Chesney Earns Four ACM Nominations

by Josh | 03.02.2010 | Posted In: Awards

Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire announced the nominations for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Tuesday morning and Kenny Chesney earned four nominations:

• Entertainer of the Year
• Male Vocalist of the Year
• Vocal Event of the Year (artist) for “I’m Alive” with Dave Matthews
• Vocal Event of the Year (producer) for “I’m Alive” with Dave Matthews

If Chesney wins Entertainer of the Year, it will be his fifth win in the category. He is currently one of only three acts in Academy history to achieve four wins for Entertainer of the Year. For the third year in a row, fans will vote on Entertainer of the Year. Chesney won it the first year and Carrie Underwood won last year.

Voting opens Thursday at VoteACM.com.

Lady Antebellum leads the field with seven nominations, followed by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood with six, and Taylor Swift with five nominations. Brad Paisley and the Zac Brown Band also earned four nods each.

The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 18th at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on CBS.

Here’s who Chesney is up against:

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

Vocal Event of the Year

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

Grammy Awards Tonight: Kenny Nominated for “Down The Road” (Updated)

by Josh | 01.31.2010 | Posted In: Awards

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards will be held tonight and Kenny Chesney is nominated for the second year in a row, and second time overall.

The nomination is in the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals category for his duet “Down The Road” with Mac McAnally.

“Some things are just magic and you know it,” says Chesney. “I knew the first time I heard Mac sing this on his Simple Life record… the same place I heard ‘Back Where I Come From.’ It gets inside and lets you understood everything about life you don’t even realize. So it makes sense the Grammy people – who’re from all musical genres – would recognize this song and the heart Mac brings. For a little record like this – as big as country radio can be – to spend a couple weeks at the top of the charts, it touched people. So I’m honored to share this with my friend.”

“I’m blessed by the wonderful friends I’ve found through music and how generously they’ve shared their talent, songs and lives with me,” Chesney explains. “When something like a Grammy nomination happens for something that was just an honor, I can only feel humbled – and grateful.”

Here are the other nominees in the category:

• Beautiful World – Dierks Bentley & Patty Griffin
• Start A Band – Brad Paisley & Keith Urban
• I Told You So – Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis
• Everything But Quits – Lee Ann Womack & George Strait

Leading the nominations this year is Beyonce with ten nods, Taylor Swift with eight, and The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, and Kanye West with six nominations each.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS to see if Kenny is a winner.

Update – Kenny and Mac did not win. Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis took home the award for “I Told You So.”

Brooks & Dunn Tribute at ACM’s to Feature Chesney and Others

by Josh | 01.12.2010 | Posted In: Awards, Special Appearances, Television Appearances

An all-star concert special will be held the day after the ACM Awards to honor the retiring Brooks & Dunn, and Kenny Chesney will perform at the special along with several other of the biggest names in country music. The event will be taped and aired on CBS at a later date.

Other artists slated to perform at the event include Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, with many others to be announced soon.

The 45th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards will air live on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, April 18th from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Hosting the show for the 12th time is country legend Reba McEntire.

ACM nominations will be announced in the next few weeks.

Changes Coming to ACM Awards

by Josh | 12.18.2009 | Posted In: Awards

The Academy of Country Music has made changes to their awards categories, including increasing the number of Entertainer of the Year nominees from five to eight.

The new female artist and new male artist categories will be combined into one award. Also, Vocal Duo or Group will be split into two categories:

“The Academy has always been responsive to the industry and our board felt these changes reflect what is happening in country music,” said Bob Romeo, Executive Director of the Academy of Country Music. “The proliferation of duos and groups over the past several years is impossible to deny. With these changes, we look forward to bringing even more super star artists and new talent to the forefront in 2010.”

Entertainer of the Year will continue to be voted on by fans (Chesney famously criticized the fan voting in 2008). Also being voted on by fans this year is Top New Solo Vocalis, Top New Vocal Duo, and Top New Vocal Group.

Grammy Nomination Humbling for Chesney

by Josh | 12.03.2009 | Posted In: Awards, Singles

Nominations were announced Wednesday night for the 2010 Grammy’s and Kenny Chesney earned a nod in the Best Country Collaboration With Vocals category for his duet “Down The Road” with Mac McAnally. A humbling experience, Chesney is happy to see the “simple” song honored:

“Once I knew I’d found a place to do ‘Down The Road,’ I knew I wanted to capture the essence of what Mac was writing about… because it’s a quiet song about the way love grows in small towns,” Chesney explains. “It was less is more; but when you’ve got Mac McAnally singing with you, what else do you really need? And Mac was gracious enough to come in and be a part of this song on my record.”

“Some things are just magic and you know it,” says Chesney. “I knew the first time I heard Mac sing this on his Simple Life record… the same place I heard ‘Back Where I Come From.’ It gets inside and lets you understood everything about life you don’t even realize…

“So it makes sense the Grammy people – who’re from all musical genres – would recognize this song and the heart Mac brings. For a little record like this – as big as country radio can be – to spend a couple weeks at the top of the charts, it touched people. So I’m honored to share this with my friend.”

“I’m blessed by the wonderful friends I’ve found through music and how generously they’ve shared their talent, songs and lives with me,” Chesney explains. “When something like a Grammy nomination happens for something that was just an honor, I can only feel humbled – and grateful.”

Kenny Earns Grammy Nod for “Down The Road”

by Josh | 12.02.2009 | Posted In: Awards

The 52 Annual Grammy Awards announced their nominations on Wednesday and Kenny Chesney earned his second nomination.

Last year was Kenny’s first nomination and first performance at the Grammys (watch video of his performance of “Better As A Memory”). It was for the duet “Shiftwork” with George Strait in the Best Country Collaboration With Vocals category, and he’s nominated in the same category again this year for “Down The Road” with Mac McAnally.

Here are the other contenders in the category:

• Beautiful World – Dierks Bentley & Patty Griffin
• Start A Band – Brad Paisley & Keith Urban
• I Told You So – Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis
• Everything But Quits – Lee Ann Womack & George Strait

Leading the nominations this year is Beyonce with ten nods, Taylor Swift with eight, and The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, and Kanye West with six nominations each.

Do you think Kenny and Mac will win?

Kenny’s Congratulatory Words to Taylor Swift

by Josh | 11.14.2009 | Posted In: Awards, Related Artists

The first person to congratulate Taylor Swift on her CMA Entertainer of the Year Award was Kenny Chesney, and she shared with CMT Insider what he said:

“He just said, ‘I’m so proud of you and I love you so much,’” she recalled. “We were texting earlier, and we were saying that same thing, like, ‘No matter what happens tonight, I love you so much.’ And it was just like I really, really love Kenny a lot. All the other people in the category with me have taken me out on tour as their opening act. Every one of them — Keith, Brad, George, Kenny — all of them. And so those are people that I’ve looked up to and just held up in my head as these heroes, and they’re always going to that for me.”

You can watch CMT Insider today (Nov. 14) at 1 p.m. ET/PT.

Watch Kenny Chesney’s CMA Performance

by Josh | 11.12.2009 | Posted In: Awards, Special Appearances, Television Appearances, Videos

Watch Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews perform “I’m Alive” at the 2009 CMA Awards on Wednesday night:

Chesney Shut Out at CMA Awards

by Josh | 11.11.2009 | Posted In: Awards, Special Appearances, Television Appearances

The 43rd Annual CMA Awards were disappointing for Kenny Chesney and his fans as the reigning Entertainer of the Year was shut out in the three categories that he was nominated: Musical Event of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year.

It was a big night for Taylor Swift, who won Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and the night’s biggest crown: Entertainer of the Year. “I will never forgot this moment because in this moment everyting I have ever wanted has happened to me,” she said.

When Swift was announced as Entertainer of the Year, Kenny gave her a very gracious congratulatory kiss on the cheek.

Though Chesney took home no awards, he and Dave Matthews closed out the performances with a fantastic rendition of their top 10 hit “I’m Alive”.

Here’s the list of winners:

• Entertainer of the Year – Taylor Swift
• Female Vocalist of the Year – Taylor Swift
• Male Vocalist of the Year – Brad Paisley
• New Artists of the Year – Darius Rucker
• Vocal Group of the Year – Lady Antebellum
• Vocal Duo of the Year – Sugarland
• Single of the Year – “I Run To You” by Lady Antebellum
• Album of the Year – Fearless by Taylor Swift
• Song of the Year – “In Color” by Jamey Johnson
• Musical Event of the Year – “Start a Band” by Keith Urban and Brad Paisley
• Music Video of the Year – “Love Story” by Taylor Swift

(photo – Josh Anderson / AP)

43rd CMA Awards Tonight on ABC

by Josh | 11.11.2009 | Posted In: Awards, Special Appearances, Television Appearances, twitter

It’s the biggest night in country music: the annual Country Music Association Awards show and Kenny Chesney is up for three awards:

• Entertainer of the Year
• Male Vocalist
• Musical Event with Mac McAnally for “Down The Road”

Chesney has won Entertainer of the Year three straight years and four times overall, tying Garth Brooks for most all time. On the possibility of having the record to himself, Chesney says that “the pressure on me is how I do a better show. But who wouldn’t want to have their name in the history books like that?”

Chesney will also be performing his current Top 10 hit “I’m Alive” during the show, accompanied by Dave Matthews. The duo will sit atop two simple barstools with a starlit backdrop.

Leave a comment to this post with your predictions on who will be the big winners. Also join us on the forum for a live chat during the show.

If you are on Twitter, tweet your support of Kenny Chesney in the CMA Awards Twitter Experience. And don’t forget to follow us at twitter.com/ChesneyWorld.

“The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, airs live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.