Winners Announced for the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards

Winners Announced for the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards

Kenny Chesney Wins Entertainer of the Year; Keith Urban Wins Top Male Vocalist; Gretchen Wilson Wins Top Female Vocalist; Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss and Tim McGraw Each Win 2 Awards; Garth Brooks Accepts Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award On Behalf of the Late Chris LeDoux; Charlie Nagatani Honored With Jim Reeves Memorial Award; Neal McCoy Wins Academy of Country Music / Home Depot Humanitarian Award

LAS VEGAS, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners have been announced for the 40TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS. Honorees received their awards during a star-studded ceremony broadcast LIVE on the CBS Television Network from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

This evening Kenny Chesney won Entertainer of the Year, Keith Urban won Top Male Vocalist, Gretchen Wilson won both Top New Artist and Top Female Vocalist, Garth Brooks accepted the Pioneer Award on behalf of the late Chris LeDoux and Neal McCoy won the Academy of Country Music / Home Depot Humanitarian Award.

Since he has won ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS for Top New Vocalist, Top Male Vocalist, and now Entertainer of the Year, Kenny Chesney has earned the Academy of Country Music's Triple Crown, which salutes artists that have won in all three of those categories. He is one of only six artists to have earned this honor in the Academy's history. The Previous Triple Crown winners are Brooks & Dunn, Dixie Chicks, Mickey Gilley, Merle Haggard and Barbara Mandrell.

Pro-rodeo champion and music maverick Chris LeDoux was honored posthumously with the Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award this evening. Garth Brooks accepted the award on behalf of LeDoux's family. The Pioneer Award is presented by the Academy to an outstanding pioneer of country music. Previous winners include Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Roy Rogers, and Loretta Lynn.

Before this evening's telecast, Japanese country music pioneer Charlie Nagatani received the Jim Reeves Memorial Award. This award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world. It is named in honor of country music legend Jim Reeves, who was one of country music's foremost international ambassadors.

Neal McCoy won the 4th annual Academy of Country Music / Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Known as the first "Fan-Voted" award in the Academy's history, this honor salutes an artist or group in the country music industry who is committed to serving others, has a generosity of spirit and a dedication to helping build the dreams of those in need. As the award's winner, McCoy will have a community playground built in a city of his choice through the efforts of The Home Depot and KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that brings together volunteers to build much-needed playgrounds in one-day "barn raising" construction events.

"Nashville Star" winner Miranda Lambert was named the Cover Girl "Fresh Face of Country Music," which was voted on by visitors to www.cbs.com.

Following is the list of winners in the 11 categories voted on by the membership:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
KENNY CHESNEY

TOP MALE VOCALIST
KEITH URBAN

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST
GRETCHEN WILSON

TOP NEW ARTIST
GRETCHEN WILSON

TOP VOCAL GROUP
RASCAL FLATTS

TOP VOCAL DUO
BROOKS & DUNN

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR (Award to Artist(s)/ Producer(s)/ Record
Company)
LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING
TIM McGRAW
PRODUCERS: TIM McGRAW, BYRON GALLIMORE, DARRAN SMITH
CURB RECORDS

SONG OF THE YEAR [Award to Composer(s)/ Publisher(s)/ Artist(s)]
LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING
WRITERS: CRAIG WISEMAN & TIM NICHOLS
BIG LOUD SHIRT (ASCAP) ICG/WARNER (BMI)
TIM McGRAW

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award to Producer(s)/ Artist(s)/ Record Company)
BE HERE
KEITH URBAN
PRODUCERS: DANN HUFF & KEITH URBAN
CAPITOL RECORDS NASHVILLE

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR (Award to Artist(s)/ Producer(s)/ Record Company)
WHISKEY LULLABY
BRAD PAISLEY (FEATURING ALISON KRAUSS)
PRODUCED BY: FRANK ROGERS
ARISTA NASHVILLE

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Award to Producer(s)/ Director(s)/ Artist(s)]
WHISKEY LULLABY
PRODUCER: DON LEPORE
DIRECTOR: RICK SCHRODER
BRAD PAISLEY (FEATURING ALISON KRAUSS)

FAST FACTS ON THIS YEAR'S AWARDS:

* Gretchen Wilson and Alison Krauss each won their first and second
ever ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS tonight. Wilson won for Top
New Artist and Top Female Vocalist. Alison Krauss won for Vocal
Event of the Year and Video of the Year, both for "Whiskey Lullaby,"
her duet with Brad Paisley.

* Other first-time winners this evening included Neal McCoy (Academy
of Country Music / Home Depot Humanitarian Award) and Rick Schroeder
(who directed the video for "Whiskey Lullabye" and won for Video of
the Year).

* Rascal Flatts' win for Top Vocal Group was their third in as many
years.

* This evening Brooks & Dunn won the award for Top Vocal Duo; it is
their fifth consecutive win in that category.

* Both Tim McGraw and Keith Urban were honored as producers tonight:
McGraw for Single Record of the Year ("Live Like You Were Dying")
and Urban for Album of the Year ("Be Here").

The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 with a mission to support, promote and enhance the advancement of the country music industry worldwide. The Academy is best known for presenting its annual ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, which are televised live on CBS and honor excellence among the industry's brightest stars. The Academy, which is comprised of 3,800+ professional members and a newly established Associate Membership, is headquartered in Burbank, CA. For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and the Academy of Country Music, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

The ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS is produced for television by dick clark productions. The show is executive produced by Dick Clark and R.A. Clark, and produced by Barry Adelman. The executive in charge of production is Bob Bardo, and the executive in charge is Fran LaMaina.

Southwest Airlines is the official airline of the Academy of Country Music Awards.

The ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS were broadcast LIVE on CBS Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Source: Academy of Country Music

CONTACT: Brooke Primero or Melissa Armstrong, both of BNC,
+1-310-854-4800, for Academy of Country Music

Web site: http://www.acmcountry.com/

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