This mornin’, the Academy of Country Music held a digital social media press conference to announce the nominations for the 47th Annual ACM Awards! You can check out the complete list below, and see if you’re favorite artists made the cut! Don’t see ‘em? Tell us about it! The list below includes all categories al the on-camera nominations except the New Artists which will be announced in February! For the off-camera, industry awards click here.

The 2012 ACM Awards will air LIVE out of Las Vegas on Sunday, April 1st at 8pm on CBS! The award event will be hosted by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton!

47th Annual ACM Awards Nominations

Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Chris Young

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

Vocal Duo of the Year
Love and Theft
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
Thompson Square

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

Album of the Year (Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company)

Chief – Eric Church (EMI-Nashville)
Produced by: Arturo Buenahora, Jr., Jay Joyce
Four The Record – Miranda Lambert (RCA)
Produced by: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kenny Chesney (BNA)
Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean (Broken Bow Records)
Produced by: Michael Knox
Own The Night – Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)
Produced by: Lady Antebellum, Paul Worley

Single Record of the Year (Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company)

Crazy Girl – Eli Young Band (Republic Nashville)
Produced by: Mike Wrucke
Don’t You Wanna Stay – Jason Aldean With Kelly Clarkson (Broken Bow Records)
Produced by: Michael Knox
Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith (Show Dog-Universal Music)
Produced by: Toby Keith
Tomorrow – Chris Young (RCA)
Produced by: James Stroud
You And Tequila – Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter (BNA)
Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney

Song of the Year (Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s))

Crazy Girl – Eli Young Band
Composers: Lee Brice, Liz Rose
Publishers: Cake Taker Music (BMI), Mike Curb Music (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Sweet Hysteria Music (BMI)
Home – Dierks Bentley
Composers: Brett Beavers, Dierks Bentley, Dan Wilson
Publishers: Big White Tracks (ASCAP), Chestnut Barn Music (BMI), Chrysalis Music/BMG Rights (ASCAP), Chrysalis One Songs (BMI)
Just A Kiss – Lady Antebellum
Composers: Dallas Davidson, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott
Publishers: Dwhaywood Music (BMI), EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), EMI Foray Music (SESAC), Hillary Dawn Songs (SESAC), Radiobulletspublishing (BMI), String Stretcher Music (BMI) Warner-Tamberlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
Threaten Me With Heaven – Vince Gill
Composers: Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Dillon O’Brian, Will Owsley
Publishers: Grant Girls Music (ASCAP), Vinny Mae Music (BMI), Willie-O Music (ASCAP)
You And Tequila – Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter
Composers: Matraca Berg, Deana Carter
Publishers: Deanaling Music (ASCAP), Hannaberg Music (BMI), Songs of Universal Inc., (BMI), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)

Kenny Chesney’s “Reality” has been out for a while, but until recently it wasn’t getting much airtime. This song can easily put you into a better place after listening to it. Basically it is about finding your own way of dealing with things. Life isn’t perfect, but take things as the come and relax, because you are going to get through it, but in the mean time take a break and embrace you escape from reality!

The video for “Reality” takes you front row from some of his stadium shows this past summer. Somewhere in the sea of people at the Kansas City Chief’s stadium, I stood. Continuously rocking through every song makes you forget about the heat and the $12 beers. It was my first Chesney concert, but something I would LOVE to do again!

Enjoy the video!

Did you have a chance to watch the CMT Artists of the Year show for 2011 honoring some of the best and brightest in country music right now? HaleighT took just a couple of minutes to do a quick recap of the show for ya, and she also lets you know what her favorite part was of the whole to-do! So, check it out and let us know what you think of the 2011 CMT Artists of the Year! You can check out even more on the show by clicking here.

CMT Artists of the Year: Mini Recap!

Last night was the presentation of the CMT Artists Of The Year Awards, hosted by Rob Lowe. The honorees were Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley. The recipients were chosen based off of sales, radio airplay, concert grosses and activity on cmt.com.

Each artist was given a section of the 90 minute show that was dedicated to them with a performance, congratulatory words by others and a short acceptance speech.

Kenny Chesney had the special treat to have Gavin Degraw perform his hit “Somewhere With You“, where he did a fantastic job! A part of the show that ranks very high on my list was when Matthew McConaughey had a video message for Chesney that was too cute!

Lady Antebellum received kind words from many including their good friend Miranda Lambert and performed their brand new single “Dancin’ Away With My Heart.” It sounded great and by the reactions of Taylor Swift and the rest of the audience (including me at home), it looks like this will be another chart topper for them!

Jason Aldean performed his current single “Tattoos On This Town” and spoke of how this year was kind of a risk, but he was glad he did things on his terms. He wasn’t concerned about what people were telling him to do, he followed his gut and boy did it pay off! Nobody puts Jason in a corner!

Viewers were treated to a special treat with an energetic performance by The Avett Brothers. A band that is quite possibly one of the most cross-genre groups around (we aren’t quite sure what they are…folk, rock, indie, Americana, who knows)!

Taylor Swift also had someone else perform one of her songs, but this performance had a bit of a twist. The All American Rejects gave us their take on “Mean” while throwing in a little bit of their own hit “Gives You Hell!” It was great! She accepted her award from her good friend and fellow female country artist, Faith Hill.

Brad Paisley wrapped the night up for us, first by saying that Country Music was the best industry to be in because everyone was so nice and then by collaborating with Joe Walsh on “Camouflage!”

It was a great night for everyone, wish I could have been there! Congratulations again to all five of the talented acts!

Billboard has released a year end summary of the 2011 country music chart toppers, and you can find the complete list below. After all the awards she has won this award season and the success of her Speak Now world tour, its not really surprising to see Taylor Swift at the top of the list. Happily, while they may have disappointed on their nomination to actual award win ratio, Zac Brown Band are sitting at number 4 on the list which proves that award or no award, they are one successful group! Newlyweds Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert both claim spots in the top 15 which follows the winning trend both have been on all year long. The only person I am surprised to see on this list is Scotty McCreery since he has only technically been a country artist for about 5 months. However, the rankings are based on album sales, airplay, track download sales, touring revenue, ringtone sales, etc. So, if the numbers back him up, I guess that’s all there is to it.

Are you surprised to see any of these folks on this list? Is anyone missing? Let us know, and comment below.

Billboard’s Top Country Artists Chart

1-Taylor Swift, Big Machine
2-Jason Aldean, Broken Bow
3-Lady Antebellum, Capitol Nashville
4-Zac Brown Band, Southern Ground/Roar/Bigger Picture/Atlantic
5-Blake Shelton, Warner Bros.
6-The Band Perry, Republic Nashville
7-Rascal Flatts, Big Machine
8-Kenny Chesney, BNA
9-Brad Paisley, Arista Nashville
10-Luke Bryan, Capitol Nashville
11-Keith Urban, Capitol Nashville
12-Miranda Lambert, RCA
13-Sugarland, Mercury
14-Eric Church, EMI Nashville
15-Scotty McCreery, 19/Interscope/Mercury

Jake Owen had a great amount of success with his summer anthem “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and the way his latest single is climbing charts he might just make it two in a row! “Alone With You” is not what you would call a “love” song, more of a “lust” song. This racy video shows us (in detail) what goes on in an “after midnight” or “booty call” type relationship.

You can find “Alone With You” on Owen’s album Barefoot Blue Jean Night and you can catch him on tour in 2012 with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney on their Brothers Of The Sun tour.

Watch the video here and tell us what you think!

It’s that time of year, scary movies, frequent trips to the craft store, creepy cookies and decorating!If you are a fan of Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Kellie Pickler, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, or Taylor Swift head on over to www.gactv.com to get a FREE template to carve their face in a pumpkin!

Speaking of Kellie and Miranda, we know this spooky holiday is one of their favorites! Whether it’s Lucille Ball, Dracula, Batman, Big Bird, Dolly Parton, a ghost, or Elvis, country stars are all about dressing up! Many have even taken to Twitter or Facebook to get some ideas for this year! Log on and give a suggestion to your favorite artist, you never know, it might just be the one they pick!

The Country Music Association just keeps adding more and more incentive for country music fans to tune into the annual awards show in November! It has been announced that Kenny Chesney will be performing his nominated song “You and Tequila” with Grace Potter! Additionally, Rascal Flatts will be performing their current single, the collaboration with Natasha Beddingfield, “Easy“.

They are joining a performance line-up that already includes hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley giving their hit “Remind Me” it’s live debut. Also, Faith Hill will be doing a debut of her own, showcasing her first new music in over five years with single, “Come Home“. The line-up will also feature Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban!

Be sure to tune in Wednesday, November 9th at 8/7CT on ABC as the 45th Annual CMA Awards air live out of the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville!

CMT will honor Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley as the top artists of the year. CMT Artists Of The Year will premier December 13 at 9:00pm ET/PT and will last 90 minutes.

The honorees were chosen by ranking them based on the following criteria: sales (physical albums, digital albums and single downloads); country radio airplay based on spins; concert grosses as a headliner or co-headliner; and activity on cmt.com (video streams, searches, and artist page views). The rankings were then compiled to identify the leading performers across the four categories cumulatively.

Congratulations to the 5 acts that will be celebrated in early December!

Here is a video of Darius Rucker and Adele singing “Need You Now“, Lady Antebellum’s #1 hit at 2010’s CMT Artists Of The Year ceremony. Antebellum were 2010 winners as well as Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and the Zac Brown Band.

I was very fortunate to be in the audience during the Goin’ Coastal 2011 Tour this past Saturday in Kansas City, Mo at the Arrowhead Stadium. My main reason for my 5 1/2 hour drive was to review Billy Currington’s show, but due to a miscommunication with a publicist I was unable catch his performance (along with the other artists excluding Chesney). After a short melt-down and pouting session, I decided to make the best of it and enjoy what was left of the show.

I have always liked Kenny Chesney’s songs, but never thought of myself as a diehard fan. I have to say after walking out of that stadium that night I was a Chesney fan. He had non-stop energy, sang his heart out, and had a huge smile on his face the entire time. There was great interaction between the artist and his loyal fans. What impressed me the most, and has impressed me by all artists I have seen this summer, is their commitment through the scorching heat! During his sweaty performance he sang “Summertime“, “When The Sun Goes Down“, “I Go Back“, “Big Star“, “Don’t Happen Twice“, “There Goes My Life“, “Somewhere With You“, “No Shoes No Shirt No Problems“, “Boys Of Fall“, “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven“, “We Went Out Last Night“, “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy“, his latest single “You And Tequila“, plus many, many more!

That night happened to be Zac Brown’s birthday and turned out to be a special treat for us. Just when the crowd thought Kenny was done for the night, he came back out and not alone. He presented Zac with a proper sized birthday drink and led the thousands of fans in a Happy Birthday tune. The two, along with both their bands proceeded to entertain us for another thirty minutes. They sang a couple Alabama songs which included an out of this world performance by the two fiddle players (obviously my favorite part of the entire evening), “Knee Deep“, and “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band.

It was a fantastic show that I only wish I could have seen more of. Billy Currington was truly missed by me and more of Zac Brown Band would have been a cherry on top of the phenomenal show! The tour still has plenty of stops to go, so get your tickets now!