A Look at the 2009 CMA Awards Artist Categories
43rd Annual CMA Awards Ballot Showcases Newcomers, Established Stars
Sep 10, 2009
Although only an elite few scored more than one or two CMA Awards nods this year, the finalists for the 43rd Annual Country Music Association Awards, overall, represented a cross-section of both independent and major-label artists, and several boast crossover appeal.
Announced Sept. 9, 2009, on live TV, this year’s CMA nominees spanned from those who have superstar status to those whose names are not yet household words among country fans. And many on this year’s short list are returning CMA title holders, demonstrating their continued popularity and favor with country radio and country-music consumers alike.
Pop-Country Singer Taylor Swift Scores First CMA Entertainer of the Year Nomination
In the coveted Entertainer of the Year race, for example, Kenny Chesney was once more on the ballot. He’s won the prize four times, tying him with Garth Brooks as the performer who’s taken home the Entertainer trophy more than any other.
However, Chesney’s got no shortage of competition this year, thanks to popular co-nominees such as Brad Paisley, traditional-country king George Strait, Keith Urban and Taylor Swift, the latter of whom is experiencing her first shot at the contest’s top prize.
From Country Stars to New Artists: CMA Female & Male Vocalist of the Year Nominees
Swift, at 19, also is nominated in the 2009 Female Vocalist of the Year category, alongside “dark horse” Miranda Lambert and the reigning CMA Female Vocalist Carrie Underwood, as well as established hit-makers Martina McBride and Reba McEntire.
In the Male Vocalist of the Year contest, country newcomer Darius Rucker, who’s perhaps best known as the lead singer for Hootie and The Blowfish, has scored his first CMA nod. Rucker’s up against old pros, however; namely, Chesney, Strait, Urban and Paisley, the current title holder.
2009 New Artist Finalists Boast Crossover Appeal, Traditional-Country Roots
Because of their quicksilver success, most of the finalists in this year’s New Artist category seem quite familiar to many country fans, but indeed, they qualify as the “new kids on the block,” as it were.
Pop singer-gone-country artist Rucker is among the nominees for this honor, as are Jamey Johnson, Zac Brown Band, Randy Houser and Florida native Jake Owen, who’s the Academy of Country Music’s top newcomer for '09.
CMA Vocal Group of the Year Nominees: Can Rascal Flatts Be Defeated This Time?
Familiar voices and names fill the nominee list for those up for Vocal Group of the Year. Reigning champs Rascal Flatts are once more on the ballot, as are the Eagles (who are celebrating their fourth-ever nod in this category), Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band.
2009 Vocal Duo Finalists: Will Brooks & Dunn Win the CMA Award for Old Time's Sake?
Country duo Sugarland’s been on a roll in 2008-09, and that tide continues throughout the fall, with the platinum-selling act returning as the title-holders in the Vocal Duo of the Year race. The duo’s up against Big & Rich, traditional country’s Joey + Rory, recent Grand Ole Opry inductees Montgomery Gentry and Brooks & Dunn, the latter of whom announced they’ll disband after a 2010 tour and some 20 years of country hits.
A trio of guitarists—Mac McAnally (who’s now a recording artist on Toby Keith’s record label, Show Dog Records), Dann Huff and Brent Mason—have returned to the CMA ballot once more as finalists for its Musician of the Year prize. However, drummer Eddie Bayers and steel player Paul Franklin are in the running, too, this go around.
The 2009 CMA Awards will be broadcast live on ABC-TV from 8-11 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, Nov. 11, from Nashville Sommet Center, with reigning CMA titleholders and current nominees Underwood and Paisley serving as co-hosts for the show.
Readers who enjoyed this article may also be interested in An Overview of 2009 CMA Awards' Top Nominees: Brad Paisley Leads 43rd Annual CMA Contest with Seven Nominations.
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