© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Roger Murrah knows as much as anyone about writing songs. He has written or co-written 76 hit songs, according to Billboard. He served two terms as President of the Nashville Songwriters Association International and is currently serving a third term as Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation. A Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member since 2005, he also knows how to run a successful publishing company, which he has done for 18 years as head of Murrah Music Group.

But finding the best health plan for your employees can be even harder than earning a BMI Millionaire Award for composing "We're in This Love Together" with Keith Stegall. Just ask Murrah: He's done both.

"It's outrageous," he admitted, while seated behind a desk festooned with BMI Awards at his spacious attic office overlooking Music Row. "It's unbelievable that an independent company has been able to offer insurance at all."

Reviewing and often replacing their insurance program has become an annual rite at Murrah Music. And when it became apparent that their carrier last year was charging the company 107 percent of the standard street rate to cover their small group of employees, Murrah decided to seek a more long-lasting solution.

The answer proved close to home - in a CMA Close Up article introducing CMA Sound Healthcare, which offers comprehensive health insurance for domestic CMA members, often well below rates available elsewhere to self-employed individuals as well as those employed by CMA member organizations. An appointment was set up with Henry Badillo, Director of Group Health for the program. One meeting was all it took to add Murrah Music to the growing list of companies to come onboard with a group policy.
 
"They had a $5,000 individual out-of-pocket on their old policy," Badillo noted. "We got that down to $2,500. And we were able to cut the cost of their dental plan literally in half while giving them a better plan too."

No company is too small to qualify for coverage, Badillo emphasized. "There are plenty of influential two-employee groups in the music industry. But we treat them the same way we treat a thousand-employee group. The key for the smaller companies is that while a carrier can decline to cover an individual policy, legislation ensures that they cannot decline coverage for groups from two to 50 employees. That's one reason why we're making sure that CMA Sound Healthcare offers the best options for group as well as individual plans."

"I'm an organizational member and a regular member of CMA," Murrah concluded. "I know how professionally CMA gets things done. That alone was enough for me to look into the plan - and I'm glad I did."

"Go ahead," said Storme Warren, grinning broadly. "Guess which one."

He was rotating his arms, one at a time, in wide circles, forward and backward. It was impossible to identify that it was his left shoulder that sustained multiple major injuries just four months previously, when the popular host of GAC's "The Collection" and "Country Music Across America" tumbled on the slopes at Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Warren was covering "Country in the Rockies," the T. J. Martell Foundation's annual fundraiser for cancer research. But he had budgeted some personal recreation into his trip too. A self-described advanced intermediate skier, he rented some equipment and enjoyed himself on the slopes for a few days before going to work. On his last scheduled full day, Jan. 26, he retrieved his own skis after some routine service work had been finished and headed up Storm Peak for one last run.

One detail had slipped his mind. "I never got my skis adjusted to the rental boots," he said. "So as the day progressed, the bindings got looser and looser."

This came to Warren's attention after one ski slipped completely from its binding. Even so, he figured he could make it home if he maintained a safe speed on his last descent.

"Then I tried to make one hard turn," he remembered. "The ski flew out from underneath me and I did what they call a 'high-side fall,' which means you're falling from the high side of the mountain and you go down with more momentum. I knew I was going to hit either my head or my shoulder, so I tucked in and my shoulder took 100 percent of the impact."

The Ski Patrol soon arrived and, seeing the severity of the injury, rushed Warren directly to Yampa Valley Medical Center. A doctor popped his arm back into position, wrapped it in a sling and sent the patient back to Nashville for surgery the next day at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Fortunately, a specialist in shoulder injuries, Dr. John Kuhn, performed the operation. Warren was lucky as well to have enrolled in the CMA Sound Healthcare program shortly before his departure for Colorado.

"I had been dealing with a lot of dilemmas with our family health care," he said. "And when I heard about CMA Sound Healthcare, it seemed almost too good to be true. Instantly, the plan we chose started saving us close to $200 each month for family coverage. But after my surgery, the true test was going to be how everything worked out over the next few months."

According to Warren, CMA Sound Healthcare passed that test with flying colors. "The bills have started coming in and so far we're at about $15,000," he estimated. "That doesn't include rehab, which is probably another $10,000. But what I like is this nice little note at the bottom of each of those bills that tells me what I owe - 'zero.'"

His out-of-pocket expenses, from the Ski Patrol through rehab, will actually total $100. "This is just blowing me away," Warren admitted. "There's more peace of mind and less red tape. With CMA Sound Helthcare, you feel like you've got an alliance. Honestly, it's hard to wonder why any CMA member wouldn't become a part of this."

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

There's more than one way to break into Country Music. But Todd O'Neill may be the first to seize his moment by doing the "Napoleon Dynamite" dance at a club in his hometown of Hammond, La.

Mac Barrient, who was playing guitar with the band that night, took this as a sign of sorts and invited the young man up to sing a tune. O'Neill, who had never been onstage before, grabbed the mic, nailed Travis Tritt's "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)" and sealed his fate. The band welcomed him as its lead singer, complete with top billing at their shows.

His debut album, Real Life, emanates the energy O'Neill mustered at those roadhouse gigs. There's some Nashville sweetening too, which he might have picked up during a visit to Music City in 2003 - just long enough to pack some songwriting polish when he went back home.

Produced by Jim Allison and released on Aria Records Nashville, Real Life stirs accordion into "Cajun Queen," sprinkles Southern-fried harmonized guitar into "Drinkin' a Cold One" and showcases O'Neill's deft writing chops on six of its 11 tracks, including the introspective single, "Can I Come Over Tonight," co-written with Brett Harrington with its unusual segues between 4/4 and waltz times.

His voice is pleasing and melodic, a little husky and touched by old-school soul. Yet for all its diversity, Real Life is all about Country and showcases one of its promising new arrivals.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HEROES
"As a kid, I always looked up to Brooks & Dunn."

INFLUENCES
"Merle Haggard, James Taylor, Otis Redding, Keith Urban and Stephen Cochran."

SONG YOU'D SECRETLY LIKE TO COVER
"'These Arms of Mine,' by Otis Redding."

CD IN YOUR STERO
"Jake Owen's CD."

DREAM DUET PARTNER
"Carrie Underwood."

WHAT YOU SING IN THE SHOWER
"Every time I get in there - and this is not a joke, I'm serious - 'Don't Worry, Be Happy.'"

SOMETHING WE'D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU
"My manager says I'm a pig."

PHRASE YOU SAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN
"I got this."

MODE OF TRANSPORTATION YOU PREFER
"Motorcycle."

HOMETOWN
"Hammond, La."

ACTOR TO PORTRAY YOU IN A BIOPIC ABOUT YOUR LIFE
"Ben Affleck."

MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE WOULD YOU RELIVE IF YOU COULD
"The last motorcycle ride I had with my dad.  He got in a motorcycle accident and if I could relive that moment and know what I know today, I would prevent the accident."

LUCKY CHARM
"I have a bracelet that I wear everyday as my lucky charm."

TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
"Two Wheels and Six Strings."

WHEN THEY LOOK BACK ON YOUR LIFE IN 50 YEARS, WHAT YOU HOPE PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU
"Man he was such a nice guy."

ITEMS YOU'D PUT IN YOUR PERSONAL TIME CAPSULE, FOR FUTURE ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES
"Early demos, tape recordings, a guitar tuner and an extra set of strings."

WHAT YOU'D BE IF YOU WEREN'T AN ARTIST
"A motorcycle stunt man."

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Early on the morning of Sept. 10, in the studios of ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Times Square in New York City and at the Sommet Center in Downtown Nashville, the nominees for the 2008 CMA Awards were made public to the world.

Welcomed by ABC News correspondents Sam Champion and Robin Roberts, Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift read the names of the finalists in five of the 12 CMA Awards categories live from New York on the ABC Television Network, after which CMA CEO Tammy Genovese took to the stage at the Sommet Center's Suite Level Club. Her comments, and the subsequent announcements of the remaining CMA Awards nominees as well as the CMA Broadcast Awards finalists, were carried live by CMT and to radio stations by CMA's official radio partner Premiere Radio Networks.

"Having both 'Good Morning America' and 'CMT Insider' broadcast our CMA Awards final nominees live brings an immediate national spotlight to these highly-anticipated announcements and allows fans across the country to experience the same thrill our artists and the industry feel as the names are read," Genovese observed.

Before a gathering of journalists, music industry leaders and other dignitaries, Genovese noted the consistent success of the CMA Awards on ABC-TV, with 34.6 million viewers watching all or part of the ceremony, making the 2007 broadcast No. 1 among the evening's programs among total viewers as well as adults ages 18 through 49, which also placed the show behind only the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards in total viewers among awards broadcasts during the 2007-2008 season.

"We can't wait to see where this year's show takes us," she added. "And we're excited to reveal the nominees for 'The 42nd Annual CMA Awards.'"

Lady Antebellum and James Otto then announced nominations in the remaining seven categories, on a special edition of CMT's "CMT Insider."

Kenny Chesney led the field with seven nominations. Chesney, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, was nominated in that category again, as well as Male Vocalist; Album for Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates; Single for "Don't Blink;" Music Video for "Don't Blink" along with director Shaun Silva; and twice for Musical Event, one with Reba McEntire for "Every Other Weekend" and another for "Shiftwork" with George Strait. Chesney could receive two additional trophies for co-producing his Album and Single with Buddy Cannon.

Jennifer Nettles collected six nominations - five with Sugarland plus a solo nod for writing "Stay," nominated for Song of the Year. The duo's five nominations include their first in the Entertainer category; Single for "Stay;" Vocal Duo, which they won for the first time in 2007; Musical Event for "Life in a Northern Town" with Little Big Town and Jake Owen; and Music Video for "Stay," also directed by Silva. Nettles and Kristian Bush may receive an additional trophy for producing "Stay" with Byron Gallimore.

George Strait received five nominations as well, for Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Album for Troubadour; Single for "I Saw God Today;" and Musical Event with Chesney on "Shiftwork." He could receive two more trophies for co-producing his Single and Album with Tony Brown. The writers of Strait's hit "I Saw God Today," Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell and Wade Kirby,  picked up a nomination for Song of the Year.

Strait now has 75 career CMA Awards nominations, trailing only Alan Jackson, whose total rose to 79 with this year's nominations for Male Vocalist; Album for Good Time, produced by Keith Stegall; Song for "Good Time," written by Jackson; and Music Video for "Good Time," directed by Trey Fanjoy.

Like Jackson, Brad Paisley received four nominations, including Entertainer; Male Vocalist, which he won in 2007; Song for "Letter to Me," written by Paisley; and Music Video for "Waitin' on a Woman," directed by Jim Shea and Peter Tilden.

Keith Urban rounded out the Entertainer of the Year nominees. He also earned a nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, a category he won in 2005.

After winning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 2006 and 2007, Carrie Underwood returned in 2008 with two nominations, again for Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for Carnival Ride, produced by Mark Bright.

Alison Krauss is also nominated for Female Vocalist as well as  Musical Event for her performance with first-time CMA Awards nominee Robert Plant on "Gone, Gone, Gone." Nominated for the second consecutive year for Female Vocalist, Miranda Lambert also garnered a nomination for Single of the Year with "Gunpowder & Lead," produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke.

Completing the Female Vocalist category are reigning Horizon Award winner Taylor Swift, making her debut in the category, and four-time winner Martina McBride (1999, 2002-2004), whose four Female Vocalist wins tie her with Reba McEntire (1984-1987) for the greatest number of victories in that category, surpassing Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette's previous records. With her nomination for Musical Event of the Year with Chesney, McEntire boosts her career total to 46 nominations - more than any other female artist in the 42-year history of the CMA Awards.

More than 30 years since their two previous nominations for CMA Awards in the Vocal Group category (1976 and 1977), the Eagles returned to that category in 2008. Lady Antebellum debuted as Vocal Group nominees as well as being included among candidates for New Artist of the Year. After sweeping to victory in the Vocal Group category for five consecutive years, Rascal Flatts secured another nomination in 2008, while Emerson Drive, with its second nomination in that category, and Little Big Town, also nominated for Musical Event of the Year with Sugarland and Jake Owen, rounded out the list.Artists may be nominated only twice for a New Artist of the Year Award (formerly Horizon Award). This year's hopefuls are first-timers Lady Antebellum and James Otto, along with previous nominees Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins and Kellie Pickler.

The record for most CMA Awards goes to Brooks & Dunn, who have taken 19 trophies home. That number could rise by two in 2008, with their nominations for Vocal Duo - an honor they've won a record-setting 14 times - and Album of the Year for Cowboy Town, produced by Tony Brown, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks.

Trace Adkins also received two nominations this year, with Single and Music Video mentions for his poignant "You're Gonna Miss This." The No. 1 hit also earned Song of the Year nominations for songwriters Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller.

"Country Music thrives on the talent and creativity of an outstanding group of artists, and they are well represented with our nominees," said Genovese. "These talented performers, musicians, songwriters, producers and directors demonstrate the artistic depth and creativity of our format, and the 2008 CMA Awards will definitely reflect that in November."

"We look forward to this exciting time of the year, when ABC spotlights the best and brightest of today's Country Music artists and their achievements," said Vicki Dummer, Senior VP, Alternative Series, Specials, and Late-Night, ABC Entertainment. "Today's announcement of these exceptional nominees begins our celebration of one of our biggest nights in programming - the CMA Awards."

"The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" will be broadcast live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 12 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

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.

Winners of "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Along with live coverage of the CMA Awards nominees press conference, the special edition of CMT's "CMT Insider" re-aired several times, and footage from the nomination special was made available at CMT.com. A video news release, which includes nominee announcements, exclusive interviews, music video clips and more, was serviced after the press conference.

"The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Producer. Paul Miller is the Director. David Wild is the writer. The special, airing Nov. 12, will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Premiere Radio Networks is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards, including a stereo-radio simulcast of the gala event. American Airlines is the official airline of the 2008 CMA Awards. Chevy: The Official Ride of Country Music. Mary Kay is the Official Beauty Sponsor of the 2008 CMA Awards.

2008 CMA Awards Nominees

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Sugarland
Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Alan Jackson
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eagles
Emerson Drive
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
The Wreckers

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to artist and producer)
"Don't Blink"
Kenny Chesney
Produced by Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney
BNA Records

"Gunpowder & Lead"
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke
Columbia Records

"I Saw God Today"
George Strait
Produced by Tony Brown and George Strait
MCA Nashville

"Stay"
Sugarland
Produced by Byron Gallimore, Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles
Mercury Nashville

"You're Gonna Miss This"
Trace Adkins
Produced by Frank Rogers
Capitol Records Nashville

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Rodney Atkins
Lady Antebellum
James Otto
Kellie Pickler

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to artist and producer)
Carnival Ride
Carrie Underwood
Produced by Mark Bright
19 Recordings Limited/Arista/Arista Nashville

Cowboy Town
Brooks & Dunn
Produced by Tony Brown, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks
Arista Nashville

Good Time
Alan Jackson
Produced by Keith Stegall
Arista Nashville

Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
Kenny Chesney
Produced by Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney
BNA Records

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

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to songwriter and primary publisher)
"Good Time"
Alan Jackson
EMI-April Music/Tri-Angels Music

"I Saw God Today"
Rodney Clawson/Monty Criswell/Wade Kirby
Big Red Toe/Extremely Loud Music/Steel Wheels Music/Blind Mule Music

"Letter to Me"
Brad Paisley
EMI-April Music/New Sea Gayle Music

"Stay"
Jennifer Nettles
Jennifer Nettles Publishing

"You're Gonna Miss This"
Lee Thomas Miller/Ashley Gorley
EMI Blackwood Music/New Songs of Sea Gayle/Noah's Little Boat Music/Songs of Combustion Music

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each artist)
Josh Turner featuring Trisha Yearwood
"Another Try"
MCA Nashville

Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney
"Every Other Weekend"
MCA Nashville

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
"Gone, Gone, Gone"
Rounder Records

Sugarland featuring Little Big Town and Jake Owen
"Life in a Northern Town"
Mercury Nashville

Kenny Chesney (duet with George Strait)
"Shiftwork"
BNA Records

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to artist and director)
"Don't Blink"
Kenny Chesney
Directed by Shaun Silva

"Good Time"
Alan Jackson
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

"Stay"
Sugarland
Directed by Shaun Silva

"Waitin' on a Woman"
Brad Paisley
Directed by Jim Shea and Peter Tilden

"You're Gonna Miss This"
Trace Adkins
Directed by Peter Zavadil

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas - Dobro
Paul Franklin - Steel Guitar
Dann Huff - Guitar
Brent Mason - Guitar
Mac McAnally - Guitar

Reactions from Some of the CMA Awards Nominees

"'You're Gonna Miss This' has been such a special gift for me this year, so I'm really thrilled that CMA and the industry recognized the strength of that song. Not only was it one of the biggest hits of my career, when we performed it on the season finale of 'The Celebrity Apprentice' it helped raise a lot of money for my charity, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. So, yeah, I'm really proud of this song."
- TRACE ADKINS
Single and Music Video of the Year

"Being nominated for a CMA Award is a huge honor, especially to be included in the New Artist category. When you consider how many great artists are trying to break through each year, and the industry only gets to vote for five, it is a huge deal. Plus, it makes Awards night a lot more exciting because you feel a part of it."
- JASON ALDEAN
New Artist of the Year

"It's incredible. I'm really honored to get to be a part of the CMA Awards. I can't wait for the show. To be nominated is crazy good."
- RODNEY ATKINS
New Artist of the Year

"It's been very competitive for many years in the Duo category, so to have a place with these amazingly talented folks is truly an honor. To be recognized for our album, Cowboy Town,is so special. We put a lot of work and sweat into this one."
- KIX BROOKS of BROOKS & DUNN
Vocal Duo and Album of the Year

"You never know how these things are going to go. We work so hard on this music, the tours, the videos . It's so much the focus of what I do, how I live, it's always a thrill to see that people are not just noticing, but recognize what we're all trying to do."
- KENNY CHESNEY
Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Single, Album, Musical Event (2x) and Music Video of the Year 

"I'm again honored to be nominated for Musician of the Year. It's a pleasure to be mentioned in the same category alongside these giants of excellence. We all work hard throughout the year, trying to keep the 'M' in CMA steeped with integrity. To be given a nod from our peers for that work is a very sweet stop on the way to the next song."
- JERRY DOUGLAS
Musician of the Year

"We are thrilled to be nominated."
- EAGLES
Vocal Group of the Year

"We're honored to be included in the Group category for the second time. To be recognized by our peers for a second year in a row is a great feeling and it will be fun to celebrate here in my hometown [Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada]."
- BRAD MATES of EMERSON DRIVE
Vocal Group of the Year

"The Eagles are living legends. They're a huge influence on us. We were recently watching a live DVD of a show they did a couple of years ago on the bus, in amazement. Everyone in the Vocal Group category has been around a long time and paid their dues, so it's very humbling, because we definitely have a long way to go."
- HILLARY SCOTT of LADY ANTEBELLUM

"Now I hate them because they're in the same category - but don't put that in print [laughter]!"
- CHARLES KELLY of LADY ANTEBELLUM

"My very first concert, when I was 10 years old, was the Eagles. I remember it vividly and couldn't imagine being where we are today."
- DAVE HAYWOOD of LADY ANTEBELLUM

- LADY ANTEBELLUM
New Artist and Vocal Group of the Year

"I wasn't expecting anything this year, but wow, what a way to wake up on a Wednesday morning. 'Gunpowder & Lead' was my very first Top 10, and I wrote it from a real place in my life, so it's extra special that it's up for Single of the Year. Being nominated for Female Vocalist is always something I wish for - but I know there are only five spots. There are so many great artists, and I am thankful and ecstatic that CMA thought I deserved one of those coveted positions. Good luck everyone, and thanks to everyone who voted for me."
- MIRANDA LAMBERT
Female Vocalist and Single of the Year

"We are incredibly grateful to be nominated again for Vocal Group of the Year, and we are thrilled over the nomination with Sugarland and Jake Owen for 'Life in a Northern Town.' People's response to this song has been overwhelming, and we couldn't be happier that something that started as a moment in a live show for the fans would eventually be nominated for a CMA Award."
- LITTLE BIG TOWN
Vocal Group and Musical Event of the Year

"I have been in this business for a lot of years, and to be acknowledged by my peers is overwhelming. I am still in shock. The new artists out there are so strong that I thought there was no way that I was going to be nominated. The only thing I have ever won was 'most athletic' in high school - and no disrespect to Ki-Be High, but this CMA nomination blows that one out of the water."
- JAMES OTTO
New Artist of the Year

"My first nomination for Musician of the Year was in 1993, 15 years ago. Since then I've been nominated 14 times and I am truly humbled that my work is still appreciated and recognized in this way. I know it is a cliché to say it's an honor just to be nominated, but considering all the amazingly talented musicians I work with side by side in the studio every day, for me it is really true."
- BRENT MASON
Musician of the Year

"It's surreal and thrilling to be nominated for something you've dreamed of your whole life."
- KELLIE PICKLER
New Artist of the Year

"I'm sitting down here in South Texas, bracing for Hurricane Ike. This really brightens my day. I look forward to a great celebration of our great music. Thanks to all involved."
- GEORGE STRAIT
Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Album, Single and Musical Event of the Year

"I just finished watching the nomination announcements on TV from my sofa at home and it is simultaneously humbling and encouraging to be in such amazing company as we are in all of the categories.  It is one thing to play shows every week of the year and imagine ourselves striving to become Entertainers of the Year and another thing all together to have the voting members of CMA believe that it is possible. Simply awesome."
- KRISTIAN BUSH of SUGARLAND 
Entertainer, Vocal Duo, Single, Musical Event and Music Video of the Year

"I almost spilt my tea this morning as I was watching and the nominations kept being added.  Being in the 'Entertainer of the Year' category is such an honor.  We've been lucky enough to be out on the road with Kenny Chesney for a couple of tours over the last two years.  Looks like rock by osmosis really does work!"
- JENNIFER NETTLES of SUGARLAND
Entertainer, Vocal Duo, Single, Song, Musical Event and Music Video of the Year

"This was definitely a day worth getting up really early for. Hearing my name called in the Female Vocalist category was a dream come true."
- TAYLOR SWIFT
Female Vocalist of the Year

"I am extremely honored to be nominated for a CMA Award with Trisha Yearwood. She's one of the true vocalists in our genre and I'm proud to be referred to as her 'duet partner.'"
- JOSH TURNER
Musical Event of the Year

"This is awesome! As an artist, you always hope the music you record will touch people's lives. There is nothing more rewarding than to be recognized by your peers and to know your fans are enjoying the same ride!"
- CARRIE UNDERWOOD
Female Vocalist and Album of the Year

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Moments after wrapping up his roles as audio announcer of the CMA Awards nominees on Premiere Radio Networks and as co-announcer of some CMA Awards finalists for a special edition of "CMT Insider" at the Sommet Center in Nashville Sept. 10, James Otto - a nominee himself in the Best New Artist of the Year category - rushed to the StagePost studios to take part in the ABC Satellite tour, to help build awareness of the nominees and the Awards.

Through this event, created to allow reporters from ABC-TV affiliate stations to speak with an artist about the CMA Awards, Otto spread the word live and on the air in a variety of markets that included Austin, Cincinnati, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tulsa and Rochester, N.Y., as well as through interviews with Associated Press TV and www.ShowbizExpress.net.

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

"The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" will be broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov. 12 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network from the Sommet Center in Nashville. And for the fourth consecutive year, the public has the opportunity to purchase tickets to attend.

Tickets for the 2008 CMA Awards are on sale to the public now and can be purchased by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com; calling (615) 255-9600; or in person at the Sommet Center box office, 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, in Downtown Nashville). Ticket prices begin at $110 for Bronze-level seating (upper level), $327.75 for Silver-level seating (club level), and $382.50 for Gold-level seating (lower level). All prices include sales tax but exclude applicable service/handling fees.

"We are thrilled to once again be able to offer our fans the opportunity to attend 'Country Music's Biggest Night' in person where they can root for their favorite nominees," said CMA CEO Tammy Genovese. "The enthusiasm of the fans mixed with the anticipation of the nominees creates an exciting evening for everyone." 

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

When Bucky Covington and Chuck Wicks, two of Country Music's brightest young stars, are assigned to announce the CMA Broadcast Award nominees, one thing is sure: Their performance will entertain as much as it informs.

Seconds after taking their positions behind two microphone stands at the Suite Level Club in the Sommet Center in Nashville during the CMA Awards nominees press conference Sept. 10, Wicks crouched down slightly to ask, over the speakers set up throughout the room, "Uh, Bucky? Why is your stand higher than mine?"

Covington laughed as he answered, "I think they're trying to tell you something."

They continued to riff back and forth over the next few minutes. (Wicks: "I love every single radio station equally." Covington: "Especially the ones that play your records first.") More important, though, they steered the media spotlight directly toward the radio stations and on-air personalities in the running for these Awards.

This year's announcements, carried live to radio stations by CMA's official radio partner Premiere Radio Networks, included many first-time contenders. Among these were nearly half of the candidates for Broadcast Personality of the Year in various markets, including Kix Brooks, of Brooks & Dunn, host of "American Country Countdown." If he wins, it would be the first time that a Country artist has crossed over to earn a victory in the Broadcast realm.

"It is wonderful to see so many new names and stations nominated this year," said CMA CEO Tammy Genovese. "The talent, time and creativity the stations and broadcast teams put into their entries is really amazing. It is obvious they take this competition very seriously and set a high standard each year."

Five finalists are selected for Broadcast Personality of the Year and Radio Station of the Year in four categories defined by market size based on population as ranked by Arbitron: Major, Large, Medium and Small.

Entries for Broadcast Personality are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and biographical information. Criteria for Radio Station of the Year include airchecks, ratings history, community involvement and format leadership.

Three finalists are chosen for National Broadcast Personality, all of whom must be syndicated, short-form, hub voice-tracking and satellite personalities heard in at least three markets with a minimum of 40 shows per year.

CMA members who are full-time, on-air personalities and CMA member radio stations in the United States and Canada were eligible to enter. Entries are judged by a panel of distinguished broadcast professionals chosen to represent all market sizes and regions. Winners are determined by an aggregate score of the first round and a decision by a different panel of judges for the second round.  The international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, LLP tabulates scoring by the judges.

CMA Broadcast Awards winners are not eligible to enter in consecutive years, therefore those who received trophies in 2007 were not eligible in 2008. Winners will be notified in mid-October and acknowledged on "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov. 12 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network from the Sommet Center in Nashville.

BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
National
"AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN with KIX BROOKS" (Kix Brooks) ABC Radio Networks
"CMT COUNTRY COUNTDOWN USA with LON HELTON" (Lon Helton) Westwood One
"THE CROOK & CHASE COUNTDOWN" (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) Jim Owens Entertainment

Major Market
"THE DR. DON MORNING SHOW" (Don Carpenter, Steve Grunwald, Rachael Hunter, Jason Raithel) - WYCD/Detroit, Mich.
CATHERINE LANE - WSOC/Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.
"CLIFF and COMPANY" (Cliff Dumas, Tori Peck, Bill Tanner, and Morgan Thomas) - KSON/San Diego, Calif.
"JESSE and SHOTGUN in the MORNING" (Jesse James and Randy Shannon) -  KWLI/Denver-Boulder, Colo.
"KELLY, MUDFLAP, and JOJO MORNING SHOW" (Kelly Ford, Steve "Mudflap" McGrew, and JoJo) - KYGO/Denver-Boulder, Colo.
"RANDY & DAVE" (Randy Price and Dave McKay) - WQYK/Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.

Large Market
"B-105 MORNING SHOW" (Bill Whyte, Amanda Orlando, and Jason Statt) - WUBE/ Cincinnati, Ohio
BOB PICKETT - KASE/Austin, Texas
"GERRY HOUSE & the HOUSE FOUNDATION" (Gerry House, Mike Bohan, Duncan Stewart, Al Voecks, and Richard Falklen) - WSIX/Nashville, Tenn.
"THE MOO CREW with KAREN, SCOTT and RADAR" (Karen Dalessandro, Scott Dolphin, and Tony "Radar" Hess) - WMIL/Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
"WAKE UP with the WOLF" (Darren Wilhite, Tim Wall, and Codie Allen) - WDAF/ Kansas City, Mo.

Medium Market
"ANDY & ALISON and the MORNING CREW" (Andy Ritchie and Alison West) - WIVK/ Knoxville, Tenn.
CAROL HUGHES - KFDI/Wichita, Kan.
"ROGER and TOM" (Roger Todd and Tom O'Brien) - WPCV/Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
"RON and BECKY SHOW" (Ron Bee and Becky Palmer) - WBBS/Syracuse, N.Y
"WIVK at NIGHT with JACK RYAN" (Jack Ryan) - WIVK/Knoxville, Tenn.

Small Market
"BIG AL and DEX" (Al McClure and Bill Poindexter) - WUSY/Chattanooga, Tenn.
"THE CAT PAK MORNING SHOW" (Brent Lane and Dana Cervantes) - WYCT/ Pensacola, Fla.
"THE GOOD MORNING GUYS" (Brian Gary and Todd Harding) - KUAD/Ft. Collins-Greeley, Colo.
"CAROL METZ and the MORE MUSIC MORNING SHOW" (Carol Metz) - WAKG/ Danville, Va.
"MARK & DANIELLE and the MORNING WAKING CREW" (Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier) - WOKQ/Portsmouth-Dover-Rochester, N.H.

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

Major Market
KMPS   Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
KNIX   Phoenix, Ariz. 
KSON   San Diego, Calif.
WQYK   Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
WXTU   Philadelphia, Pa.

Large Market
KAJA   San Antonio, Texas
KASE   Austin, Texas
WFMS   Indianapolis, Ind.
WTQR   Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.
WUBE   Cincinnati, Ohio

Medium Market
KFDI   Wichita, Kan.
KUZZ   Bakersfield, Calif.
WBBS   Syracuse, N.Y.
WIVK   Knoxville, Tenn.
WYRK   Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Small Market
KUAD   Fort Collins-Greeley, Colo.
WFYR   Peoria, Ill.
WGSQ   Cookeville, Tenn.
WKML   Fayetteville, N.C.
WUSY   Chattanooga, Tenn.
 

Reactions from Some of the CMA Broadcast Awards Nominees

"I'm really excited about this one coming in. Understandably, a lot of people thought I started this for fun. I tried to tell everyone three years ago that I was committed, so to get the recognition makes me feel like people are taking us seriously. We have a great team - this nomination is for all of us."
KIX BROOKS, ABC RADIO NETWORKS

"Thank you, CMA, for honoring us during a very special year, the 25th anniversary of the Crook & Chase team. For the past 19 years on 'The Crook & Chase Countdown' it's been our honor to personally visit one-on-one with not only the superstars but every rising new star as well. Along the way, both the radio listeners and the stars have been kind enough to express that our show provides a unique and very personal connection between them. That and this CMA nomination are high compliments that warm our hearts."
LORIANNE CROOK and CHARLIE CHASE, JIM OWENS ENTERTAINMENT

"For all of us, this is the highest level of recognition. The credibility of this award is unmatched. For anyone who does this every day, all day, this is the Holy Grail we all want - to be recognized by CMA."
BEVERLEE BRANNIGAN, KFDI

"This is our very first nomination, and everybody is tremendously excited. It's a very big honor - probably as big an honor as there is in this business. We're looking forward to the Awards show this year even more than before!"
DEANO, WKML

"It was exciting to be nominated in 2006, and to have it happen again this soon, we're absolutely floored. It was like, 'Holy cow!' All the credit goes back to the air staff. For those guys and girls, every day is Election Day; they're out there on the street, shaking hands. And they're more than willing to do that."
RICK MORGAN, WFYR

"When we heard the news this morning, needless to say, we were jumping up and down, hugging, screaming and yelling. It was great to be nominated for our morning show ('Andy & Alison and the Morning Crew'), our night show ('WIVK at Night with Jack Ryan') and Radio Station of the Year. It's all about our people: They've been here long enough to become ingrained in the community, so they understand the marketplace. And they love Country Music, so that's a great combination."
MIKE HAMMOND, WIVK

"We are absolutely ecstatic. We have been lucky enough to have won a CMA Broadcast Award back in 2001 and we've had quite a few nominations, but it never gets old. We can't wait until November."
KAREN DALESSANDRO, WMIL

"We've cracked the champagne - well, OK, it was beer. This Award has a ton of meaning for us. When people in our industry look at you and say, 'You know, you've got a pretty good radio station,' that means a lot in terms of the work that everybody here does."
JOHN ROBERTS, WTQR

TODD: "I feel honored to be nominated amongst my peers in the Country Music industry. I'm humbled at the same time; it's like, 'Let me look at this again online to make sure our name is there.'" O'BRIEN: "We thank CMA very much for making us one of the Top 5 in our category. We appreciate that."
ROGER TODD and TOM O'BRIEN, WPCV

"We just moved to the Major Market category, so when my producer entered me awhile ago and said, 'Catherine, you're going to be going up against the big boys in Country Radio,' I didn't really think much about it. But now I'm in complete shock, and I'm very grateful, humbled and amazed. It's definitely the highlight of my career."
CATHERINE LANE, WSOC

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Recording a studio album is an exercise in artistry. Each detail can be shaped as closely as possible to the performer's vision, exactly as a painter transforms a blank canvas into a reflection of life.

Live albums differ almost to the point of being opposite in nature. They are essentially journalistic endeavors, chronicling -or glossing over - each detail, from inspired moments to microphone malfunctions, wrong notes and sudden feedback.

Martina McBride knew this when the opportunity came to cut Live in Concert, her first live album and DVD. And her decision was . do it anyway.

"I loved how it would document how our songs have evolved," she explained. "From performing songs like 'Where Would You Be' and 'A Broken Wing' for so many years, they've become richer and more soulful. But I also felt it was important because a lot of times people who haven't been to one of my shows might have a bit of a misperception about what they're like. They see me on television, standing in one spot and singing a song. I've always wanted to get it out there that we have a really high-energy show. We have a great production value. It's a bigger show than people might think."

The roots of Live in Concert, released April 2008 on RCA Records Nashville as an eight-song CD with a 20-track bonus DVD, go back to PBS, who had tapped McBride as the first Country artist profiled on the network's "Great Performances" series. (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Pavarotti and James Taylor are among the many performers featured throughout the program's 36-year history. McBride's episode aired in March. Many local PBS stations offered the concert DVD and her Waking Up Laughing album as pledge gifts.)

The first step was to determine where and when to record. They settled on the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill., where McBride was scheduled to perform Sept. 29, 2007 during her "Waking Up Laughing Tour."

"There were two things we cared about," explained John McBride, Martina's husband and longtime engineer and mixer. "One was the acoustics of the room and the other was how loud the crowds generally would be. We play in some places that I think are designed to reverberate the way they do because that's great for basketball - you want to have the home court advantage. But for music, it's murder. As you're closing the truck doors, you're still hearing the last note of the song hanging around in the room. But the acoustics in this particular venue work well with us, and the audiences there have always been great."

To prepare to track, a dress rehearsal took place the night before. Around 300 fans were welcomed into the room, mostly to let the crew work on audience close-ups with their HD cameras and to experiment with microphone placement in the much larger, sold-out crowd at the actual show.

"To me, that's absolutely what live concerts are about," the four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year insisted. "Sometimes I don't think audiences realize how important they are to the show - not that they have a responsibility to entertain me, but it really makes a difference. If I come out there and the audience is into it and they're excited, it just takes the show right up to another level. It is about them as much as it's about me."

McBride bases this conviction not just on her time in the spotlight but also on her years growing up and going to shows in Kansas. "I remember going to see Night Ranger when I was a kid," she said, laughing. "I was so excited. It was an hour-and-a-half drive to Wichita because I lived way out in the country. I was listening to their music all the way. I had my Night Ranger jersey on. And at the end of the show, they said, 'We love you, Wichita! You guys rock!' And I thought, 'They love us! Wow! We rock!' Looking back, I can see that was the first time I realized that what you say and do onstage is important."

Setting up that communication poses many challenges, beginning with the set list. Typically, McBride opens with a strong, up-tempo tune. But for this tour, as documented on the DVD, she decided to start with "Anyway," which had the advantage of a powerful chorus that complemented the "kabuki drop," or the sudden removal of a backdrop curtain to dramatically reveal the band.

"I've never started with a ballad before," she mused. "The hardest thing about doing a set list is the ballads. You can put three or four ballads together on an album, but you have to be really careful with a show because unless they're a certain kind of ballad, they can bring the show down. 'Anyway' has that huge chorus, though, and it's inspirational and powerful, so it seemed like it worked."

From the mix standpoint, John placed a high priority on the crowd's interactions with what transpired onstage. He positioned four stereo pairs of mics throughout the room, including one 20 feet from the stage into the crowd and another 20 feet beyond that, each time-delayed so that the music they heard wouldn't be out of phase with what the onstage mics picked up.

Though studio mics are better at capturing sonic nuances, the stage mics used for Live in Concert performed brilliantly. Some entertainers might say too brilliantly, as when McBride's voice rasps slightly on the line "tonight I need a friend," from her rendition of "Help Me Make It Through the Night." In the studio, one might punch in a smoother timbre on that note - but at this moment, during a high point of the song, it feels real and right.

"The most important thing is to keep the emotion, always," she insisted. "It's not supposed to be perfect. I want to keep the authenticity of the live experience. I'm not saying I didn't fix anything on this record; I did take some moments from the dress rehearsal and put it on the live show, maybe because I couldn't hear as well at that point of the concert. But I didn't re-sing anything because that defeats the purpose of having a live album."

McBride is focusing now on her next undertaking, a studio album yet to be titled, which she is co-producing with Dann Huff. She has also kicked off her summer tour, which began July 11 in Detroit, and runs through the fall. "This is the first time I have headlined an amphitheater tour, and we are really excited to be working with Brian O'Connell and Live Nation."

Live in Concert has left a special mark on McBride, in terms of offering something unique to fans. "Even though we filmed only one concert, when I watch it I feel like I am watching the culmination of 16 years of hard work, excitement and experience onstage," she said. "It's great to have a souvenir, if you will, of what we have worked so hard for and to be able to share it with my fans. It's equally exciting to look forward to sharing new music on tour and working to see just how far we can go with the tour, musically and from a production standpoint. My goal is to make people want to keep coming back again and again to share this experience with us."

McBride clearly shares that same excitement; it's evident on Live in Concert from her entrance to the opening strains of "Anyway" and the crowd's welcoming ovation. "I always get this feeling of excitement, of wondering how the audience is going to react," she said. "There's nothing like that feeling, when I come out of that lift from underneath the stage: The people see you, and there's that sound, and you think, 'Wow, I'm so lucky.'"

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Some people are born to perform but they still need a little nudge toward the spotlight to fulfill that destiny. So it was with 8-year-old Jeremy McComb when his father, a full-time musician, pulled him onstage to sing a chorus of "On the Road Again." By age 17 he was on the road, and at 21 was mixing gigs at night with a day job as music director and on-air personality at KIX-96 (KIXZ) in Spokane, Wash.

Through his radio job, McComb got to know Larry the Cable Guy, who hired him as his tour manager in 2004. That led to an encounter with J. P. Williams, who signed McComb to his company, Parallel Entertainment, and sent him to Spartanburg, S.C., to record his debut album.

Produced by Paul T. Riddle of the original Marshall Tucker Band, My Side of Town showcases McComb's winning ways with a good lyric. His voice invites the listener in, as if to sit and swap a few stories, but can also ratchet up the intensity when the moment demands it.

He tracks subtle shifts of feeling on his first single, "This Town Needs a Bar," written by Liz Rose and Jimmy Yeary, with a weary wisdom that's rare among younger singers. The same quality surfaces in the three songs that bear his solo writing credit, one of which, "You're Killin' Me," bids farewell to whiskey as if it were a lover who had scarred him one time too many. It's clever without being cute, a combination that may be difficult to achieve unless you're from McComb's Side of Town.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

SONG YOU'D SECRETLY LOVE TO COVER
"'Over My Head (Cable Car),' by The Fray."

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND
"Where Did I Go Right? You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead, by Bernie Brillstein."

SONG YOU WISH YOU'D WRITTEN
"'Songs about Rain,' by Gary Allan."

SOMETHING WE'D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU
"I like 'Grey's Anatomy.'"

LUCKY CHARM
"I wear a St. Christopher necklace- it really works."

TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
"Sometimes Two Wrongs Do Make a Right."

WHEN THEY LOOK BACK ON YOUR LIFE IN 50 YEARS, WHAT YOU HOPE PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU
"I hope people say I was compassionate, that I helped more than I hurt and caused more smiles then pain."

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Keith Anderson is living his dreams. It wasn't all that long ago that the Oklahoma native was working the Dallas club circuit with his band and dreaming of having a record deal. But Aug. 5, Anderson followed his debut album, the Gold-certified Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll, with C'MON! on Columbia Nashville - and it's no accident that he spells the name of his sophomore album and its opening track in capital letters with an exclamation point.

"You've got to say it loud . C'MON!," he insisted. "I chose this as the title for a number of reasons. One, it says to my fans, 'Hey, we're gonna have more of the same on this album. Second, if you're not familiar with my music, it's an invite to c'mon and jump on the bandwagon, give it a chance, 'cause I think you're gonna like this party. It's such a rockin' intro to the album that we open our shows with it now."

Despite its rollicking introduction, this album actually offers a revealing look at the life of this singer/ songwriter who's co-written hits for other artists that include Gretchen Wilson's "The Bed" and Big & Rich's "Lost in This Moment." Anderson and producer Jeffrey Steele were both going through some life-changing issues when they started collaborating on it.

"Jeffrey's son had died in a tragic accident," Anderson said, referring to 13-year-old Alex Levasseur's death after an all-terrain-vehicle mishap Jan. 28, 2007. "Four months later, my mom got diagnosed with brain cancer. We're still dealing with that. So this album is a reflection of where we were emotionally and mentally. I was singing with more passion, so the album probably did take a more introspective point of view than we did on the first one, just because of where we were at the time."

Because he and Steele were able to go deeper and ask some pretty hard questions through this music, Anderson thinks C'MON! will succeed even more than his first album. "I put a few songs on here that I wouldn't have put on a Keith Anderson party album," he admitted. "As hard as it was [to go through personal issues as part of the creative process], I think we came up with something really special."

Anderson's first single from C'MON!, "I Still Miss You," became the fastest-rising hit of his career. Though it's about a breakup at first listen, feedback from his fans has inspired Anderson to appreciate it now at a whole new level.

"When I wrote the song with Jason Sellers and Tim Nichols, we were pulling from the emotions of losing a girlfriend," he explained. "But after finding out about my mom and then hearing about how other people were reminded of someone they lost - a friend, parent, son or daughter - it's kind of taken on a new meaning for me and other people."

Nichols and Sellers typify the top-quality talents who have come to welcome the opportunity to work with Anderson, whose name appears as a co-writing credit on 10 of the album's 11 tracks alongside such heavyweights as Chuck Cannon, Bob DiPiero, Vicky McGehee, Rivers Rutherford and Steele.

"I've always been a fan of the people who wrote the songs," Anderson said. "My whole life I've dreamed of being a songwriter, so I studied them before I moved here. I knew their names before their faces because to this day, when I buy a record, I take the insert out to see who wrote the songs. I love the craft and the songwriting process. So now I've gotten to write with most of those guys, most of my heroes, and become friends with them, so it really has been a dream come true for me."

Anderson had been a fan of Boy Howdy, Steele's band back in the 1980s, and had performed a lot of their music in Texas. So one part of that dream became reality when they met at a writer's night, shortly after Anderson moved to Nashville.

"I went up and introduced myself that night and we hit it off," Anderson said. "Jeffrey invited me to his place the next day and we ended up writing songs right away. It was more of a casual meeting. We had fun, we laughed - it was like hanging out with my brother. Jeffrey has this energy he brings to the table that you just can't fabricate. It's a constant love of making music. My relationship with him is the same kind of chemistry I have with my brothers, just cracking each other up - that same sense of humor."

"Keith is a great guy and a good friend," Steele said. "I think he's singing great on this album. You know he was on the road for a long time and sometimes that ruins a singer's voice. With Keith, it just made it stronger."

When sessions began for C'MON!, they had to be scheduled around Anderson's ongoing tour schedule. "We just took our time," Steele recounted. "If he got tired in the studio, we'd break and come back later. We didn't rush it, so we have ended up with a really good project with some great songs."

That sensitivity to Anderson's energy onstage is a major reason why they agreed to work together on C'MON! "We were making demos of the songs we wrote to pitch to other artists, and they had more energy than the other things I was recording," Anderson said. "When we started looking for someone to produce me, we went into the studio with a few producers, but none of them were able to capture what I do live, which is a big part of my musical equation - that big, high-energy party. That's something that Jeffrey just does naturally in the studio, so we tried a few things and it just worked."

It worked so well that they cut 17 songs - more than they needed. "I will say there are songs I thought would make the record that didn't," Anderson said, "and songs I wouldn't have imagined putting on it that we ended up cutting."

Two of those extra songs are being made available on a special version of the album sold exclusively through Best Buy. One of them is "Jake's Goin' All the Way," which Anderson and Steele wrote for the CMT series "Unsung Heroes." The other is the original version of "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," which was a hit for Garth Brooks and George Jones. Anderson recorded it as he wrote it, faster and rockin' harder than the treatment given to it by Brooks and Jones.

"Thank God for Garth and George," he said. "That song changed my life - and my account balance and my address. But we do the original version at my shows, and the fans have been asking where they can get a copy of it. So we're putting it on as a bonus track."

The only other outside track on C'MON! is "Crazy Over You." Including this Foster & Lloyd hit was a no-brainer for Anderson, since he had performed much of their material back throughout the club circuit in Dallas. In turn, Bill Lloyd and Radney Foster showed their respect for Anderson by joining him as he cut this track. "I owned all their cassettes and I saw them three or four times when I lived there," Anderson said. "I love their vibe. I'm a big fan of their writing and harmonies.

"Overall, we know we picked the right songs for C'MON!," he added. "It has taken a long time to get it out there, but it also gave us the opportunity to go back in and remix something or do a vocal track over if we felt that we needed to. It's great to look at it and know it's the best product we could put out there. It has been hard to wait, because I'm like a racehorse at the gate. I'm glad it's going to finally get out there."

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

The concept of a "home entertainment center" is no longer limited to a room with a mammoth flat-screen TV, booming stereo sound and theater seating. The term now applies just as well to the not-so-humble mobile phone.

Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Rissi Palmer, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner and Keith Urban are among the performers who use mobile marketing for everything from supplying fans with news to engaging audiences with promotions and quizzes even in the midst of a concert.

The aim of these activities is to build a fan database to which the artist can target sales campaigns. The more information gathered, the easier it is to tailor messages to specific demographic and geographic segments of that database.

Mozes, Inc., which in February acquired Nashville-based Hurricane Interactive Promotions, provides the software system and administration to link artists with their fans' mobile phones - and vice versa. Mozes, used by more than 3,000 major and independent record label artists, is permission-based, spam-free and cost-free to consumers. One of the company's recent campaigns involved previewing tracks prior to the April 22 release of Phil Vassar's Prayer of a Common Man album for registered members of Phil's Mob, the artist's mobile-based fan club.

Another Mozes specialty is a text-to-screen service that allows fans at concerts to send text messages to an onstage screen for everyone to see while the artist is performing.

"If you're at a Brooks & Dunn concert," said former record promoter Chris Stacey, VP, Music Industry Sales, Mozes, Inc., "and up on the screen we're flashing a message that says, 'Want to go backstage and meet Brooks & Dunn? Text them at 66937 which spells 'MOZES,' then you can do that. Once that message comes into our system, we say, 'Thanks for texting Brooks & Dunn. Would you like to get updates from Brooks & Dunn on your mobile phone? If yes, reply now.' Once people opt into our database, we've built the bridge. They've basically given us permission to come back and market to them on that device."

Winners of in-concert prizes, such as the backstage visit, are notified directly via their mobile phones. For artists who use the text-to-screen feature as a regular part of their concert tour, Mozes assigns a traveling representative to set up and manage the technology as well as to screen each message to see that nothing inappropriate is transmitted to the screen.

According to Mozes' sales statistics, there are more than 237 million mobile phone users in the United States - about 79 percent of the population. These phones are constant companions to people in their teens and 20s, the segment of the population most likely to buy music. Stacey added that a far greater percentage of cell phone users open their text messages than do e-mail users, which is clearly a big advantage for marketers.

In campaigning for the People's Choice Awards, Rascal Flatts used Mozes to send personalized voicemail messages to its fans' mobile phones, directing them to the official People's Choice voting site. More than 10,000 people responded, according to Stacey. The trio ultimately won in the categories of Favorite Country Song (for "Stand") and Best Group (beating out rockers Daughtry and Maroon 5).

Although most marketing features are available through the conventional wireless hookup, some require that fans' mobile phones be connected to the Internet. In February, Tim McGraw addressed this issue by launching the mobile Internet site www.mcgraw2go.mobi, which guarantees access from provider dotMobi, via any mobile phone, regardless of phone model or wireless carrier.

Richard Trio, whose Triovisions firm designed the platform for McGraw's site, said that fans who sign on to it can get announcements and tour information, download ringtones and wallpaper, receive streaming audio and video, buy songs and videos and upload their own photos and videos for posting on McGraw's Web site.

"Right now, we're outbounding text messages regarding presales for tickets," said Trio, speaking prior to the start of McGraw's "Live Your Voice" tour. "As we get closer to the season, we'll increase those outbounds, which will be more specific and targeted toward different venues. You can set up [contact] lists by demographics, by geography, by common interests, etc., and then target your message to them."

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Though raised on a reservation on Canada's Manitoulin Island, Crystal Shawanda grew up with Nashville in her soul. She experienced the Music City dream for the first time at 11, when she rode with her father on his trucking run and spent some time on Lower Broadway, peering through the window into Tootsies Orchid Lounge. Two years later, she worked up the courage to sit in there with the band. That's all it took for her to become a semi-regular at the venue whenever she was back in town.

By that time, Shawanda was taking deeper notice of life back home. Resisting the despair that pulled so many of her friends into addiction and early death, she channeled her emotions into a vocal and writing style that was steeped in Country but intensified by a wrenching passion reminiscent at times of Janis Joplin yet elevated by feelings of hope and celebration.

The title of her RCA Records Nashville debut album, Dawn of a New Day, is a translation of her Ojibwe last name, but it also reflects the essence of her music. Produced by Scott Hendricks, it reflects Shawanda's soulful side on her first single, "You Can Let Go," written by Cory Batten, Kent Blazy and Rory Lee Feek, which focuses on the moment when a bride is given symbolically by her father to her husband. Shawanda understands the lyric perfectly; her performance is a complex blend of love, affirmation and farewell - no easy achievement for a young singer and a harbinger of the artistry she seems sure to achieve.

IN HER OWN WORDS:

MUSICAL HEROES
"Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn."

SONG YOU'D LIKE TO COVER
"'I'm Over You' by Keith Whitley."

CD IN YOUR STEREO
"A mix CD of Dwight Yoakam and Fergie."

SONG YOU SING IN THE SHOWER
"Alicia Keys, Patsy Cline, opera music - basically, whatever pops into my head."

WHAT YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL SAY ABOUT YOU 50 YEARS FROM NOW
"Wild child makes good."

© 2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

From the opening shot of LP Field, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, its lights gleaming against the evening sky in Nashville and its seats and field jammed with cheering Country Music fans, to the last notes fading after two hours of celebration, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" is a thrill ride, packed with surprise turns, sweetened with touching moments and driven by great performances captured for television.

Airing 9-11PM/ET Monday, Sept. 8, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" starts fast and picks the pace up immediately. Three exciting young stars host the show, which begins as two of them, Julianne Hough and Kellie Pickler, surrounded by thousands of music enthusiasts, welcome viewers and introduce the opening act, their co-host Taylor Swift.

Stunning Performances

Taylor Swift fires up the night with a sizzling rendition of "Picture to Burn," illuminated by towering images of flames that blaze across the huge LED screen at the back of the stage. With that, the cavalcade begins, with one superstar following the next, each offering a unique combination of artistry and charisma that's guaranteed to make "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" one of the most varied concert experiences of the season.

Among the show's many highlights:

. Trace Adkins baring the sensitivity behind his Country-tough swagger with a rendering of "You're Gonna Miss This" that's both artful and wise

. Faith Hill ending an 11-year hiatus from CMA Music Festival with a romp through "Mississippi Girl" - the perfect autobiographical song for this exceptional headliner

. Alan Jackson laughing, tossing his guitar pick into the crowd and capping his rendition of "Good Time" by observing, "We're having a good time here at CMA, y'all"

. Jewel making her CMA Music Festival debut with "I Do," her voice riding the rhythm like a sunlight streaming over a dark river

. The passionate tenor of Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts riding harmonies laid down by his bandmates Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus throughout "Every Day"

. Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland making the entrance of the year prior to launching into "All I Want to Do"

. Carrie Underwood dominating the stage with a confident, sassy  and searing rendition of "Last Name"

. Keith Urban delivering a textbook lesson on mirroring dynamic vocals with a slamming guitar solo on "Better Life"

. Dwight Yoakam returning to CMA Music Festival after a 20-year absence to croon "Fast as You" over a classic Bakersfield dance-hall groove

. Plus electrifying performances on the stadium stage by Rodney Atk