The 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM) is set to start at 8 p.m. on CBS.
The red carpet arrivals begin around 6:30 p.m., and will be live streamed on CBS.com.
Some of the awards will also be live streamed via CBS.com.
Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan are hosting the event.
Performers include Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and Shakira; Miranda Lambert singing with George Strait; and Lady Antebellum paired with Stevie Nicks. Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks and Darius Rucker are among the presenters.
See an Associated Press preview below and the full nominees list below that.
Will fans give George Strait ACM’s top honor?
There’s no question George Strait is the sure bet in the entertainer category of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, right?
Not so fast, says Blake Shelton. Sure, the beloved star is on something of a victory lap after winning the same trophy at the rival Country Music Association Awards five months ago. But Sunday’s night’s ACM Awards are held in Las Vegas where there’s no safe bet, after all, and the academy’s once-controversial decision to open its top honor to fan voting makes the category enjoyably unpredictable.
“I think George Strait probably has the biggest overall fan base of any of us, but will they take time to vote?” Shelton said. “That’s what we'll find out, I guess.”
“It’s an interesting thing,” said Luke Bryan, Shelton’s ACMs co-host. “You never know when those fans go online and vote. They have the complete power. It’s really neat when they do. It’s a pretty crazy validation system when the fans are allowed to vote.”
Bryan and Shelton could be 1989 winner Strait’s top challengers during the awards, which air live at 8 p.m. EDT from the MGM Grand on CBS. They round out the category with two-time winner Taylor Swift and mainstream country darling Miranda Lambert.
Swift is one of pop music’s top stars with a motivated fan base and Lambert is one of the academy’s favorites with 15 trophies so far and is this year’s two top nominee with Tim McGraw.
Bryan and Shelton, however, are as popular as anyone in the genre now. Shelton is a television star thanks to “The Voice” and won his first entertainer trophy at the CMAs. And Bryan provided one of the award show circuit’s true surprises when he won theaward at the ACMs last year during his first stint as Shelton’s co-host.
Shelton said he predicted the victory in the seconds before it was announced and provides a measuring stick for Bryan’s rapidly growing popularity.
“When that happened it’s like, oh, my god, it’s not just a matter of selling a bunch of records and having some hits on the radio,” Shelton said. “He’s developed an enormous fan base. To beat out the people that he beat out last year, there’s nothing you can do but just respect that. That’s once in a lifetime and they’re there forever. To see him to get to that place, I love it. I was just as excited — well not as excited because I didn’t cry — but I was happy for him.”
Bryan and Shelton figure in two of the night’s other top categories. They’re both up for male vocalist of the year with Jason Aldean, Lee Brice and Keith Urban, who has six overall nominations.
And Bryan’s “Crash My Party” and Shelton’s “Based on a True Story ... ” are up for album of the year with Florida Georgia Line’s “Here’s to the Good Times,” Kacey Musgrave’s Grammy Award album of the year winner “Same Trailer Different Park” and Tim McGraw’s “Two Lanes of Freedom.”
Swift and Lambert are up for female vocalist of the year with Musgraves, Carrie Underwood and Sheryl Crow.
And Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” co-written by Musgraves, is up for single record and song of the year.
List of ACM Awards Nominees:
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Lee Brice
Luke Bryan
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Female Vocalist of the Year
Sheryl Crow
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Vocal Duo of the Year
Big & Rich
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Love and Theft
Thompson Square
Vocal Group of the Year
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
Album of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Based On A True Story… – Blake Shelton
Producer: Scott Hendricks
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Crash My Party – Luke Bryan
Producer: Jeff Stevens
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Here’s To The Good Times – Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Republic Nashville
Same Trailer Different Park – Kacey Musgraves
Producers: Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
Record Label: Mercury Records
Two Lanes Of Freedom – Tim McGraw
Producers: Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw
Record Label: Big Machine Records
Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Cruise – Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Republic Nashville
Highway Don’t Care – Tim McGraw Featuring Taylor Swift & Keith Urban
Producers: Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw
Record Label: Big Machine Records
I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice
Producers: Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, Matt McClure
Record Label: Curb Records
Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker Featuring Lady Antebellum
Producer: Frank Rogers
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Song of the Year [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain) – Gary Allan
Songwriters: Gary Allan, Hillary Lindsey, Matthew Warren
Publishers: Always Alone Songs (ASCAP), Crystal Beach Music (BMI), Raylene Music (ASCAP)
I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice
Songwriters: Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary
Publishers: Beattyville Music (BMI), EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), Great Day At This Music (BMI), Happy Tears Music (ASCAP), Vistaville Music (ASCAP), Watch This Girl Publishing (BMI)
Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert
Songwriters: Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
Publishers: 351 Music (BMI), Crazy Water Music (ASCAP), Little Blue Egg (ASCAP), Songs of Parallel (ASCAP), Vista Loma Music (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
Mine Would Be You – Blake Shelton
Songwriters: Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Deric Ruttan
Publishers: Doc and Maggie Music (ASCAP), EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), Get A Load Of This Music (ASCAP), Great Day At This Music (BMI), Hopeless Rose Music (ASCAP), Vistaville Music (ASCAP), Watch This Girl Publishing (BMI), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker Featuring Lady Antebellum
Songwriters: Bob Dylan, Ketch Secor
Publishers: Blood Donor Music (BMI), Special Rider Music (SESAC)
Video of the Year [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off Camera Award) (TIE)
Better Dig Two – The Band Perry
Producer: Eric Williams
Director: Declan Whitebloom
Blowin' Smoke – Kacey Musgraves
Producer: Josh Goldstein
Director: Honey
Highway Don’t Care – Tim McGraw Featuring Taylor Swift & Keith Urban
Producers: Tameron Hedge, Chandra LaPlume
Director: Shane Drake
I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice
Producer: Karen Martin
Director: Eric Welch
Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert
Producer: Reagan Rosson
Director: Trey Fanjoy
Two Black Cadillacs – Carrie Underwood
Producer: Steve Lamar
Director: P.R. Brown
Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]*(Off Camera Award)
Boys ‘Round Here – Blake Shelton Featuring Pistol Annies & Friends
Producer: Scott Hendricks
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Cruise (Remix) – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Nelly
Producers: Joey Moi, Jason Nevins
Record Label: Republic Nashville
Highway Don’t Care – Tim McGraw Featuring Taylor Swift & Keith Urban
Producers: Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw
Record Label: Big Machine Records
Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker Featuring Lady Antebellum
Producer: Frank Rogers
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
We Were Us – Keith Urban And Miranda Lambert
Producers: Nathan Chapman, Keith Urban
Record Labels: Capitol Records Nashville, Hit Red Records, RCA Nashville
Friends Read Free