Toby Keith sets AOL Record

NEW YORK (AOL) - Last night's American Music Awards recognized country singer/songwriter Toby Keith as the genre's Favorite Male Artist, and honored his most recent studio album Shock'N Y'all as Favorite Country Album. The acclaim should come as no surprise, however, as his Nov. 10 AOL concert event set a first-day record for the gargantuan online service.

Keith's AOL Music Live! concert special, the first such event from a country artist, was played more than 850,000 times in the first 24-hours it was available. His spectacular showing follows previous AOL Music Live! performances by Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Avril Lavigne, Nelly, Usher and Good Charlotte among others. Toby's stream will be available on demand at aolmusic.com through Nov. 19.

Big online numbers are also a prelude to big cash register numbers, as Toby's Greatest Hits 2 completes its first week at stores after a Nov. 9 release. Beyond his release-night performance on the CMA Awards and last night's AMA performance, Keith's upcoming media hits include Jimmy Kimmel Live on Nov. 16, FOX News Channel's Your World with Cavuto the week of Nov. 15 and Extra!, CNN and E! Entertainment Network airing in November.

Keith figures prominently in CMT's November programming on shows including "Super Stacked: Toby Keith," "Toby Keith: Live, Uncut & Unleashed," and "Toby Keith Uncut: 60 Minutes II" and is cable network Great American Country's Artist of the Month. Look for him on the cover of the current Country Weekly. He's also one of the few country artists ever profiled in the prestigious Playboy Interview, out in the January issue, which is available Dec. 21.

The Academy of Country Music's reigning Entertainer of the Year (two years running) was recently tapped by the NFL to kick off its 2004 season, and his current "Big Throwdown Tour" opened before the largest crowd at a country music show in North America this year.