Celebrating 40 Years of the CMA Awards

40 years of award shows spanning 5 decades!
Click on the decades below for all the highlights and landmark events…

Brad Paisley Leads Finalists with Seven Nominations.

• Keith Urban Receives Five Nominations.
• Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Receive Four Nominations Each.
• Taylor Swift Receives Her First Entertainer of the Year Nomination.
• Darius Rucker Received His First Nominations for New Artist and Male Vocalist of the Year.

For the fourth year, the announcement of the final nominees in five of the 12 CMA Awards categories was made on ABC News' "Good Morning America." Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack delivered the news from the "Good Morning America" studios in the heart of New York City's Times Square.

At the conclusion of the announcements, Brad Paisley led the list of finalists with seven nominations. Brad was nominated for Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Album for American Saturday Night, which was produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois; Single and Song for "Then" (DuBois and Ashley Gorley are also nominated as songwriters); and Music Video and Musical Event for "Start a Band" with Keith Urban, which was directed by Jim Shea.

Keith's five nominations include the aforementioned Music Event, Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Music Video for "Start A Band" with Brad; and Album of the Year for Defying Gravity. Keith is eligible to win a second trophy in the Album category for producing Defying Gravity with Dann Huff. Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Zac Brown (frontman of the Zac Brown Band), each received four nominations.

George Strait received nominations for Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Music Video for "Troubadour" directed by Trey Fanjoy; and Musical Event with Lee Ann Womack for "Everything But Quits" (a category they won in 2005 with "Good News, Bad News"). George now has 79 career CMA Awards nominations, which ties him with Alan Jackson for the most nominations to date. He leads the trophy count with 22.

Taylor Swift has four nominations including her first for Entertainer of the Year. The last time a solo female artist was nominated for Entertainer of the Year was Faith Hill in 2000. Shania Twain was the last female artist to claim the trophy in 1999. Taylor, who won the Horizon Award in 2007, is also nominated for Female Vocalist (she received her first nomination in the category in 2008); and Music Video for "Love Story," which was directed by Trey Fanjoy. In another first for the 19-year-old artist, she is nominated for Album of the Year for Fearless. Taylor may also receive a second trophy for producing Fearless with Nathan Chapman.

Jamey Johnson's list of nominations includes New Artist; Single and Song for "In Color" (which Jamey co-wrote with Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto); and Album of the Year for That Lonesome Song, which was produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys. These are Jamey's first artist nominations. In 2007, as a songwriter he won Song of the Year for George Strait's "Give It Away," which he co-wrote with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon.

Zac Brown claims his first CMA Awards nominations in 2009 - three with his self-named group and one for penning their hit "Chicken Fried." The Zac Brown Band received nominations for New Artist; Vocal Group; and Single of the Year for "Chicken Fried," which was produced by Keith Stegall. Zac picked up the additional nomination for Song of the Year for writing "Chicken Fried" with Wyatt Durrette.

A powerhouse in the Entertainer of the Year category, Kenny Chesney has won the trophy in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008, which ties him with Garth Brooks for the most wins in the category. Kenny is nominated again in 2009, in addition to nods for Male Vocalist and Musical Event with Mac McAnally for "Down the Road." Mac is also nominated for Musician of the Year along with Eddie Bayers, Paul Franklin, and Brent Mason.

Darius Rucker wasn't only handing out the good news today, he was a recipient. The lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group Hootie & The Blowfish, received his first CMA Awards nominations as a solo country artist in 2009 for New Artist and Male Vocalist of the Year. He performed on the 2008 CMA Awards.

After winning Female Vocalist of the Year in 2006, 2007, and 2008, Carrie Underwood is back in 2009 with two nominations for Female Vocalist and Musical Event for "I Told You So," featuring Randy Travis. Randy picked up a second nomination for Song of the Year, for writing "I Told You So." Randy's version of the hit song was nominated for Single and Song of the Year in 1988.

If Carrie wins the Female Vocalist trophy again, it will tie her with Martina McBride (1999, 2002-2004) and Reba McEntire (1984-1987) for most wins in this category. Martina and Reba are each nominated in the Female Vocalist category in 2009. Miranda Lambert is also a Female Vocalist nominee.

Reba scored a second nomination for her performance with Brooks & Dunn on "Cowgirls Don't Cry" for Musical Event of the Year. In doing so, she retains her position as the female artist with the highest number of nominations in the 43-year history of the CMA Awards with 48

Brooks & Dunn have been presented 19 trophies during their career. In 2009, they have a nomination for Musical Event with Reba for "Cowgirls Don't Cry" and are nominated for Vocal Duo, a category they have won a record 14 times.

The reigning Vocal Duo crown is in Sugarland's hands. The duo was nominated in the category again in 2009 and also picked up a nomination for Album of the Year for Love on the Inside. Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles may also win an additional trophy each for producing the album with Byron Gallimore.

A new entry in the Vocal Duo of the Year category this year is Joey + Rory. Also nominated are Big & Rich and Montgomery Gentry.

Until 2008, there was a long dry spell for the Eagles between nominations for Vocal Group of the Year (1976, 1977, 2008) but they are back in 2009. The Zac Brown Band is the new addition to the category along with returning nominees Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Rascal Flatts, who have swept the Vocal Group of the Year category the past six years.

Reigning New Artist of the Year Lady Antebellum received a second nomination for Single of the Year for "I Run To You," which was produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley. Artists making their debut in the New Artist of the Year category (formerly the Horizon Award) include Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, and the Zac Brown Band. Artists can only be included in this category two times.

Randy received a second nomination for Music Video of the Year for "Boots On," which was directed by Eric Welch. Rounding out the Music Video category is Billy Currington's "People Are Crazy," which was directed by The Brads. The song hit a chord with CMA Awards voters and picked up additional nominations for Single and Song of the Year for writers Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones. Billy, who has two nominations, can receive an additional trophy for producing the Single of the Year with Carson Chamberlain. Billy's last nomination was in 2005 for Musical Event with Shania Twain for "Party for Two."

Making their debut in the Musical Event category are The Raconteurs with Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe for "Old Enough." Raconteurs' frontman Jack White, of The White Stripes and The Dead Weather, is no stranger to the format as the producer of Loretta Lynn's critically hailed album, Van Lear Rose. Ricky received his last nomination in this category in 1999 for "Same Old Train," which included a veritable who's who of country stars.

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