Bryan leads ACA Awards with seven nominations

Wednesday, October 10, 2012 – Luke Bryan leads nominees for the third annual American Country Awards with seven,including Artist and Album of the Year. Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band each earned six nods.

Artist of the Year Jason Aldean Luke Bryan Lady Antebellum Taylor Swift Zac Brown Band

Artist of the Year: Male Jason Aldean Luke Bryan Kenny Chesney Eric Church Toby Keith

Artist of the Year: Female Sara Evans Miranda Lambert Martina McBride Taylor Swift Carrie Underwood

Artist of the Year: Group The Band Perry Eli Young Band Lady Antebellum Rascal Flatts Zac Brown Band

Artist of the Year: Breakthrough Artist Lee Brice Colt Ford Gloriana Justin Moore Jake Owen

Artist of the Year: New Artist Lauren Alaina Hunter Hayes Jana Kramer Kip Moore Pistol Annies

Album

Album of the Year Dierks Bentley, "Home" Luke Bryan, "tailgates & tanlines" Eric Church, "Chief" Lady Antebellum, "Own the Night" Blake Shelton, "Red River Blue"

SINGLES

Single of the Year Jason Aldean, "Tattoos On This Town" Luke Bryan, "I Don't Want This Night To End" Eric Church, "Drink In My Hand" Chris Young, "You" Zac Brown Band, "Keep Me In Mind"

Single of the Year: Male Jason Aldean, "Tattoos On This Town" Luke Bryan, "I Don't Want This Night To End" Kenny Chesney, "Reality" Eric Church, "Drink In My Hand" Chris Young, "You"

Single of the Year: Female Sara Evans, "My Heart Can't Tell You No" Miranda Lambert, "Over You" Martina McBride, "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" Taylor Swift, "Ours" Carrie Underwood, "Good Girl"

Single of the Year: Group Eli Young Band, "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" Lady Antebellum, "We Owned The Night" Rascal Flatts, "Banjo" The Band Perry, "All Your Life" Zac Brown Band, "Keep Me In Mind"

Single of the Year: New Artist Hunter Hayes, "Wanted" Jana Kramer, "Why Ya Wanna" Dustin Lynch, "Cowboys and Angels" Kip Moore, "Somethin' 'Bout A Truck" The Farm, "Home Sweet Home"

Single of the Year: Breakthrough Artist Lee Brice, "A Woman Like You" Brantley Gilbert, "You Don't Know Her Like I Do" Gloriana, "(Kissed You) Good Night" David Nail, "Let It Rain" Jake Owen, "Alone With You"

Single of the Year: Vocal Collaboration Kix Brooks featuring Joe Walsh, "New To This Town" Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, "Feel Like A Rock Star" Brad Paisley featuring Carrie Underwood, "Remind Me" Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Bedingfield, "Easy" Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffett, "Knee Deep"

TOURING

Touring Artist of the Year Kenny Chesney Lady Antebellum Miranda Lambert Tim McGraw Brad Paisley Eric Church Toby Keith Rascal Flatts Taylor Swift Zac Brown Band Jason Aldean

VIDEOS

Music Video of the Year Luke Bryan, "I Don't Want This Night To End" Jake Owen, "Alone With You" Blake Shelton, "God Gave Me You" Keith Urban, "For You" Chris Young, "You"

Music Video: Male Luke Bryan, "I Don't Want This Night to End" Jake Owen, "Alone With You" Blake Shelton, "God Gave Me You" Keith Urban, "For You" Chris Young, "You" Music Video: Female Sara Evans, "My Heart Can't Tell You No" Miranda Lambert, "Over You" Martina McBride, "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" Taylor Swift, "Ours" Carrie Underwood, "Good Girl"

Music Video: Group or Collaboration Gloriana, "(Kissed You) Good Night" Lady Antebellum, "Dancin' Away With My Heart" Little Big Town, "Pontoon" Love and Theft, "Angel Eyes" The Band Perry, "All Your Life"

Music Video: New Artist Hunter Hayes, "Wanted" Casey James, "Let's Don't Call It A Night" Jana Kramer, "Why You Wanna" Dustin Lynch, "Cowboys and Angels" Kip Moore, "Somethin' 'Bout A Truck"

Song of the Year: Trace Adkins, "Just Fishin'" (Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell and Ed Hill) Jason Aldean, "Fly Over States," (Michael Dulaney and Neil Thrasher) Jason Aldean, "Tattoos On This Town" (Michael Dulaney, Wendell Mobley and Neil Thrasher) Lee Brice, "A Woman Like You" (Phil Barton, Johnny Bulford and Jon Stone) Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You And Tequila" (Matraca Berg and Deana Carter) Ronnie Dunn, "Cost of Livin'" (Phillip Coleman and Ronnie Dunn) Eli Young Band, "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" (Will Hoge and Eric Paslay) Toby Keith, "Red Solo Cup" (Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Brad Warren and Brett Warren) Eric Church, "Springsteen" (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde and Ryan Tyndell) Tim McGraw, "Better Than I Used to Be" (Ashley Gorley and Bryan Simpson)

The show airs live from Las Vegas Dec. 10.

More news for Luke Bryan

CD reviews for Luke Bryan

Spring Break 4: Suntan City - EP

Luke Bryan's annual spring break EPs are innocuous distractions in a fairly decent discography. The Leesburg, Ga. Native's fourth and latest, is no exception. The songwriting is an exercise in vapidity with clichéd themes like partying and teenage breakups. The timing couldn't be more ironic. This four-song bubble gum pop tribute to the young and overserved was put out shortly after his latest full length release, "tailgates & tanlines," garnered some critical »»»

tailgates & tanlines

By now Luke Bryan has established his defining sound, and he chooses comfort over exploration on his third CD, "tailgates & tanlines." The only major change is his songwriting contributions. Bryan co-wrote most of the songs on his first two albums, but stepped back here with his name on 8 or the 13 songs. To be fair, this doesn't really have any effect on the overall sound. The disc starts off with what may have been the worst song of 2011, Country Girl (Shake It for Me). »»»

Doin' My Thing

"Do I turn you on and on when I kiss you baby? Does the sight of me wanting you drive you crazy?" Luke Bryan's debut single off his sophomore album, Do I is narrated from a point of insecurity, but it comes from a voice that's potentially watching a relationship collapse before his very eyes. It's the stage where one doesn't want to admit that the fire and passion are gone, so just the fact that he's asking all of these questions should tell us that it's over. »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk – When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left – Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»

Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) – If you didn't realize Steve Earle had a new disc out, "The Low Highway," it would have been no problem realizing that quite and quickly. That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»

Country News Digest

CST

Elsewhere in the news

Currently at the CST blogs

Shop Amazon and support
Country Standard Time

It's about time for Willis, Robison

Some folks listening to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's new duet album, "Cheaters Game," may well exclaim, 'Well, it's about time!' after finally hearing these two talented country singer/songwriters recording music as a pair for the first time. Willis has built quite a following for her independently-minded feminine perspective, while Robison has written hits for the Dixie Chicks (Travelin' Soldier) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Angry All the Time), as well as penning the ultimate Willie Nelson tribute, What Would Willie Do? and recording it as a solo act. ... »»»

Steve Forbert remains Alive on Arrival

Last fall, singer/songwriter Steve Forbert dropped the 14th studio album of his 35-year career, the impeccable "Over With You." Critics recognized the album as a return to the form Forbert displayed on his earliest works - 1978's stripped back and personal "Alive on Arrival" and 1979's more lushly produced and commercially accessible "Jackrabbit Slim" - but the fact is that Forbert has never strayed far from their basic folk/rock tenets.... »»»

Decades later, Miller, Lauderdale finally join forces

Over the course of the past 20 years or so, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have both experienced a certain rise in their respective rootsy country profiles. Miller has become one of Nashville's hottest speed dial numbers, as an artist, a guitarist-for-hire (a role he has performed for Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant, among others) and an intuitive producer (he's currently working with Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett to provide the soundtrack for ABC's "Nashville" television series).... »»»

Tables get turned on Eddie Stubbs

For 16 years, Eddie Stubbs has ruled the airwaves in Nashville; since 1996, he's regaled listeners with stories about country and bluegrass artists new and old, cued up 45s and 78s of classic country songs, and introduced the pure strains of country music and the deep history of that music to everyone who's tuned into 650 WSM-AM.... »»»

The Time Jumpers

Way, way back in the last century - in 1998, to be exact - an assemblage of Nashville's primo session players and sidemen were looking for a way to kill time between turns on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Among them was Kenny Sears, a veteran fiddler whose resume included stints with Mel Tillis, Dottie West, Ray Price and Faron Young. "We used to get together in the dressing room backstage at the Opry and have these jam sessions that went on all night long," Sears recall... »»»

Wilderness

"Wilderness" is another twisted menagerie of The Handsome Family songs. Once again, husband Brett Sparks sings their songs, sometimes in a bellowing gravedigger voice, after adding music to wife Rennie's lyrics. This time out, each and every tune is named after an animal, insect or other such nature creature. However, Rennie studies animals the way Flannery O'Connor wrote about humans, which is with the weirdness and character flaws in primary focus. »»»

Love Is Everything

George Strait may have reached his seventh decade, but he shows zero signs of slowing down. In fact, Strait seems to be getting even more consistent as he gets older. Strait doesn't stray all that far from the formula that has resulted in superstar status. First and foremost, that means his sonorous voice is mixed far above the music, a very good thing. »»»

Dark Dirty Mile

Jason Boland and the Stragglers have released a new country album that sounds old. This isn't to imply that the sound is aged in a negative way; they have a classic country maturity that isn't heard too much these days with the exception of Jamey Johnson. For those not familiar with the music of Boland, the first track is a great way to decide whether this is your kind of country music. The title track is a mid tempo country song reminiscent of the late Waylon Jennings. »»»

Golden

Lady Antebellum probably needed a change in direction after "Own the Night" dropped in 2011. The material was overly geared towards taking dead aim at the radio jugular. That isn't the case this time out on the trio's fifth release because most of the songs veer away from being obviously radio fodder (except for the current singleDowntown with its soulful beginning and strong vocals from Hillary Scott), but that also doesn't man that this was the right change. »»»

Annie Up

For those who thought "Hell on Heels" was a one-off side project for Miranda Lambert (along with sidekicks Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe), think again. The Annies, aka "Lonestar Annie" (Lambert), "Hippie Annie" (Monroe), and "Holler Annie" (Presley), are no novelty act. Instead, they tackle material that you just are unlikely to hear on mainstream country radio both in subject matter and sonics. »»»

Never Regret

Chances are good people will think they've heard an unknown Dierks Bentley song on the radio, when in fact it was actually a Craig Campbell tune. That's because Campbell sounds a whole lot like Bentley during "Never Regret." About the only chief difference between Campbell and Bentley songs, however, is how Bentley adds so much humor to his tunes. He also has a far more expressive singing voice. »»»

About • Advertise • Copyright • Sitemap • Visit our sister publication Standard Time covering all musical genres. go