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  • THE 2018 CMA NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED.

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    Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Chris Stapleton / Dierks Bentley / Kacey Musgraves / Keith Urban / Lauren Alaina / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Vince Gill

    Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay and Sugarland announced the final nominations for The 52nd Annual CMA Awards this morning (August 28th) live on ABC’s Good Morning America from Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink bar located on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville.

    The artists revealed six categories live on-air, then announced the remaining six categories, along with finalists for the CMA Broadcast Awards, on GoodMorningAmerica.com as well as via “Good Morning America’s” Facebook page through Facebook Live, Twitter and simulcast on “Good Morning America’s” YouTube channel.

    Chris Stapleton tops the list of finalists with five nominations. Producer and musician Dann Huff receives four nominations, the second most nominations this year, while nine artists garner three each—Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Janson, Miranda Lambert, Midland, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban.

    CHRIS STAPLETON – FIVE NOMINATIONS
    Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“Broken Halos”), Album of the Year (From A Room: Volume 2), Song of the Year (“Broken Halos”), Male Vocalist of the Year 

    Stapleton leads this year’s CMA Awards nominations with five, adding to his previous 11 nominations and seven wins. He lands his third consecutive nod for Entertainer of the Year in addition to nominations in the Single and Song of the Year categories for “Broken Halos,” produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton, mixed by Vance Powell, and written by Mike Henderson and Stapleton. Stapleton earns his third nomination for Album of the Year for From A Room: Volume 2, produced by Cobb and Stapleton. He previously won Album for his first two solo albums, Traveller, awarded in 2015, and From A Room: Volume 1, awarded in 2017. Stapleton also receives his fourth consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, a category he remains undefeated in, having won the past three years.

    DIERKS BENTLEY – THREE NOMINATIONS
    Album of the Year (The Mountain), Male Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Burning Man”)

    Dierks Bentley earns his sixth career nomination for Album of the Year, alongside producers Ross Copperman, Jon Randall Stewart, and Arturo Buenahora Jr., while also marking his fifth consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year. He also lands a nod alongside Brothers Osborne for Musical Event of the Year for their collaboration “Burning Man,” Bentley’s third nomination in the category. He won Musical Event in 2016 for his song “Different For Girls” (Feat. Elle King). With this year’s nominations, Bentley collects 24 total career nominations.

    KEITH URBAN – THREE NOMINATIONS
    Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Graffiti U), Male Vocalist of the Year

    This year marks Keith Urban’s 14th nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, 11th nomination in the Entertainer of the Year category, and his sixth nomination in the Album of the Year category for Graffiti U, bringing his career nominations to 45 with 11 total wins. Urban shares the nomination with the album’s producers Dan McCarroll, J.R. Rotem, Josh Kerr, Jason Evigan, Greg Wells, Benny Blanco, Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid, Jesse Shatkin, Jimmy Robbins, Oscar Holter, Matt Rad, Eric Valentine, Ian Kirkpatrick, Mike Elizondo, Captain Cuts, Copperman, Huff, and Peter Karlsson. Urban is the reigning Single of the Year winner for his song “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which he also produced.

    The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET on ABC.

    For more information and a full list of nominees, visit CMAawards.com.

    The Final Nominees for “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” (by ballot category order):

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Luke Bryan
    Kenny Chesney
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    SINGLE OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Artist, Producer(s), and Mix Engineer(s))

    Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton
    Producer(s): Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
    Mix Engineer(s): Vance Powell

    Drinkin’ Problem – Midland
    Producer(s): Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
    Mix Engineer(s): Justin Niebank

    Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
    Producer(s): Michael Knox
    Mix Engineer(s): Jeff Braun

    Meant to Be – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
    Producer(s): Willshire
    Mix Engineer(s): Serban Ghenea

    Tequila – Dan + Shay
    Producer(s): Scott Hendricks, Dan Smyers
    Mix Engineer(s): Jeff Juliano

    ALBUM OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

    From a Room: Volume 2 – Chris Stapleton
    Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
    Graffiti U – Keith Urban
    Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
    The Mountain – Dierks Bentley

    SONG OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Songwriter(s))

    “Body Like A Back Road”
    Songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

    “Broken Halos”
    Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton

    “Drowns the Whiskey”
    Songwriter: Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton, Josh Thompson

    “Drunk Girl”
    Songwriter: Scooter Carusoe, Tom Douglas, Chris Janson

    “Tequila”
    Songwriter: Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers

    FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Kacey Musgraves
    Maren Morris
    Carrie Underwood

    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Dierks Bentley
    Luke Combs
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
    Lady Antebellum
    Lanco
    Little Big Town
    Midland
    Old Dominion

    VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan + Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    Maddie & Tae
    Sugarland

    MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to each Artist)

    “Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
    “Dear Hate” – Maren Morris (Feat. Vince Gill)
    “Drowns the Whiskey” – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
    “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – David Lee Murphy (with Kenny Chesney)
    “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line

    MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Artist and Director(s))

    “Babe” – Sugarland (Featuring Taylor Swift)
    Director: Anthony Mandler

    “Cry Pretty” – Carrie Underwood
    Director: Randee St. Nicholas

    “Drunk Girl” – Chris Janson
    Director: Jeff Venable

    “Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett
    Director: TK McKamy

    “Tequila” – Dan + Shay
    Director: Patrick Tracy

    NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
    Lauren Alaina
    Luke Combs
    Chris Janson
    Midland
    Brett Young

    MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
    Jerry Douglas, Dobro
    Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
    Dann Huff, Guitar
    Mac McAnally, Guitar
    Derek Wells, Guitar

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Audio / LUKE BRYAN SAY WINNING HIS FIRST CMA ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD CHANGED HIS LIFE.

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    Luke Bryan (winning 1st CMA Entertainer of the Year) OC: …big deal for me. :55
    “Definitely looking back and winning my first CMA Entertainer of the Year award is something that I’ll never forget. It’s all of those memories of everything it took to get here and all the sacrifices and all the honkytonks and the late-night concerts and moving to Nashville and leaving your family and your friends, it all came together on that night. To get that from your peers of fellow country music artists was pretty amazing. You never forget it. You forever feel vindicated and you feel appreciated and you feel like you’re a member of a club, and you know no matter how long you live that you left an indelible mark on this industry based on how you go about it, how you entertain and perform. It was a big deal for me.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN PICKED UP HIS FIRST CMA MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR AWARD IN 2004, AND HE SAYS IT WAS A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE FOR HIM. HE WENT ON TO WIN THAT AWARD IN 2005 AND 2006.

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    Keith Urban (winning 1st Male Vocalist award) OC: …my life. :27
    “In 2004, I won Male Vocalist of the Year, and again it was that same feeling I had when I’d won the Horizon Award, but it was like the next level.  It just felt so humbling really. Really to be in that category and then to win was again just one of those sort of moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

    Audio / Keith Urban explains why he felt the need to name his CMA nominated album, Graffiti U.

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    Keith Urban (Graffiti U name) OC: …that to me. :53
    “The previous two albums I did – Fuse and Ripcord – denoted a kind of energy, and so those titles were chosen for that. And I had some energy-driven titles in mind for this album too, but as the record started to reveal itself to me, the word ‘graffiti’ kept coming to me out of the blue. I’ve always loved that word, loved the sound of the word, and then I loved the fact that it’s art-driven. When I think of graffiti, I think of self-expression, personal expression, absolutely personal expression whether you’re painting something on the side of a building in a city or whether you’re painting ‘Billy Bob Loves Charlene’ on the side of an overpass [laughs], it’s all graffiti and it’s all free and pure and very personal, and I thought this record feels like that to me.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley was inspired by Telluride to write and record his CMA nominated album, The Mountain.

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    Dierks Bentley (album inspired by Telluride) 2 OC: …it was magic. :53
    “I just had this crazy idea to bring some songwriters out there and let them go for hikes and walk around town and just hang and see if they can sense that same intangible vibe that I was sensing, and they did. We jumped right into it and it was really, really special. And everyone immediately starts talking about how can we start getting back out here again, because it’s one of those places you just like never want to leave. Ross said, ‘We should come back out here to make the record,’ and we all kinda laughed about it, but it planted the seed. So, I came back a few months later with a different set of guys and girls, musicians, and we recorded the album out there.” It’s one of those things where you just kind of follow your gut, just keep your heart open to ideas and see what you’re feeling, and once you get that little, tiny feeling, you’ve got to go for it, just like that gut instinct of I want to be a country singer. It’s that little seed that if you believe in it, you’ve got to go for it, try it, so that’s what we did with this album, and it was magic.”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the title of her CMA nominated album, Golden Hour.

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    Kacey Musgraves (Golden Hour title) OC: …this record. :34
    “The title Golden Hour just seemed to sum up this chapter of my life perfectly. I mean not only am I from a town called Golden, Texas, but leading up to making this record, there’s been a lot of beauty in my atmosphere and in my world. I love the picture that pops in my head when I hear that title. It’s also an actual song on the record, but it’s just this warm, golden feeling that I’m really happy to have in my life, and I found it to be the perfect title for this record.”

  • MADDIE & TAE UNVEIL FLIRTATIOUS NEW VIDEO FOR “FRIENDS DON’T.”

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    Maddie & Tae

    PLATINUM-selling duo Maddie & Tae have unveiled the official music video for “Friends Don’t” – “an energetic track that tackles the mixed emotions of a friendship on the verge of romance” (Billboard). Serving as the single from their upcoming sophomore album, the video was shot in Nashville with director TK McKamy and mirrors the flirtatious uncertainty the comes at the beginning of relationships. Written by Maddie & Tae’s Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye, along with Justin Ebach and Jon Nite, the “up-tempo almost love song” (Tennessean) is gaining momentum at radio and recently landed on Amazon Music’s Best Country of 2018 So Far playlist.

    “To us ‘Friends Don’t’ feels sexy and confident, but with a dash of that uncertainty you have at the start of a relationship because you don’t know if the other person feels the same way you do,” shared Dye. “We wanted to play off that push and pull we’ve all felt before.”

    “We both got to do a little acting and play out separate storylines with a love interest,” added Marlow. “It was pretty outside of the box for us to act, so we just tried to have fun with it.”

    Yesterday, Entertainment Tonight gave an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the video shoot. To watch, click here: https://www.etonline.com/behind-the-scenes-look-at-maddie-taes-friends-dont-music-video-exclusive-107129

    Award-winning duo Maddie & Tae are drawing praise for their new single “Friends Don’t,” “anchored around their stellar vocal pairings and some of the tightest harmonies on Music Row (Rolling Stone). “The sound is identifiable while still representing a distinct step forward” (Billboard), giving fans a taste of what to expect from their highly-anticipated forthcoming full-length album. Maddie & Tae first broke out in 2013 with their brilliant take down of bro-country, “Girl In A Country Song,” which took Country radio by storm, skyrocketing to the top of the charts and quickly going PLATINUM. The duo became only the third female duo in 70 years to top the country airplay charts, also earning trophies from the Country Music Academy and Radio Disney Music Awards along with multiple ACM, CMA and CMT Award nominations. Receiving widespread praise from NPR, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, Glamour and others, country music’s hottest stars including Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice and Brad Paisley have welcomed Maddie & Tae on the road. For additional information, please visit www.maddieandtae.com.

    Video / Friends Don't Official Video

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  • MADDIE & TAE TAKE YOU BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF THEIR NEW VIDEO FOR “FRIENDS DON’T.”

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    Maddie & Tae

    Maddie & Tae will premiere the music video for their latest song, “Friends Don’t,” tomorrow. In the meantime, if you want to get a sneak peek, Entertainment Tonight gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the clip. Check out all the action right here.

    “It’s very different from all the other music videos we’ve done,” Tae Dye explained to ET. “Be both have different storylines, but in the same setting, so the music video will kinda follow Maddie’s story and my story and, yeah, the conclusion. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

    “We both have a love interest,” Maddie Marlow added. “Tae, she is actually a really, really good actress… But yeah, I don’t enjoy it, but we needed to do it for this song and the video we had to be the main characters for it to make sense.”

  • BROTHERS OSBORNE RELEASE THE VIDEO FOR “SHOOT ME STRAIGHT.”

    Brothers Osborne

    Reigning ACM and CMA Vocal Duo of the Year, Brothers Osborne, debuts the music video for their raucous current single “Shoot Me Straight” today, watch HERE. The unconventional video serves as part mockumentary around the very real difficulty of creating a music video concept.

    “This idea genuinely spawned out of us not being able to come to agreement on what we wanted the video to be about,” says TJ.  “After weeks of back and forth emails, conference calls, treatment pitches, etc., we came to the conclusion that we needed to make a video about, well, not making a video. It turned out to be so damn fun,” adds John.

    The GRAMMY-nominated duo again partnered with directors Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver, the same team from the ACM and CMA Award-winning video for their Top 10 hit “It Ain’t My Fault”.

    The story kicks off with Brothers Osborne rejecting one bad idea after another before the “directors” take matters into their own hands, plotting how to get this video done whether John and TJ like it or not.

    Climbing country radio’s Top 25, “Shoot Me Straight” is Brothers Osborne’s current single off their critically-acclaimed sophomore album, Port Saint Joe. The infectious track continues to win over both critics and fans alike with All Access noting it “doubles-down on the badassery and toe-tapping tunes we’ve come to expect.” Industry critic Bob Lefsetz calls it a “Straight Up Jam” while Billboard says it’s “epic” and Rolling Stone notes it’s an “underrated barnstormer”.

    The singer/songwriter siblings recently announced a headlining U.S. leg to their world tour that includes stops in Canada as well as the U.K. this fall.  Brothers Osborne are currently on the road as part of Dierks Bentley’s Mountain High Tour and will perform at the upcoming Seven Peaks Music Festival in Buena Vista, Colorado on Sept 1. This weekend, fans can catch the Maryland natives with Kenny Chesney at Gillette Stadium in Boston, MA. For a full list of tour dates, news, images and more, visit www.BrothersOsborne.com

     

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  • CARRIE UNDERWOOD JOINS THE LINEUP FOR NBC’S TODAY SHOW CITI SUMMER CONCERT SERIES.

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    Carrie Underwood

    Carrie Underwood will play NBC’s Today Show Citi Summer Concert Series September 14th, the same day her new album, Cry Pretty, will be released.

    The seven-time Grammy Award winner is currently climbing the country charts with her latest song, “Cry Pretty.”

  • KEITH URBAN TEASES NEW VIDEO FOR “NEVER COMING DOWN.”

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    Keith Urban

  • KEITH URBAN GRAFFITI U ALBUM AUDIO TOOLKIT

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    Keith Urban

    Click here to download Keith Urban’s Graffiti U Album Audio Toolkit.

  • KEITH URBAN RELEASES HIS NEW SINGLE, “NEVER COMING’ DOWN.”

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    Keith Urban

    Keith Urban has released his new single, “Never Comin’ Down,’ the follow-up to his recent No. 1 smash, “Coming Home.” The song is from his latest album, Graffiti U. Keith co-wrote the song with Josh Kerr, J Hart [aka James Abrahart] and Shy Carter while in a writing camp set up by his publisher.

    “Those three guys were mixing up some sort of various cocktail environment. [laughs] figuratively and literally upstairs, and there was just such a great thing happening up there,” he says. “I had this drum beat that I had carried around for a bit, and I presented that, and we started building on that. It really started with a tribal rhythmic feel.”

    Keith is coming home to Nashville with his Graffiti U World Tour on Friday (August 24th), followed by dates in Orange Beach and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about writing his new single, “Never Coming Down.”

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    Keith Urban (Never Coming Down) OC: …rhythmic feel. :27
    “Josh Kerr, J Hart [aka James Abrahart] and Shy Carter. So, those three guys were mixing up some sort of various cocktail environment. [laughs] figuratively and literally upstairs, and there was just such a great thing happening up there. I had this drum beat that I had carried around for a bit, and I presented that, and we started building on that. It really started with a tribal rhythmic feel.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Never Coming Down)

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    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Never Coming Down) 2

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    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Never Coming Down) 3

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  • SHANIA TWAIN NOMINATED FOR A PAIR OF CCMA AWARDS.

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    Shania Twain

    Shania Twain has been nominated for a pair of CCMA Awards for Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, as well as Female Artist of the Year. The 2018 CCMA Award Show, which will be hosted by Shania, will broadcast live from Hamilton, Ontario September 9th at 8pm ET on CBC and cbcmusic.ca/ccmas.

    Shania is currently making her way across the U.S. with her NOW! Tour. This weekend, she’ll play shows in Brooklyn, New York (July 14th) and Washington, DC (July 15th).

  • KEITH URBAN SET TO RELEASE VINYL VERSION OF “GRAFFITI U.”

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    Keith Urban

    Keith Urban’s latest release, Graffiti U, will be released on vinyl July 27th, along with two of his previous releases – Be Here and Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing.

    The “U” in the title of Keith’s current album came about quite creatively and organically. “Graffiti came, and I didn’t like the word on its own. It felt like it needed one more thing, and I thought, ‘Well, it’s for the audience. It’s for the listener. That’s what I do this for.’ It’s what every artist does it for, because…I said the other day, ‘If an album played in the forest, would anyone ever hear it?’ [laughs] So, the audience is key. The listener is the other half of it. And I thought ‘You! It’s You are the audience.’ So, Graffiti You felt really good, and when I wrote it down, I thought, ‘Well, it shouldn’t be Y-O-U. It should be just the letter U to really personalize it.’”

    Keith, who’s sitting inside the Top 5 on the country charts with “Coming Home,” will take his Graffiti U World Tour to Salt Lake City on Friday (July 13th), Denver on Saturday (July 14th) and Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday (July 15th).

    Audio / Keith Urban explains why he added the letter ‘U’ to the title of his new album, Graffiti U.

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    Keith Urban (Graffiti U name) 2 OC: …personalize it. :34
    “So, Graffiti came, and I didn’t like the word on its own. It felt like it needed one more thing, and I thought, ‘Well, it’s for the audience. It’s for the listener. That’s what I do this for.’ It’s what every artist does it for, because…I said the other day, ‘If an album played in the forest, would anyone ever hear it?’ [laughs] So, the audience is key. The listener is the other half of it. And I thought ‘You! It’s You are the audience.’ So, Graffiti You felt really good, and when I wrote it down, I thought, ‘Well, it shouldn’t be Y-O-U. It should be just the letter U to really personalize it.’”