Brooks & Dunn	Sugarland	Little Big Town

In addition to the veteran duo, new faces dominated many of the categories this year, from Sugarland's Top New Vocal Duo or Group, Album, Single Record and Song of the Year nominations, to Rascal Flatt's first-ever Entertainer of the Year nod, adding to the trio's total of four ACM nominations (including Top Vocal Group, Album and Song).

Miranda Lambert	Julie Roberts	Carrie Underwood

Newcomers Miranda Lambert, Julie Roberts and Carrie Underwood are all contenders for Top New Female Vocalist, while Underwood gained an impressive Top Female Vocalist nomination as well. Comeback kids Little Big Town continue to plunge through their life-changing year with nominations for Top Vocal Group and Top New Duo or Vocal Group.

Rascal Flatts	Gary Allan	Mark Wright

BMI writers vying for the Song of the Year trophy include Sugarland's Kristian Bush for "Baby Girl," Ronnie Dunn for "Believe," Doug Johnson for the Rascal Flatts' hit "Skin (Sarabeth)" and George Teren for "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly Parton.

Keith Urban	Toby Keith	Tim McGraw

Songwriter/producer/artist Gary Allan received praise for his moving release, Tough All Over, nominated for Album of the Year; he also scored a Single Record of the Year nomination for "Best I Ever Had." Mark Wright, the album's co-producer, hopes to share the spotlight with Allan.

Faith Hill	Big and Rich	Byron Gallimore

Fan favorites Keith Urban and Toby Keith earned two nods each and will face off in the Entertainer of the Year category, while Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's collaboration "Like We Never Loved at All" landed the couple a Vocal Event of the Year nomination.

Other BMI nominees included Big and Rich, who garnered three mentions, and producer Byron Gallimore, who secured yet another nomination for Producer of the Year.

The 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 23 at 8:00pm ET/PT on CBS.

BMI's 41st Annual ACM Nominees:

Entertainer of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Toby Keith
Rascal Flatts
Keith Urban

Top Male Vocalist
Keith Urban

Top Female Vocalist
Sara Evans
Martina McBride
Carrie Underwood

Top Vocal Group
Alabama
Little Big Town
Lonestar
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland

Top Vocal Duo
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Montgomery Gentry
The Warren Brothers

Top New Male Vocalist
Jason Aldean
Craig Morgan

Top New Female Vocalist
Miranda Lambert
Julie Roberts
Carrie Underwood

Top New Duo or Vocal Group
Big & Rich
Little Big Town
Sugarland

Album of the Year
Feels Like Today
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts, producer

There's More Where That Came From
Byron Gallimore, producer

Tough All Over
Gary Allan
Mark Wright and Gary Allan, producers

Twice the Speed of Life
Sugarland

Single Record of the Year
"Baby Girl"
Sugarland

"Believe"
Brooks & Dunn
Tony Brown, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks, producers

"Best I Ever Had"
Gary Allan
Mark Wright and Gary Allan, producers

"Jesus Take the Wheel"
Carrie Underwood

Song of the Year
"Baby Girl"
Sugarland
Kristian Bush, writer
Dirkpit Music

"Believe"
Brooks & Dunn
Ronnie Dunn, writer
Sony/ATV Tree Publishing Co. and Showbilly Music

"Jesus Take the Wheel"
Carrie Underwood

"Skin (Sarabeth)"
Rascal Flatts
Doug Johnson, writer
Mike Curb Music/Sweet Radical Music

"When I Get Where I'm Going"
Dolly Parton
George Teren, writer
House of Full Circle Music Publishing

Video of the Year
"As Good As I Once Was"
Toby Keith

"Believe"
Brooks & Dunn

"I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
Trey Fanjoy, director

"Kersosene"
Miranda Lambert
Trey Fanjoy, director

"When I Get Where I'm Going"
Dolly Parton

Vocal Event of the Year
"I Play Chicken with the Train"
Big & Rich
Big Kenny, producer

"Like We Never Loved at All"
Faith Hill with Tim McGraw
Faith Hill, producer

"When I Get Where I'm Going"
Dolly Parton

Producer of the Year
Byron Gallimore

Audio Engineer of the Year
Justin Niebank

Musicians of the Year
Bass
Mike Brignardello
David Hungate
Larry Paxton

Fiddle
Glen Duncan
Larry Franklin
Rob Hajacos
Aubrey Haynie
Jonathan Yudkin

Guitar
J.T. Corenflos
Kenny Greenberg

Piano/Keyboards
Gordon Mote
Reese Wynans

Specialty Instrument
Eric Darken
Jim Hoke
Jim Horn
Rob Ickes

Steel Guitar
Paul Franklin
Sonny Garrish
John Hughey
Mike Johnson

Keith Urban	Toby Keith	Byron Gallimore

With four nominations a piece, both Urban and Keith are up for Entertainer of the Year, marking the fourth year in a row Keith has been nominated in that category. They will also compete for Video of the Year. Urban hopes to repeat his Male Vocalist of the Year win from last year and score an Album of the Year award with Be Here.

Sugarland	Rascal Flatts

Toby Keith's other nods include Single and Song of the Year for his hit "As Good As I Once Was." The song, from his latest album Honkytonk University also earned a nomination for co-writer Scotty Emerick and producer James Stroud.

Big & Rich	Alison Krauss

Both Urban and Keith are eligible for additional trophies as co-producers on their respective nominations.

Producer Byron Gallimore, newcomers Sugarland and reigning Vocal Group of the Year Rascal Flatts followed with three nominations each, while country duo Big & Rich, bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and dobro master Jerry Douglas made it onto the double nominees list. Krauss and her band Union Station (of which Douglas is a member), nominated for Vocal Group of the Year, have also just picked up an impressive 14 IBMA Awards nominations.

Jerry Douglas	Brooks & Dunn	Julie Roberts

Twelve-time CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn, who return to host "country music's biggest night," will try once again to retain their crown. BMI Icon Bill Anderson picked up another songwriter nod for the Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby" (named 2004's Musical Event), and country legend Willie Nelson took home his 44th CMA nomination for the Lee Ann Womack duet, "I'll Never Be Free."

Tim McGraw	Diamond Rio

Other BMI CMA nominees include Julie Roberts, Marcus Hummon, Jeff Hanna, Tim McGraw, Randy Scruggs, Jimmy Buffett and Diamond Rio.

Alabama	Glen Campbell

A highlight of the live show will be the induction of BMI country greats Alabama and Glen Campbell into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The prestigious award is the highest honor in country music and recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the genre throughout their careers. Campbell will be inducted in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Between World War II and 1975" category and Alabama will be the first artist inducted in the new "Career Achieved National Prominence Between 1975 and the Present" category created earlier this year. Their inductions will increase the Hall of Fame membership to 95.

Miranda Lambert	Sara Evans	Martina McBride

BMI's 2005 CMA Nominees:

4 Nominations
Toby Keith
Keith Urban

3 Nominations
Byron Gallimore
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland

2 Nominations
Big & Rich
Jerry Douglas
Sara Evans
Alison Krauss
Martina McBride

Single Nomination
Bill Anderson
Brooks & Dunn
Bobby Boyd
Tony Brown
Jimmy Buffett
Diamond Rio
Scotty Emerick
Jeff Hanna
Marcus Hummon
Miranda Lambert
Lonestar
Brent Mason
Tim McGraw
Montgomery Gentry
Willie Nelson
Jon Randall
Julie Roberts
Randy Scruggs
Darran Smith
James Stroud
Shania Twain
Union Station
The Warren Brothers

Clint Black

BMI and A&E created an innovative on-air campaign to promote the series. Titled "Country Crossroads," the campaign features additional BMI writers sharing original anecdotes about the musical influences that the Biography subjects had on their work. The original campaign was shot on location in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville and featured a broad spectrum of BMI writers, including Clint Black, Isaac Hayes, Rosanne Cash, Lorrie Morgan, Shelby Lynn, Buddy Jewell, Julie Roberts and Louie Perez sharing their reflections on their personal musical icons. BMI contributed to the creation of the campaign concept and supplied talent relations, research services, archival footage and logistics support to the shoots. A&E Networks shot and produced the spots.

"Bio Country" can be seen on The Biography Channel Wednesdays at 8 ET/9 PT. Check your local listings for more information.

Isaac Hayes

Rosanne Cash

Shelby Lynne

Kylie Sackley

Shelly Fairchild
Her voice conveys the blues of her Mississippi Delta home and the soulful power of a passionate woman who has been "singing with everything I've got" since she began performing as a child. Her edgy style conveys the confidence of a small-town girl from Clinton, Miss., bold enough to head out on her own and earn lead roles in major musicals and national theatrical tours, yet sensitive enough to write heart-tugging stories about love and family as well as steamy tales about desire and living life to the hilt. Her dynamic stage presence conveys the experience of a stage actress and the live-wire energy and hot-blooded emotion of a risk-taker who can open the throttle and roar or slow down to caress a lyric with intimate conviction. Her Columbia Records debut, Ride, is a one-of-a-kind introduction that suggests this country singer won't be held back by preconceptions about Nashville or contemporary country music. Shelly co-wrote four songs on her album, including "You Don't Lie Here Anymore." Her influences range from Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton to Hank Williams Jr. and Travis Tritt.

Stephony Smith
BMI Award-winning songwriter Stephony Smith's list of accolades is unparalleled. An eight-time BMI Million-Air Award winner, she was named both Songwriter of the Year and her Faith Hill and Tim McGraw #1 hit "It's Your Love" was named Song of the Year at the 1998 BMI Country Awards. The song also earned a ACM Award for Song of the Year, as well as a Grammy and CMA nomination. She was named NSAI's Songwriter of the Year and has four NSAI #1 awards. Her other #1 cuts include "Back When" (Tim McGraw), "Sin Wagon" (Dixie Chicks), "Perfect Love" (Tricia Yearwood), "Yes!" (Chad Brock), "Big Star" (Kenny Chesney) and "How Was I to Know" (Reba McEntire). Smith has also written over 100 songs for artists such as Shania Twain, Wynonna, She Daisy, Barbra Streisand, Martina McBride, Shelby Lynne, Diamond Rio, Lonestar, Montgomery Gentry, and many others.

Lisa Carver
Lisa carver is a native Charleston, South Carolina girl, who has been part of the Nashville underground music scene for years. She is a songwriter first and foremost, but has always enjoyed entertaining audiences worldwide with her eclectic, three-dimensional story songs. However, over the last few years, after becoming a grand prize winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Fest, she began getting her collection of audial art cut by today's country artists ranging from Tim McGraw, Shelly Fairchild, Julie Roberts and Jessica Andrews, to Willie Nelson. Her vocal style is pretty much school of Prine, while her writing style lies somewhere between Kinky Friedman and Kris Kristofferson. Her irreverence and originality are refreshing in today's white-washed, politically-correct country music climate, and she's grateful for the chance to be making her mark on Music Row.

Tim McGraw	Big & Rich	Toby Keith

Voting is now open again for fans to vote online at CMT.com through Friday, April 8; the first round of voting ended March 10.

The CMT Music Awards, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, will be held on Monday, April 11, at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center.

The four finalists for Video of the Year will be announced during the live awards show, and fans will be able to vote during the telecast at CMT.com to determine the winner.

Keith Urban	Martina McBride	Alison Krauss

BMI's finalists for 2005 CMT MUSIC AWARDS are:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)"
Alison Krauss - "Whiskey Lullaby"
Keith Urban - "Days Go By"
Rascal Flatts - "Feels Like Today"
Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
Toby Keith - "Stays In Mexico"

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Keith Urban - "Days Go By"
Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
Toby Keith - "Stays In Mexico"

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Martina McBride - "How Far"

Rascal Flatts	Shania Twain

GROUP/DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Holy Water"
Lonestar - "Mr. Mom"
Montgomery Gentry - "If You Ever Stop Loving Me"
Rascal Flatts - "Feels Like Today"

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss - "Whiskey Lullaby"
Jimmy Buffett with Clint Black and Toby Keith - "Hey Good Lookin'"
Tim McGraw - "Over And Over"
Shania Twain - "Party For Two"

HOTTEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Keith Urban - "You're My Better Half"
Sara Evans - "Suds In The Bucket"
Toby Keith - "Whiskey Girl"

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)"
Julie Roberts - "Break Down Here"

MOST INSPIRING VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Holy Water"
Martina McBride - "God's Will"
Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
]]> 2005-03-21T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234365 Artists, Anderson, Bill, Big & Rich, Black, Clint, Boyd, Bobby E., Brooks & Dunn, Cannon, Chuck, Evans, Sara, Gentry, Montgomery, Hummon, Marcus, Jones, Norah, Keith, Toby, Krauss, Alison, Lonestar, Mardin, Arif, McBride, Martina, McGraw, Tim, Nichols, Tim, Parton, Dolly, Rascal Flatts, Robby, Roberts, Julie, Twain, Shania, Uncle Kracker, Urban, Keith, Wright, Mark, Musical Styles, Country Tim McGraw is the top nominee in the 40th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, announced March 3. In addition to entertainer and male vocalist praise, McGraw collected an album nomination for Live Like You Were Dying, with the title track earning him single, video and song of the year recognition.

Tim McGraw	Keith Urban	Toby Keith

BMI songwriters nominated for Song of the Year were Tim Nichols for "Live Like You Were Dying"; Toby Keith and Chuck Cannon for "American Soldier"; Bobby E. Boyd, Marcus Hummon and Jeff Hanna for "Bless the Broken Road"; and Bill Anderson and Jon Randall for "Whiskey Lullaby."

Alison Krauss	Byron Gallimore

Alison Krauss scored five nominations: one for Alison Krauss + Union Station as Top Vocal Group and four courtesy of song, video, single, and vocal event nominee "Whiskey Lullaby." Keith Urban, reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Toby Keith and producer Byron Gallimore received four nods each. Big & Rich, Rascal Flatts and producer Mark Wright received three nominations each.

Big & Rich	Mark Wright

Diamond Rio paired their Top Vocal Group nomination with one for the Home Depot Humanitarian Award; online voting is underway for the fan-voted honor.

The ACM Awards show, set for May 17 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, will be broadcast live on CBS-TV.

Rascal Flatts	Julie Roberts

BMI nominees for the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards:

Entertainer of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw
Keith Urban

Top Vocal Group
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Diamond Rio
Lonestar
Rascal Flatts
The Notorious Cherry Bombs

Top New Artist
Big & Rich
Julie Roberts

Top Vocal Duo
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Montgomery Gentry
The Warren Brothers

Diamond Rio	Sara Evans

Top Female Vocalist
Sara Evans
Martina McBride

Top Male Vocalist
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw
Keith Urban

Video of the Year
"Live Like You Were Dying"
Tim McGraw

"Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)"
Big & Rich

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss

Brooks & Dunn	Martina McBride

Vocal Event of the Year
"Creepin' In"
Norah Jones and Dolly Parton
Arif Mardin and Norah Jones, producers

"Hey Good Lookin'"
with Clint Black and Toby Keith
Michael Utley, producer

"Party for Two"
Shania Twain

"When the Sun Goes Down"
Uncle Kracker

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss

Song of the Year
"American Soldier"
Toby Keith
Toby Keith and Chuck Cannon, writers
Tokeco Tunes and Wacissa River Music, Inc.

"Bless the Broken Road"
Rascal Flatts
Marcus Hummon, Bobby E. Boyd and Jeff Hanna, writers
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc. and Jeff Diggs Music

"Live Like You Were Dying"
Tim McGraw
Tim Nichols, writer
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss
Bill Anderson and Jon Randall, writers
Mr. Bubba Music, Inc., Reynsong Publishing Corp., Sony/ATV Tree and WhaYa Say Music

Single Record of the Year
"Bless the Broken Road"
Rascal Flatts, artist/producer

"Days Go By"
Keith Urban, artist/producer

"I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
Byron Gallimore, producer

"Live Like You Were Dying"
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw, Byron Gallimore and Darran Smith, producers

"Redneck Woman"
Mark Wright and Joe Scaife producers

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss

Album of the Year
Be Here
Keith Urban
Producers: Keith Urban

Here for the Party
Mark Wright and Joe Scaife, producers

Live Like You Were Dying
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw, Byron Gallimore and Darran Smith, producers

Restless
Sara Evans, artist/producer

Producer of the Year
Bryon Gallimore
James Stroud
Mark Wright

Engineer of the Year
Justin Niebank

Musicians of the Year
Bass
Mike Brignardello
David Hungate
Larry Paxton

Drums
Eric Darken

Fiddle
Glen Duncan
Stuart Duncan
Larry Franklin
Rob Hajacos
Jonathan Yudkin

Guitar
J.T. Corenflos
John Jorgenson
Brent Mason
Bryan Sutton

Piano/Keyboards
Gordon Mote

Specialty Instrument
Jim Hoke
Jim Horn
Rob Ickes
Randy Scruggs

Steel
Dan Dugmore
Sonny Garrish
John Hughey
Mike Johnson
Robby Turner]]> 2005-03-07T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234346 Artists, Big & Rich, Black, Clint, Brooks & Dunn, Buffett, Jimmy, Evans, Sara, Gentry, Montgomery, Keith, Toby, Krauss, Alison, Lonestar, Los Lonely Boys, Lynn, Loretta, McBride, Martina, McGraw, Tim, Rascal Flatts, Roberts, Julie, Shelton, Blake, Smith, Mindy, Sugarland, Tritt, Travis, Twain, Shania, Uncle Kracker, Urban, Keith, White, Jack, Musical Styles, Country, Urban 2005 CMT Music Awards, country music's only fan-voted awards show. Tim McGraw drew five mentions, with Big & Rich and Toby Keith receiving four each. Alison Krauss, Martina McBride, Shania Twain and Keith Urban followed with three each.

Tim McGraw	Big & Rich	Toby Keith

CMT viewers began voting on February 16 for their favorite videos on CMT.com to determine the finalists, and later the winners. The first round of voting will end on March 10, when the votes will be tabulated and the field will be narrowed to four finalists in each category.

Alison Krauss	Martina McBride	Shania Twain

On Wednesday, March 16, CMT will announce the four finalists in each category except Video of the Year. Fans will be able to vote online at CMT.com through April 8 to determine the winners in all categories except Video of the Year. The winner of Video of the Year will be determined by viewers at CMT.com during the live telecast of the awards show.

Keith Urban	Los Lonely Boys

All category winners will be announced on Monday, April 11, on the live 2005 CMT Music Awards, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy.

BMI's nominees for 2005 CMT MUSIC AWARDS are:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)"
Alison Krauss - "Whiskey Lullaby"
Keith Urban - "Days Go By"
Rascal Flatts - "Feels Like Today"
Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
Toby Keith - "Stays In Mexico"

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Blake Shelton - "Some Beach"
Charlie Robison - "El Cerrito Place"
Keith Urban - "Days Go By"
Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
Toby Keith - "Stays In Mexico"

Loretta Lynn	Brooks & Dunn

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Loretta Lynn - "Miss Being Mrs."
Martina McBride - "How Far"
Shania Twain - "Don't"

GROUP/DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Union Station - "Restless"
Big & Rich - "Holy Water"
Brooks & Dunn - "That's What It's All About"
Lonestar - "Mr. Mom"
Los Lonely Boys - "Heaven"
Montgomery Gentry - "If You Ever Stop Loving Me"
Rascal Flatts - "Feels Like Today"

Jimmy Buffett	Lonestar

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss - "Whiskey Lullaby"
Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride - "Trip Around The Sun"
Jimmy Buffett with Clint Black and Toby Keith - "Hey Good Lookin'"
Uncle Kracker - "When The Sun Goes Down"
Loretta Lynn and Jack White - "Portland, Oregon"
Tim McGraw - "Over And Over"
Shania Twain - "Party For Two"
Travis Tritt - "What Say You"

HOTTEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Keith Urban - "You're My Better Half"
Tim McGraw - "Over And Over"
Sara Evans - "Suds In The Bucket"
Shania Twain - "When You Kiss Me"
Toby Keith - "Whiskey Girl"

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)"
Julie Roberts - "Break Down Here"
Los Lonely Boys - "Heaven"
Mindy Smith - "Come To Jesus"
Sugarland - "Baby Girl"

MOST INSPIRING VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich - "Holy Water"
Brooks & Dunn - "That's What It's All About"
Martina McBride - "God's Will"
Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"