MIRANDA LAMBERT LEADS LIST OF FINALISTS WITH RECORD NINE NOMINATIONS FOR "THE 44th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS"

Lady Antebellum Receives Five Nominations; Blake Shelton and Zac Brown Band Receive Four Nominations; Fresh Faces in 10 of the 12 Categories

2010 CMA Awards Broadcast Live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, November 10 on the ABC Television Network

It was one for the record books when the final list of nominees for "The 44th Annual CMA Awards" was announced today, with fresh faces layered throughout the field of finalists vying for a coveted crystal trophy on "Country Music's Biggest Night�."

"The 44th Annual CMA Awards" will be hosted for the third time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"Records were set and the bar has been raised with this exciting group of nominees," said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. "There will be a heightened level of excitement and anticipation for the CMA Awards in November."

For the fifth year, the announcement of the final nominees in five of the 12 CMA Awards categories was made on ABC News' "Good Morning America." Nominees Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert delivered the news from the "Good Morning America" studios in the heart of New York City's Times Square. Finalists in the other seven categories were announced yesterday in Nashville at the historic Ryman Auditorium by Justin Moore and first-time nominee Chris Young.

When the final nominations were tallied, Lambert led the list of finalists with nine nominations - the most for any female artist in the history of the CMA Awards. Alan Jackson received 10 nominations in 2002. Prior to that, Merle Haggard held the record with nine in 1970.

Lambert received nominations for Entertainer; Female Vocalist; Album for Revolution, produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke; two for Single, "The House That Built Me" and "White Liar;" Song for "White Liar," which she wrote with Natalie Hemby; Musical Event, for "Bad Angel" with Dierks Bentley and Jamey Johnson; and two for Music Video of the Year for "The House That Built Me," directed by Trey Fanjoy, and "White Liar," directed by Chris Hicky.

Lady Antebellum garnered the second highest number of CMA Awards nominations with five including Entertainer; Album for Need You Now; Vocal Group; Single for "Need You Now"; and Music Video of the Year for "Need You Now," which was directed by David McClister. Group members Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott each received individual nominations for Song of the Year for "Need You Now," which they penned with songwriter Josh Kear. The group can receive two additional trophies as producers for Single and Album of the Year with Paul Worley.

Third on the list of nominees was Zac Brown Band with four nominations for Entertainer; Vocal Group; Musical Event for "Can't You See" featuring Kid Rock; and New Artist of the Year. The last time an act was nominated for New Artist and Entertainer of the Year in the same year was Ricky Skaggs in 1982. Bandmates Zac Brown and John Driskell Hopkins each pick up an additional individual nomination for Song of the Year for "Toes," which they wrote with Wyatt Durrette and Shawn Mullins.

Tying with Zac Brown Band was Blake Shelton, who received four nominations including Male Vocalist; and Single (produced by Scott Hendricks); Musical Event; and Music Video (director Roman White) for "Hillbilly Bone," which featured Trace Adkins. As a result, Adkins picked up three nominations of his own for his contribution to the raucous duet.

Bentley wasn't only handing out the good news, he was also the recipient of three nominations. Bentley's nods include Male Vocalist; Album for Up On The Ridge, which was produced by Jon Randall Stewart; and Musical Event of the Year for "Bad Angel" with Lambert and Johnson.

Sharing the three-spot was CMA Awards co-host Brad Paisley, who received nominations for Entertainer; Male Vocalist; and Music Video of the Year for "Water," which was directed by Jim Shea. Paisley's nominations this year push him from No. 5 to No. 3 for the artist with the most career nominations. He has been nominated every year since 2000 and has amassed an incredible 52 career nominations to date. Only George Strait (81) and Alan Jackson (79) have more.

A perennial favorite of CMA voters, Strait received two nominations this year for Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Twang, which Strait produced with Tony Brown. Brown leads the list of nominees among non-performers with 38 career nominations. In 27 years, Strait has only been shut out of CMA Awards nominations two times in 1992 and 2006.

Co-host Carrie Underwood also received two nominations including Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for Play On, which was produced by Mark Bright and Max Martin.

Underwood won Female Vocalist of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2008. If Underwood wins the Female Vocalist of the Year trophy again, it will tie her with Martina McBride (1999, 2002-2004) and Reba McEntire (1984-1987) for most wins in this category. All three are nominated again in 2010 with Lambert and Taylor Swift, who won the trophy in 2009.

McEntire's 2010 nomination keeps her in first place as the female artist with the most career CMA Awards nominations (49). Her first was for the Horizon Award in 1983.

Keith Urban received two nominations for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year. Urban won Entertainer in 2005 and Male Vocalist of the Year three times (2004, 2005, and 2006). Urban and Paisley are the senior members of the Entertainer class. The last time three acts debuted in the category was 1981 with Alabama, George Jones, and the Oak Ridge Boys.

A new name with multiple nominations was Easton Corbin. He was nominated for New Artist (formerly the Horizon Award) and Single of the Year for "A Little More Country Than That," which was produced by Carson Chamberlain. Songwriters Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble were nominated for Song of the Year for the No. 1 song.

Feek is also half of the duo Joey + Rory, who received a nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year. Rounding out the Vocal Duo category were Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, newcomers Steel Magnolia and Sugarland, who won the Award in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Nearing the end of their farewell tour, Brooks & Dunn have been nominated in the category every year since 1992 and have won a record 14 times.

Last year Zac Brown Band made its debut in the Vocal Group of the Year category and this year The Band Perry are on the list for the first time. Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Rascal Flatts complete the nominees for Vocal Group of the Year.

Making their CMA Awards debut in the New Artist of the Year category are Luke Bryan, Corbin, Jerrod Niemann and Chris Young. Zac Brown Band received its second New Artist of the Year nomination this year. Artists can only be included in this category two times.

Dave Matthews received his first CMA Awards nomination this year for Musical Event of the Year with Kenny Chesney for "I'm Alive." Alan Jackson and Lee Ann Womack also received a Musical Event nomination for "Till the End."

The Musician of the Year category included Paul Franklin, Dann Huff, Brent Mason, Mac McAnally and Randy Scruggs. Each has been nominated in the past. The Musician of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year were the only two categories out of 12 that didn't have a first-time nominee in the mix.

The 2009 CMA Awards, held in Nashville during Sweeps (Nov. 11), ranked behind only the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards during the 2009-2010 season for awards shows among Total Viewers. With "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," ABC won the night in both Total Viewers (17.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/14). According to Nielsen research, 35.8 million unique viewers ages 2+ watched six minutes or more of the program.

The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 6,000 industry professional members of CMA, which was the first trade organization formed to promote an individual genre of music in 1958. The first CMA Awards Banquet and Show was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on NBC television for the first time - making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The show aired on NBC through 1971 and on the CBS Television Network from 1972 through 2005 before moving to ABC in 2006.

Winners of "The 44th Annual CMA Awards" will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the County Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

In addition to coverage of today's events on CMT.com, "CMT Insider Special Edition: 2010 CMA Awards Nominations" will air on CMT today Wednesday, Sept. 1 (11:00 AM/ET). The new special, which features in-depth coverage of all the nominees, artist interviews and more, re-airs on Saturday, Sept. 4 (1:30 PM/ET) and Sunday, Sept. 5 (11:00 AM/ET).

A video news release including footage of the nominee announcements from Nashville, exclusive interviews, music video clips and more will be serviced today Wednesday, Sept. 1 (2:00-2:30 PM/ET). The VNR package will be available by Galaxy 28 - Transponder 10 (C-Band; analog) Downlink Frequency - 3900 Horizontal.

If you have difficulty picking up the VNR or have questions about the feed, please contact Scott Sklarin with Sklarin Communications at (917) 929-5564; or Maria Eckhardt at CMA (615) 664-1637, or by e-mail at meckhardt@CMAworld.com.

Tickets for the 2010 CMA Awards will go on sale to the public on Saturday, Sept. 18 (10:00 AM/CT) and can be purchased by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com; calling (800) 745-3000; or in person at the Bridgestone Arena box office, 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway), Nashville. Ticket prices begin at $110 for Upper Level. All ticket prices include sales tax, but exclude applicable service/handling fees. Purchase tickets early for best available seats. In 2009, the CMA Awards sold out in advance.

"The 44th Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer, Paul Miller is the director and David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

The Final Nominees for "The 44th Annual CMA Awards" are:

Entertainer of the Year

Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Brad Paisley
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

Female Vocalist of the Year

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year

Dierks Bentley
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban

Album of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

Need You Now Lady Antebellum Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum Capitol Records Nashville

Play On Carrie Underwood Produced by Mark Bright and Max Martin 19 Recordings Limited/Arista Nashville

Revolution Miranda Lambert Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke Columbia Nashville

Twang George Strait Produced by Tony Brown and George Strait MCA Nashville

Up On The Ridge Dierks Bentley Produced by Jon Randall Stewart Capitol Records Nashville

Musical Event of the Year (Award goes to each Artist)

"Bad Angel" Dierks Bentley featuring Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson Capitol Records Nashville

"Can't You See" Zac Brown Band featuring Kid Rock Southern Ground/Atlantic Records

"Hillbilly Bone" Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins Reprise Records

"I'm Alive" Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews BNA Records

"Till The End" Alan Jackson with Lee Ann Womack Arista Nashville

Previously Announced in Nashville:

New Artist of the Year

Luke Bryan
Easton Corbin
Jerrod Niemann
Chris Young
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Group of the Year

Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year

Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland

Single of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

"A Little More Country Than That" Easton Corbin Produced by Carson Chamberlain Mercury Nashville

"Hillbilly Bone" Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins Produced by Scott Hendricks Reprise Records

"Need You Now" Lady Antebellum Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum Capitol Records Nashville

"The House That Built Me" Miranda Lambert Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke Columbia Nashville

"White Liar" Miranda Lambert Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke Columbia Nashville

Song of the Year (Award goes to Songwriter(s))

"A Little More Country Than That" Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress, and Wynn Varble

"Need You Now" Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Josh Kear

"The House That Built Me" Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin

"Toes" Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins, and Shawn Mullins

"White Liar" Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

Music Video of the Year (Award goes to Artist and Director)

"Hillbilly Bone" Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins Directed by Roman White

"Need You Now" Lady Antebellum Directed by David McClister

Music Video of the Year (cont.) (Award goes to Artist and Director)

"The House That Built Me" Miranda Lambert Directed by Trey Fanjoy

"Water" Brad Paisley Directed by Jim Shea

"White Liar" Miranda Lambert Directed by Chris Hicky

Musician of the Year Paul Franklin - Steel Guitar Dann Huff - Guitar Brent Mason - Guitar Mac McAnally - Guitar Randy Scruggs - Guitar

Premiere Radio Networks is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards. American Airlines is the official airline of the 2010 CMA Awards. Chevrolet, Proud Sponsor of the CMA Awards and Official Ride of Country Music.