Luxe Life Blog

ACM announces award nominations and 10-year CBS contract

Posted January 26, 2012 • 9:28 a.m.

Taylor Swift receives the Entertainer of the Year award from presenter Ryan Seacrest during the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Photo: Steve Marcus

CBS, ahead of Reba McEntire’s announcement this morning of this year’s ACM Awards nominees, has extended its broadcast contract for 10 years. Dick Clark Productions will produce the annual April broadcasts and the next-day, taped specials from MGM Grand Garden Arena through 2021.

Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney and Lady Antebellum lead the nominations for female, male and group artists, respectively, for this year’s star-studded 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday, April 1, from MGM Grand Garden Arena and Mandalay Bay Events Center (where the second-annual Fan Jam will be presented with headliners the Zac Brown Band).

Chesney leads male nominees with 9 nominations, Jason Aldean has 6, Brad Paisley (who is at Mandalay Bay on Saturday Night and is the reigning Male Vocalist of the Year) has 4, and Toby Keith has 3. Taylor, the reigning Entertainer of the Year, leads female nominations with 3, and Grace Potter has 3 noms for projects with Kenny (these are Grace’s first ACM nods). Lady A leads group nominations with 5, followed by the Eli Young Band at 3.

The nominees were announced online via the first-ever ACM digital press conference this morning on the Academy’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Reba, who is co-hosting again with Blake Shelton, participated with a video message to kick things off, along with music legend Lionel Richie, who will be honored during a taping of “ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends in Concert” in April (to air at a later date on CBS), Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls), Nancy O’Dell (“Entertainment Tonight”) and Michael Ausiello (TVLine.com).

Country music fans also announced the nominees for the ACM’s biggest prize, Entertainer of the Year, for the first time ever by submitting videos naming their favorite artist. Fans from around the country announced Entertainer of the Year nominees Jason, Kenny, Brad, Blake and Taylor.

Nominees for New Artist of the Year were not announced at the press conference today because fan voting for those semifinalists closes Jan. 30. Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert, Aaron Lewis, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Chris Young all received 2 nominations each. ACM’s membership selects the nominees and winners of the ACMs, except for the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year.

Presenters and performers at MGM Grand will be announced at a later date. Go to ACM’s Web site for a full list of this year’s nominees, and good luck to all the nominees. See you in April!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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