ACM Announces New Artist Nominees For 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards
The Academy of Country Music and Great American Country (GAC) announced today that for the third year, the newcomer categories for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards” Top New Solo Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group”will be opened up to interactive fan voting through VoteACM.com and GACtv.com/ACM. The Academy is also announcing that the Top New Vocal Duo or Group category will take the place of the Top New Vocal Duo and Top New Vocal Group categories.
The nominees for the newcomer categories are:
Top New Solo Vocalist
• Eric Church
• Easton Corbin
• Randy Houser
Top New Vocal Duo or Group
• The Band Perry
• The JaneDear Girls
• Steel Magnolia
Professional members of the Academy of Country Music select the final nominees in the Top New Solo Vocalist and Top New Vocal or Group categories. Professional member votes will be combined with fan votes to obtain the winners of the newcomer categories of the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Fan voting for these categories will begin at VoteACM.com and GACtv.com/ACM on Thursday, January 27 at 9:00 AM PST and will close on Thursday, February 24 at 9AM PST. The winner in each category will be announced in March and will move on to compete for Top New Artist. Voting for the Top New Artist category will begin at VoteACM.com and GACtv.com/ACM on Friday, March 11 at 12:00 NOON PST and will close on April 3, with the winner being announced LIVE during the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast on the CBS Television Network.
As part of this partnership, GAC will air several stand-alone specials, including a show featuring all the nominees from each of the two categories, as well as a show featuring the winners who will compete for overall Top New Artist.
“Like the Academy of Country Music, GAC takes pride in introducing our audience to top new artists and their music early in their career,” said Sarah Trahern, General Manager and Senior Vice President at GAC. “Through this partnership we hope to introduce these six talented acts to a wider audience and enable the country music fans to choose their favorites for the coveted ACM Top New Artist prize.”
The first GAC special “ACM Showcase,” hosted by Luke Bryan, will feature all six nominees, three from each of the two newcomer categories, and will premiere Thursday, January 27 at 10:00 PM ET. This special will re-air through February 24, when voting closes.
The winner of the new Top New Artist category will be awarded on the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 8:00 PM live ET on the CBS Television Network.
The complete list of nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards will be announced in February.
