Carrie Underwood photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of Arista Nashville
March 6, 2007 — As the nominations for the 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards were being read yesterday morning on "The Early Show," country stars were working, traveling, even sleeping, but all were thrilled when they got the news of their recognition.
Carrie Underwood found out about her five nominations in a wake-up call from her manager. "I feel like I am still in a dream," she says. "My life has been such a whirlwind in the past two years, so please don't wake me up!"
Gretchen Wilson was on her way to Houston for tonight's performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when she received word of her two nominations. "The ACMs will always be special to me, since that was the first award show I got to perform on," she said. "To be in two vocal events is really cool, especially since I got to do them with legends like Merle Haggard and Hank, Jr."
Newcomer Chris Young was thrilled to receive his first nomination. "I am so excited," he said. "This is such an honor and something I have dreamed of since I was a kid."
Craig Morgan left a room full of executives waiting as he reluctantly answered a call to silence his incessantly ringing cell phone. "I was sitting here in a meeting about a new endorsement deal and my cell phone kept ringing and ringing," he joked. "I finally figured I'd better see what was up, and stepped out to take the call. I was surprised and honored to be nominated by the Academy again this year!"
Rascal Flatts found out about their six nominations as they were boarding a plane to return home from a weekend of shows in Canada. "We are grateful that we continue to be recognized by our peers and the Academy," said Gary LeVox. "This will never, ever get old."
Kenny Chesney, who helped read the nominees and walked away with two nods of his own, agreed. "Somebody asked me, 'Doesn't this ever get old'," Chesney said with a laugh, "and I have to tell you: No, it really doesn't. It's always great to be honored like this, because it recognizes everybody who helps contribute to this success."
The guys of Emerson Drive were snoozing when they got word of their nomination. Lead singer Brad Mates said, "We are all back out on the road in Canada finishing up our tour here, and we received a phone call this morning while we were all still sleeping on the bus. What a great wake-up call! It feels wonderful to have this recognition from our peers."
Heartland continues what lead singer Jason Albert calls an "exciting year" with their nominations. Jason said, "To think that just a year ago we signed with Lofton Creek Records, put out our first single and now to be nominated by the Academy of Country Music, is greater than anything that we had anticipated."
The 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards Show will air Tuesday, May 15, 2007 on CBS.
RSS Feeds