picky though. The singer explained to Ellen DeGeneres on her show that at first glance, Carrie wasn’t too interested in the hockey player. She was wary about how a long distance relationship would work and she was put off by the fact that some of Mike’s teeth weren’t his own. Carrie also denied rumors that she was moving in with Mike, saying that the person she’s going to move in with will be her husband. There’s no saying that Mike will end up as her hubby though.

Despite reports that Carrie Underwood accepted boyfriend NHL player Mike Fisher’s invitation for the country singer to live with him in Canada, she said that it didn’t happen at all. The American Idol alum cleared up the rumor on her official fan club site, saying “I read something recently that a certain someone and I were moving in together. This is beyond not true…just another example of people making stuff up out of thin air! …Neither one of us would ever do that. I would never live with my boyfriend…not my style.” I guess that Carrie isn’t a fan of living in sin.

2009 Country Music Association Awards Winners

FULL list of 2009 CMA Winners.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
*Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
*Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
*Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
*Darius Rucker
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

“I Run To You”
*Lady Antebellum

“In Color”
Jamey Johnson

“People Are Crazy”
Billy Currington

“Then”
Brad Paisley

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
American Saturday Night
Brad Paisley

Defying Gravity
Keith Urban

Fearless
*Taylor Swift

Love On The Inside
Sugarland

That Lonesome Song
Jamey Johnson

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown/Wyatt Durrette

“I Told You So”
Randy Travis

“In Color”
*Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto

“People Are Crazy”
Bobby Braddock/Troy Jones

“Then”
Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Ashley Gorley

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry”
Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire

“Down The Road”
Kenny Chesney (with Mac McAnally)

“Everything But Quits”
Lee Ann Womack (duet with George Strait)

“I Told You So”
Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis

“Old Enough”
The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe

“Start A Band”
*Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Boots On”
Randy Houser

“Love Story”
*Taylor Swift

“People Are Crazy”
Billy Currington

“Start A Band”
Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)

“Troubadour”
George Strait

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

*Eddie Bayers– Drums
Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Dann Huff – Guitar
Brent Mason – Guitar
Mac McAnally – Guitar

American Idol champ Carrie Underwood closed out the final performance show of American Idol season 8 on Tuesday night which pitted the acoustic rocker versus the glam rocker. The country singing cutie closed out the show by performing her song ‘Home Sweet Home’ which served as the going home song for each of the booted contestants. Surprisingly enough, it was Adam Lambert who has that song in his head as Kris Allen was announced as the winner of American Idol on Wednesday night! Yes! I was hoping for Kris Allen to win. He’s a much easier singer to market. Check back here for the full recap of the results show tomorrow.

One of the bigger controversies on American Idol this year was the decision of the execs to not put on an ‘Idol Gives Back’ show. However, that doesn’t mean that it has been dropped all together. During one of the show’s segments last night, a clip was aired featuring Carrie Underwood’s visit to Angola to show what ‘Idol Gives Back’ has done for the country. The country singer was seen handing out pesticide-treated bed nets to help the prevention of malaria and visiting schools and families. I still say they should have done a show for the charity. With all of the changes in the format of the show this year, some familiarity would have been great.

Carrie Underwood’s looks may bring to mind romantic moments but this girl is definitely not the romantic type especially when it comes to celebrating Valentines Day. So, potential suitors, keep your chocolates and roses away from Underwood, at least during V-Day. The 25-year old singer said she is anti-Valentine because she believes her man should love her 365 days of the year and not just on Valentines Day. Underwood, who recently won her fourth Grammy Award, said her special guy “Ace” which is unfortunately a rat terrier, is with her when she flew in and out of Disneyland.

Underwood and her special rat guy were off to Orlando for the American Idol Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios held last Thursday. Among the other American Idol alumni who were in the event are David Cook, Fantasia Barrino, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, Brooke White and Sanjaya Malakar. Underwood said it is awesome to hear the present Idol wanabees sing her songs because during her time, she also wanted to be either Fantasia or Kelly Clarkson and now it’s her turn!

Carrie Underwood picked up one of the first Grammy trophies this past Sunday for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song ‘Last Name’ during the pre-telecast presentation of the 2009 Grammy Awards which was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Congratulations to her! At that point, the 25-year old country crooner and American Idol season 4 winner already had four Grammys to her name. Does that make her the most successful of all the current American Idols? Kelly Clarkson better catch up to that! She is the original after all. Both are great singers and I wish them all the best.

Carrie Underwood may have her eyes on a new man in the form of Canadian hockey player Mike Fisher. The 25-year old American Idol alum was spotted watching a hockey game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto last weekend. She watched the game from the VIP box with Fisher’s family. She was even shown on the Jumbotron screen’s ‘Hug Cam’ throughout the game as she hugged the two people sitting next to her. A spy witness said “She looked like she was having a great time. They have been talking for a while, but when the romance with Dr. Travis Stork didn’t go anywhere, she decided to take some time for some hot hockey player action.”

Carrie Underwood has reportedly lost all respect for Oprah, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney and other celebrities who have backed candidates for office. Talk about ruffling some feathers. While talking about the elections with TV Guide, Carrie said “There is someone I do support, but I don’t support publicly. I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate. It’s saying that the American public isn’t smart enough to make their own decisions. I would never want anybody to vote for anything or anybody just because I told them to. Music is where you go to get away from all the BS.

American Idol has had more failures in its history than success stories.
For every Carrie Underwood there’s three [fill in the blank]!
Former Idol alum Blake Lewis, who came in the top two of the show, is joining the list of post A.I. losers.
Through a MySpace bulletin, Lewis says he is “sorry to inform you guys on some bad news.”
He says that his tour has been cut short, apparently due to his management and record label. He also claims that he is in the process of finding both new management and a new label.
Poor guy! He apologizes to his fans and everyone who bought tickets.
That has to suck.

Miley Cyrus and her dad Billy Ray are set to host the 2008 CMT Music Awards to be held on April 14 from Belmont University’s Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Scheduled to perform on the awards night are Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Sugarland and Toby Keith. What – no ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ from Billy Ray?! Oh well, I’m sure Miley will find something for him to do as she whores it up in front of the cameras.

In other Miley news, Disney also announced that the ‘Hannah Montana’ movie will shoot in Tennessee and Los Angeles with a scheduled release date of May 1, 2009.

After a 16-week break which was forced by the writer’s strike, Saturday Night Live is coming back. And on their first night back, Grammy award winning Carrie Underwood has been asked to make her second appearance on the show. The 24-year old will perform hits from her new double platinum selling album ‘Carnival Ride’.

Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey will be the host of the returning show and ‘Juno’ star Ellen Page will host next week. It looks like they’re bringing in the big guns for the show. It’s a smart move. The big names will get the people interested and the ratings up.

Style queen Rihanna came at the InStyle and Grammy Salute to Fashion at nightclub Boulevard 3 on Thursday in Los Angeles wearing a black lace dress and ‘Fiona’ shoes by Jimmy Choo. Did I say style queen? Not this time. This dress was a miss. I think her stylist had a temporary case of insanity when this dress was picked.

Anyway, the 19-year old Barbados singer will be bringing together several decades for her Grammy performance. She will be joining 80s band The Time. Other performers include Feist, Beyonce, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige.

It looks like there’s some blonde power behind it. Country music darlings Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Taylor Swift all cheer on the Nashville Predators as they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at Sommet Center in Nashville. I know Carrie’s a football fan having dated Tony Romo and all, but hockey?

I’m actually surprised that Kellie even knows how to watch the game and actually understand the rules of it. I’m sure she’s thinking back to her calamari comment on American Idol and saying that if she can make a waiter think she’s a calamari girl, she can make us think she’s a hockey girl too.

The Jonas Brothers have really hit the big time. The musical trio of brothers Kevin, Nick and Joe were seen attending the 2007 Jingle Ball pre-event at The Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday in New York City.

Another mark of their success is that they were recently announced to be performers during ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Even 2008’ along with Carrie Underwood and Miley Cyrus. They will have live performances from Times Square with the show airing on Monday, December 31 on ABC. What a hot way to rock in the New Year – an American Idol and two big names from Disney.

Whoever said that reality TV stars and alums can’t make it big in the real world should really start eating their words now. But in the case of American Idol alums Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry, was there ever really any doubt?

The two singers won big at the 2007 American Music Awards by picking up three awards each. Carrie won for Favorite Female Country Artist, Favorite Country Album for ‘Some Hearts’ and the Audience Text-in Award for Favorite Artist just days after winning big at the Country Music Association Awards. Chris Daughtry and his band took home Breakthrough Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Contemporary Artist.

Congrats to both!

The Country Music Association’s awards ceremony took place earlier this week. And apart from looking good throughout the whole night as well as bringing the house down with her performance of her hit single ‘So Small’, Carrie Underwood also took home several awards.

The American Idol alum picked up her first single of the year award for the song ‘Before He Cheats’. She also took home the female vocalist of the year award for the second year in a row.

She’s definitely on a roll. She garnered the top spot on the albums’ chart when her CD debuted and now she’s won two CMA awards. Congratulations Carrie!

Everyone predicted that Carrie Underwood’s CD would sell a lot and would go to the top of the charts but it actually did even better than any prediction made. ‘Carnival Ride’ is currently the #1 album in the US and has sold over 527,000 copies during its debut week. This is the American Idol alum’s first #1 album and also bested her previous effort ‘Some Hearts’ which sold 315,000 units in its first week.

Her record sales is also the best sales week for a female country artist since Shania Twain’s ‘Greatest Hits’ release back in November 2004. Carrie’s debut is also double what Kelly Clarkson’s ‘My December’ CD sold in its first week.

Congratulations Carrie!