Brad Paisley with his Top Male Vocalist and Video of the Year awards backstage at the 43rd Annual ACM Awards, Sunday, May 18, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by David Vespie.
Feb. 11, 2009 — Brad Paisley’s name came up a lot on Wednesday — six times, to be precise, as the Academy of Country Music announced him as the front-runner for the "44th Annual ACM Awards" with six nominations.
Brad edged Heidi Newfield, who picked up five nods. Three artists — Kenny Chesney, Jamey Johnson and George Strait — all fell next in line with four.
However, all of that is temporary. The nominations — announced on CBS-TV’s "Early Show" by Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes, Julianne Hough and Jessica Simpson at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — were incomplete. The five finalists for Album of the Year were not revealed, and probably won’t be until the first week of March.
The category "just wasn’t ready yet," a spokesperson said.
The final list could get shaken up a bit. Or maybe not. Each of the five front-runners released an album during 2008, and if all five of them should be a finalist, it would change the nominations tallies but not the rankings at the top. But Taylor Swift and Sugarland, who earned two nominations apiece, might well find themselves nominees for Top Album. Taylor’s Fearless album, released in November, spent eight weeks at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200 album chart, making it a likely finalist. And Sugarland’s Love On The Inside, released in July, seems a likely candidate as well. If either or both of them are nominated for Album, it could impact rankings at the head of the list.
For now, it’s a bit of a repeat scenario for Brad, whose six nominations match his performance three years ago, when he likewise led the field with six mentions. He’ll compete against Kenny, George, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood for Entertainer of the Year. Additionally, Brad’s up for Top Male Vocalist. His hit "Waitin’ On A Woman" has him nominated for Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year. And "Start A Band," his duet with Keith, is in the running for Vocal Event.
"I am so happy for him," Kellie said of Brad’s top-dog standing. "He works so hard. I was very blessed to be on the road with Brad in ’07. That was my first country tour, and never a dull moment, always watch your back, ‘cause you never know what he’s got up his sleeve, and he was a lot of fun. Being out on the road and seeing what a hard worker he is, he’s very deserving of this. I’m very, very, very happy for him."
Carrie and Keith claimed three nominations apiece, while Taylor and Sugarland are joined as double nominees by Trace Adkins, Brooks & Dunn, Little Big Town, James Otto, Jake Owen and the Lost Trailers.
The ACM awards will be presented April 5 by CBS from Las Vegas. Fans can vote for the first time for the winners of Top New Male, Top New Female and Top New Vocal Duo or Group via GACtv.com.
Click here for a complete list of nominees.
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