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  • CMA AWARDS 2015: Keith Urban

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    Keith Urban

    Keith Urban is up for Vocal Event of the Year for his collaboration on “Raise ‘Em Up” with Eric Church.

    Keith says the song didn’t start out as a duet. “The lyric is just absolutely extraordinary, and all the things ‘Raise Em-Up’ can apply to,” he says. “I felt this song was such a journey and a deeply American aspect to this song too, particularly in the second verse. And what ‘Raise Em-Up’ can mean, all the various things that that phrase can mean; it’s such a cinematic song, and I’ve always considered Eric as a cinematic artist, and I sent him the song and he was in the studio immediately. I am so glad he wanted to be a part of it because it took the song to a new place.”

    Keith is set to duet with John Mellencamp on Wednesday night’s CMA Awards, which will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about the song "Raise 'Em Up," featuring pal Eric Church.

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    Keith Urban (Raise ‘Em Up-Church) 2 OC: …new place. 1:04
    “It’s not a duet, but it hit me that this might be a good song for us to do as a duet because it’s an extraordinary song to begin with. When I got sent it, it got sent under the heading of ‘Song of the Year,’ and I thought, well that’s a tall order for a song. Then I saw the writers Jeffery Steele, Tom Douglas, and Jaren Johnston, and I went, ‘Okay we’ve got some pretty stout writers on this song.’ The lyric is just absolutely extraordinary, and all the things ‘Raise Em-Up’ can apply to. I felt this song was such a journey and a deeply American aspect to this song too, particularly in the second verse. And what ‘Raise Em-Up’ can mean, all the various things that that phrase can mean; it’s such a cinematic song, and I’ve always considered Eric as a cinematic artist, and I sent him the song and he was in the studio immediately. I am so glad he wanted to be a part of it because it took the song to a new place.”

  • CMA AWARDS 2015: Kacey Musgraves

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    Kacey Musgraves

    Kacey Musgraves scored three CMA nominations, including Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Pageant Material and Music Video of the Year for “Biscuits.”

    The Texas native says all of her songs begin with her. “, I just feel like just because there’s more eyes and ears now listening out there that know who I am and are listening and watching or whatever, I don’t think it should change, I don’t want it to change what I think is good,” says Kacey. “Because the truth is that these songs selfishly start to make me happy because I really love how songs make me feel when I write them and taking things I’ve gone through and putting them in songs. So, it starts with me, and if other people like it, that’s awesome.”

    The 49th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves says all songs start with her, especially for her second album, Pageant Material.

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    Kacey Musgraves (songs start with her) OC: …that’s awesome. :32
    “The second time around, it’s interesting. There’s not as much time involved, that’s one thing that’s a little difficult. But two, I just feel like just because there’s more eyes and ears now listening out there that know who I am and are listening and watching or whatever, I don’t think it should change, I don’t want it to change what I think is good. Because the truth is that these songs selfishly start to make me happy because I really love how songs make me feel when I write them and taking things I’ve gone through and putting them in songs. So, it starts with me, and if other people like it, that’s awesome.”

  • CMA AWARDS 2015: Luke Bryan

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    Luke Bryan

    Luke Bryan, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, has a pair of CMA nominations, including Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year. He says it’s just an honor to be in the running.

    “At the end of the day, all you can want to be is in the game and have some nominations and be in the hunt,” says the Georgia native. “At the end of the day, whoever wins, it’ll be an awesome night. If we win, it’ll be a big day. It’ll be an amazing night for me and we’ll have the time of our lives and kind of go from there. But, for me, it’s always enjoying this and celebrating nominations.”

    The 49th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about having CMA nominations.

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    Luke Bryan (CMA Nominations) OC: …nominations. :21
    “At the end of the day, all you can want to be is in the game and have some nominations and be in the hunt. At the end of the day, whoever wins, it’ll be an awesome night. If we win, it’ll be a big day. It’ll be an amazing night for me and we’ll have the time of our lives and kind of go from there. But, for me, it’s always enjoying this and celebrating nominations.”

  • CMA AWARDS 2015: Lady Antebellum

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    Lady Antebellum

    Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley is just happy to be nominated in the Vocal Group of the Year category at this year’s CMA Awards. He says that he’ll never take a nomination for granted.

    “There’s always going to be a new crop of groups and musicians…and there should be. That’s what the music business is about. That’s what fans want. I mean, I always want something new. I’m always craving it, and so hopefully all this stuff kind of as groups and as artists helps motivate you to be creative and come up with something unique and different,” says Charles. “So we never take it for granted because there will be a time when we won’t be in those categories and you know, so, you’re still in the game, you’re still playing on a pretty high level and so that means a lot.”

    Charles, who will present an award at the CMA Awards, is currently making his way up the country charts with his debut solo single, “The Driver.”

    The 49th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley said he and his bandmates will never take an awards nomination for granted.

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    Lady Antebellum (Charles happy to be nominated) OC: …means a lot. :31

    “Yeah, yeah, for sure.  I mean you can’t take that for granted. There’s always going to be a new crop of groups and musicians that … and there should be. That’s what the music business is about. That’s what fans want.  I mean, I always want something new.  I’m always craving it, and so hopefully all this stuff kind of as groups and as artists helps motivate you to be creative and come up with something unique and different. So we never take it for granted because there will be a time when we won’t be in those categories and you know, so, you’re still in the game; you’re still playing on a pretty high level and so that means a lot.

  • CMA AWARDS 2015: Dierks Bentley

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    Dierks Bentley

    Dierks Bentley is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards, and the Riser star would love to take the trophy home. However, he says the true reward is being able to perform live for his fans and to raise money for charity.

    “To be one of the five performers to be nominated, it is pretty cool. Yeah, I’d obviously like to win one,” says Dierks. “The reward really lies in getting the chance to tour and get up in front of your audience every night and doing things like this. A trophy would be awesome, to get recognized by your peers and all that, but I get to go out there and be recognized every night by the fans that cheer for us and sing for us, so my cup is pretty overflowing as it is.”

    Dierks just raised more than $634,000 at his Miles and Music for Kids event.

    Audio / At this past weekend's Miles & Music for Kids event in Nashville, Dierks Bentley said he would love to win the Male Vocalist of the Year award at Wednesday’s CMA Awards, but it won’t be the end of the world if he doesn’t.

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    Dierks Bentley (CMA nomination) OC: …as it is. :40
    “I mean, yeah, people always say it’s good to be nominated, but you think about how crowded the country music field is, how many people are trying to get in and no one’s really trying to get out. I mean, just packing more singers into one format, so to be one of the five performers to be nominated, it is pretty cool. Yeah, I’d obviously like to win one.  I got one in the previous decade, it’d be fun to get one in the teens, but yeah, either way, it’s not where, you know … the reward really lies in getting the chance to tour and get up in front of your audience every night and doing things like this. A trophy would be awesome, to get recognized by your peers and all that, but I get to go out there and be recognized every night by the fans that cheer for us and sing for us, so my cup is pretty overflowing as it is.”

  • SCOTTY McCREERY RELEASES BEHIND-THE-SCENES FOOTAGE FROM HIS UPCOMING ‘SOUTHERN BELLE’ VIDEO.

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    Scotty Mccreery

    Multi-Platinum-selling country music star Scotty McCreery teases his upcoming “Southern Belle” video with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage released to RARE today. McCreery is seen letting loose on set and belting out his latest tune surrounded by cheerleaders and marching band members from all over Nashville including cheer squads from Belmont University and from Lipscomb University along with the Vanderbilt University Spirit of Gold Marching Band. View HERE.

    “Southern Belle,” produced by Frank Rogers and written by Sean McConnell and Jason Saenz, is the lead single off McCreery’s highly-anticipated third studio album on Mercury Nashville / 19 / Interscope Records. The official video is due out this Monday, Nov. 9th.

    Fans can preview and purchase “Southern Belle” by visiting umgn.us/SouthernBelle.

    McCreery recently wrapped up the Riot Tour 2015 with Rascal Flatts and he continues his own headlining dates through the end of the year. In addition to “Southern Belle,” the ACM and CMT Award-winner performs his Platinum-selling fan-favorites on tour including “See You Tonight,” “I Love You This Big,” “The Trouble With Girls,” his most recent Top 10 Gold-selling hit, “Feelin’ It” and many more.

    McCreery also recently announced the May 3, 2016 release of his very first book, Go Big Or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream, which narrates the young star’s journey from a kid imitating Elvis on the school bus to 30 million viewers across the country tuning in to see him win Season 10 of “American Idol” to building a successful country music career. The book will be available for pre-order beginning Nov. 15.

    For more information, images, tour dates, music and more, visit www.ScottyMcCreery.com.

    www.ScottyMcCreery.com | Facebook.com/ScottyMcCreery | Twitter.com/ScottyMcCreery | Instagram.com/ScottyMcCreery

    *High Resolution Image Available Upon Request

    Photo Credit: Eric Adkins

    Video / BEHIND THE SCENES OF SCOTTY McCREERY'S SOUTHERN BELLE VIDEO

  • CMA AWARDS 2015: Little Big Town

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    Little Big Town

    Reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town are tied with Eric Church for the most nominations at this year’s CMA Awards with five, including Vocal Group of the Year – a category they’ve been nominated in every year since 2006. The group is also up for Single and Music Video of the Year for “Girl Crush;” as well as Album of the Year for Pain Killer and Musical Event of the Year for “Smokin’ and Drinkin’” with Miranda Lambert. “Girl Crush” is also nominated for Song of the Year, which is awarded to the songwriters, Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey.

    The group is currently making their way up the country charts with their latest single, “Pain Killer.”

    The 49th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild recall watching some of the CMA Awards’ memorable moments.

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    LBT (watching CMAs) OC: (Karen) …iconic platform. :46
    KIMBERLY: “There’s so much history there, Barbara Mandrell, I remember.” KAREN: “I always think about her too. Winning Entertainer of the Year as a woman. Gosh! Just dominating.” KIMBERLY: “And Alabama winning year after year after year after year for Group of the Year.” KAREN: “Seeing Reba win Female Vocalist for the first time; Vince Gill performing for the first time and wondering who he was…voice of an angel. Just all these great moments of discovery for us, I think, as fans of country music, watching that show, and that’s still what it is for so many people, and that’s why we don’t take it lightly at all. It’s our chance to introduce ourselves to so many people and we get a chance to do that on a really, really big, iconic platform.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild talks about hearing their CMA-nominated song “Girl Crush” for the first time.

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    LBT (Girl Crush) 3 OC: …that song? :33
    KAREN: “Kimberly and I are so lucky that we were writing with them, and they had just written that song. And they said, (JIMI: “…like the day before.”) Liz said, ‘Can we play you guys something?” PHILLIP: “You’ll never cut it.” KAREN: “She said, ‘You’ll never cut it, but I just want to play it for you.” We said, ‘Yeah, yeah, play it.’ We had just set down, cups of coffee in the morning, we were hanging out, and they played ‘Girl Crush.’” KIMBERLY: “We were slayed.” KAREN: “We could not say, ‘Can we please have that’ quick enough. Like as soon as it was over, we were like, ‘We want that song! We want it right now!’ Why would we not cut that song?”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook talks about the band’s CMA-nominated song, “Girl Crush.”

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    LBT (Girl Crush) OC: …more special. :44
    “I think ‘Girl Crush’ is one of the most brilliant lyrics I’ve heard in such a long time. It’s taking a phrase that you’ve heard so many times, and just the way it turns at the hook, it just catches you. It gives me chills every time I listen to it, when that hook turns like it does. It’s just brilliant. I think it’s a brilliant song, and [Karen’s] vocal is perfection. It’s so good. The emotion of that song comes through. I love it. I love the sparseness of the track. I think it’s empty in the right places, and the nice little subtle things that come in to support and the organ and all that…Jay [Joyce] killed that track and made it even more special.”

  • CHRIS STAPLETON READY TO HIT THE CMA STAGE WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE.

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    Chris Stapleton

    Chris Stapleton’s special guest during his performance on Wednesday night’s CMA Awards will be pop superstar Justin Timberlake, as announced on ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday (November 2nd). The two have apparently been talking about a collaboration for some time.

    “We’ve always talked about finding a reason to do something together,” Chris Stapleton tells Rolling Stone Country. “”[Timberlake] is obviously one of the greatest musical talents in the world, maybe ever, that we have,” Stapleton says.. “I called him up with no thought of him agreeing to it, and he was ready to start planning it right then. I said, ‘Well, I think maybe we should wait, and if we get nominated they’ll let me have [a slot].’ He was so gracious and kind to want to do it and was so excited about it, and I’m excited about it. It’ll be something I’ve never done before for sure.”

    Chris, who just released his new single “Nobody to Blame,” is nominated for Male Vocalist, New Artist and Album of the Year for Traveller.

    The 49th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 4th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Audio / Chris Stapleton explains why he named his album Traveller.

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    Chris Stapleton (title of Traveller) OC: …folks too. :43
    “The song ‘Traveller’ and how it ended up being the title of the record, it seemed like a natural thing to call it, because a lot of, certainly the inspiration for this record came from a series of events. It’s kind of the only song that was written inside of, well, there might’ve been one other song written inside of knowing I was going to make this record in this way. The rest of the songs came from outside of that time period. So, that’s one reason to name it that. The other reason is that it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It’s about a journey in a musical sense and in a physical sense and in a spiritual sense. In every way that you can have a journey, this record is kind of that for me, and hopefully for some other folks too.”

    Justin posted a photo of him and Chris during their CMA rehearsals on Sunday. “Finishing up rehearsals… Honored to share the stage with this BADASS. Wednesday night. Memphis x Nashville. Chris Stapleton #CMAawards”

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  • DIERKS BENTLY RAISES MORE THAN $636,000 WITH MILES & MUSIC EVENT.

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    Dierks Bentley

    CMA “Male Vocalist of the Year” nominee Dierks Bentley celebrated the 10th Anniversary of his Annual Miles & Music For Kids last night with a record breaking total of $636,479 raised for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, marking the event’s biggest donation and almost $4 million raised for the cause to date. Kicking off CMA Awards week in full swing, thousands of bikers rode into downtown Nashville where Bentley was joined by an all-star concert lineup including Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, The Cadillac Three, Canaan Smith, Brooke Eden and emcee Storme Warren at the post-ride sold-out event held at Ascend Amphitheater.

    “You always want to make each year different and raise more money especially with it being the 10th anniversary,” said Bentley. “We had a killer lineup and moved over to the new Ascend Amphitheater, but I was completely shocked to see that first number when they flipped over the check – a six! Really big thanks to all the fans and friends who helped make it such a huge night.”

    Bentley will continue the week gearing up for his performance at the upcoming 49th Annual CMA Awards airing live on Wednesday (11/4) at 8pm ET on ABC, where he is also nominated for “Male Vocalist of the Year.” For more information, visit www.dierks.com.

    About Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt:
    The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is a nationally recognized provider of pediatric health care services, currently with nine specialty programs ranked by U.S. News & World Report magazine in its Best Children’s Hospitals issue. The hospital is also ranked 13th in the nation by Parents magazine. With more than 400 physicians trained in 30 pediatric and surgical specialties, the 271–bed facility provides the highest level of pediatric health care services and is also a top-tier teaching and research facility. The hospital features Centers of Excellence for the treatment of diabetes and congenital heart disorders, and also offers comprehensive services for other childhood diseases such as cancer, organ and bone marrow transplants, Level 1 pediatric trauma, sickle cell disease, developmental disorders and is home to a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, the highest designated level of neonatal care. No child in Tennessee is denied care based on their ability to pay. Children’s Hospital opened in 2004, expanded its physical space in 2012, and is readying for additional growth that will add four floors and 160,000 total sq. ft. through its “Growing to New Heights” campaign. The new expansion, anticipated to open in 2017, will help advance the size and scope of the hospital’s mission.

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about his Miles & Music Motorcycle Ride through the Tennessee countryside…and through the busy town itself.

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    Dierks Bentley (motorcycle ride thru Tennessee) OC: …for sure. :31
    “There’s nothing like it. Being on a bike and driving through some of these Tennessee back roads, especially this time of the year when the leaves are starting to turn. For me, on this particular ride, just turning around and seeing a thousand motorcycles behind me, is pretty cool. Then another favorite is when we drive through an area like Green Hills or something and they shut it down, and it’s the one time the whole year we can actually get through a congested place in this ever-growing town without your feet ever touching the ground, so it’s definitely one of the more, it’s not the fastest motorcycle ride, but it’s one of the most fun ones for sure.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Lady A, Darius, Dierks, Sam, Keith, Kacey, Church

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    Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Kacey Musgraves / Lady Antebellum / Luke Bryan / Sam Hunt

    Watch the ABC News special, Countdown to the CMA Awards: Country’s Greatest Crossover Hits with Robin Roberts on Monday (November 2nd) at 10pm ET on ABC. The special will feature performances and interviews with such artists as Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and many more.

    Kacey Musgraves attended the opening soiree for actress Reese Witherspoon’s new store, Draper James, in Nashville last week. Faith Hill and Sheryl Crow were also in attendance.

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    Luke Bryan and Eric Church both nabbed nominations for this year’s Billboard Touring Awards. Luke’s Kick the Dust Up trek, featuring Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch and Thomas Rhett, is in the running for Top Package. Church was named as Breakthrough Artist, and is in the lineup as part of Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour for Top Package. The 2015 Billboard Touring Awards will take place November 19th at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.