Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton continued their reigns as Country Music’s Female and Male Vocalists of the Year at “The 46th Annual CMA Awards,” with Shelton also securing his first victory in the coveted Entertainer of the Year category.
“The 46th Annual CMA Awards” was hosted for the fifth time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwoodand broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network.
Lambert and Shelton made history by winning Female and Male Vocalist of the Year for the third consecutive year. Shelton and Lambert also won Song of the Year for “Over You.” Although three married couples have been previously nominated for CMA Song of the Year Awards honors – Ed and Patsy Brucefor “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” in 1978, Sanger D. “Whitey” Shafer andDarlene Shafer for “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” in 1985, and “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” written by Whitey Shafer and his fourth wife Lydia Shafer in 1987 – Lambert and Shelton are the first to take the prize.
First-time CMA Awards winners include Eric Church for Album of the Year Chief, Little Big Town for Vocal Group and Single of the Year (“Pontoon”), Hunter Hayes for New Artist of the Year, and Thompson Square for Vocal Duo of the Year. As producer of both Chief and “Pontoon,” Jay Joyce was awarded for Album and Single of the Year, also marking his debut as a CMA Award winner.
In presentations made before the broadcast, Mac McAnally earned his fifth Musician of the Year victory.
Earlier on Thursday, two CMA Awards were presented live on ABC’s “Good Morning America” from Times Square in New York. Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw won Musical Event of the Year for “Feel Like a Rock Star.” CMA Music Video of the Year honors went to Toby Keith and director Michael Salomon for “Red Solo Cup.”
In a special tribute to Country Music Hall of Fame member Willie Nelson , Lady Antebellum performed “You Were Always on My Mind” and “Crazy,” then Shelton, Keith Urban, and Nelson’s longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael joined on “Whiskey River.” Faith Hill and McGraw followed in a duet appearance, singing “Good Hearted Woman.” Nelson joined them all, strapped on his trademark guitar “Trigger” and sang “On the Road Again.” Paisley then surprised Nelson with the first-ever CMA Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be renamed the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Full 2012 CMA Awards details, including nominations and performers are available at CMAawards.com, which also includes CMA Awards history, a searchable database of past CMA Awards nominees and winners, host information, merchandise and much more. The CMA Awards Store has T-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, tote bags and more official merchandise for fans to purchase online. Fans can connect with CMA online at Facebook.com/CMA, Twitter.com/CountryMusic (#CMAawards),YouTube.com/CountryMusicAssoc, Pinterest.com/CMAworld, and by downloading the free CMA Awards app available for iPhone and Android.
The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 11,000 industry professional members of CMA, which was formed in 1958 as the first trade organization to promote an individual genre of music. 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 Awards aired on NBC through 1971 and on the CBS Television Network from 1972 through 2005. The CMA Awards moved to ABC in 2006, where it will remain through 2021.
“The 46th 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 Winners of “The 46th Annual CMA Awards” are:
Entertainer of the Year
Blake Shelton
Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Male Vocalist of the Year
Blake Shelton
New Artist of the Year
Hunter Hayes
Vocal Group of the Year
Little Big Town
Vocal Duo of the Year
Thompson Square
Album of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
Chief
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce
EMI Records Nashville
Single of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
“Pontoon”
Little Big Town
Produced by Jay Joyce
Capitol Records Nashville
Song of the Year
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Over You”
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton
Musical Event of the Year
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Feel Like a Rock Star”
Kenny Chesney
(duet with Tim McGraw)
Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville
Music Video of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Red Solo Cup”
Toby Keith
Directed by Michael Salomon
Musician of the Year
Mac McAnally – Guitar
Chevrolet™ is the Official Ride of Country Music. American Airlines is the Official Airline of the CMA Awards.
Photographed below courtesy of Getty Images: Taylor Swift, Lucy Hale, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery, Hunter Hayes, Hayden Paniterre, Shawn Johnson, Carrie Underwood.
