NASHVILLE, TN. (SONY BMG) - It was a night of celebration, hits, and brand new music as RCA Label Group-Nashville artists took the stage over and again Tuesday evening for The 40th Annual Academy of Country
Music Awards, which aired live from Las Vegas, NV, on CBS Television.
With No 1 singles, chart-topping record sales and sellout concerts, BNA's
Kenny Chesney continues to prove himself one of the hottest artists in any genre of music, and Chesney not only played his smash, 'Anything But Mine,' but walked away with the evening's top prize as Entertainer of the Year.
Arista Nashville hitmaker Brad Paisley took home the night's first award as Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw announced Video of the Year honors for 'Whiskey Lullaby,' Paisley's duet with Alison Krauss which also captured the ACM trophy for Vocal Event of the Year. From poignant ballads to tongue-in-cheek chucklers, Paisley is one artist who's shown he can do it all with style, and he lit up the ACM stage with one of the latter, performing 'Alcohol,' the fast-rising chart-climber and lead single from his upcoming summer release, the follow-up to his Double-Platinum Mud on the Tires.
Gorgeous RCA songstress and Top Female Vocalist nominee Sara Evans has enjoyed a phenomenal year as country's most-played female artist of 2004, topping the charts with 'Suds in the Bucket,' scoring Platinum certification for her album, Restless, and recently being featured as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. Sara offered one of the night's highlights as she unveiled 'A Real Fine Place to Start.' Already a Top 40 single after only two weeks on the chart, this undeniable smash is the first from her new album, releasing this August.
Superstar Alan Jackson showcased 'The Talkin' Song Repair Blues' from his million-selling What I Do collection, while 12-time ACM Top Vocal Duo winners Brooks & Dunn scored their fifth consecutive win in that category and cut loose on stage with the driving edge of 'Play Something Country,' the television debut of the first single and title track to their ninth studio album, in stores later this summer.
RLG talents Phil Vassar, Blaine Larsen, and members of Diamond Rio, Lonestar, and the Warren Brothers also appeared on the broadcast, with last year's ACM/Home Depot Humanitarian Award winner, Martina McBride, featured in a pre-taped segment to introduce this year's Humanitarian nominees.
RCA Label Group-Nashville (RLG) is a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, RLG's three country labels are Arista Nashville, BNA Records and RCA Records. Also under the RCA Label Group umbrella is Christian based Provident Label Group, located in Franklin, Tennessee.
