NASHVILLE – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton continued their
reigns as Country Music’s Female and Male Vocalists of the Year at “The 46th Annual CMA Awards,”
with Shelton also securing his first victory in the coveted Entertainer of the Year category.
“The 46th Annual CMA Awards”
was hosted for the fifth time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live
from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network.
Lambert and
Shelton made history by winning Female and Male Vocalist of the Year for the third
consecutive year. Shelton and Lambert also won Song of the Year for “Over You.”
Although three married couples have been previously nominated for CMA Song of
the Year Awards honors – Ed and Patsy Bruce for “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies
Grow Up to Be Cowboys” in 1978, Sanger D. “Whitey” Shafer and Darlene Shafer
for “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” in 1985, and “All My Ex’s Live
in Texas,” written by Whitey Shafer and his fourth wife Lydia Shafer in 1987
– Lambert and Shelton are the first to take the prize.
First-time CMA Awards
winners include Eric Church for Album of the Year Chief, Little Big Town for Vocal Group and
Single of the Year (“Pontoon”), Hunter Hayes for New Artist of
the Year, and Thompson Square for Vocal Duo of the Year. As producer
of both Chief and “Pontoon,” Jay Joyce was awarded for Album and Single of the
Year, also marking his debut as a CMA Award winner.
In presentations
made before the broadcast, Mac McAnally earned his fifth Musician of the Year victory.
Earlier on
Thursday, two CMA Awards were presented live on ABC’s “Good Morning America”
from Times Square in New York. Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw won Musical Event
of the Year for “Feel Like a Rock Star.” CMA Music Video of the Year honors
went to Toby Keith and director Michael Salomon for “Red Solo Cup.”
In a special
tribute to Country Music Hall of Fame member Willie Nelson, Lady Antebellum performed “You
Were Always on My Mind” and “Crazy,” then Shelton, Keith Urban, and Nelson’s longtime
harmonica player Mickey Raphael joined on “Whiskey River.” Faith Hill and McGraw followed
in a duet appearance, singing “Good Hearted Woman.” Nelson joined them all,
strapped on his trademark guitar “Trigger” and sang “On the Road Again.”
Paisley then surprised Nelson with the first-ever CMA Lifetime Achievement Award,
which will be renamed the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Full 2012
CMA Awards details, including nominations and performers are available at CMAawards.com, which also includes
CMA Awards history, a searchable database of past CMA Awards nominees and winners,
host information, merchandise and much more. The CMA Awards Store has T-shirts, hoodies,
hats, mugs, tote bags and more official merchandise for fans to purchase online.
Fans can connect with CMA online at Facebook.com/CMA, Twitter.com/CountryMusic (#CMAawards), YouTube.com/CountryMusicAssoc, Pinterest.com/CMAworld, and by downloading
the free CMA Awards app available for iPhone and Android.
The CMA Awards
nominees and winners are determined by the 11,000 industry professional members
of CMA, which was formed in 1958 as the first trade organization to promote an
individual genre of music. The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held
in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on NBC television for
the first time – making it the longest-running annual music awards program on
network television. The Awards aired on NBC through 1971 and on the CBS Television
Network from 1972 through 2005. The CMA Awards moved to ABC in 2006, where it
will remain through 2021.
“The 46th Annual CMA Awards” is a production
of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive
Producer, Paul Miller is the Director, and David Wild is the writer.
The Winners
of “The 46th Annual CMA Awards” are:
Entertainer of the Year
Blake Shelton
Female
Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Male
Vocalist of the Year
Blake Shelton
New
Artist of the Year
Hunter Hayes
Vocal
Group of the Year
Little Big Town
Vocal
Duo of the Year
Thompson Square
Album
of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
Chief
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce
EMI Records Nashville
Single
of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
“Pontoon”
Little Big Town
Produced by Jay Joyce
Capitol Records Nashville
Song
of the Year
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Over You”
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton
Musical
Event of the Year
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Feel Like a Rock Star”
Kenny Chesney
(duet with Tim McGraw)
Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville
Music
Video of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and
Director)
“Red Solo Cup”
Toby Keith
Directed by Michael Salomon
Musician
of the Year
Mac McAnally – Guitar
Chevrolet™
is the Official Ride of Country Music. American Airlines is the Official
Airline of the CMA Awards.
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