41st ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS Country Music's Biggest Party of the Year(TM) Nominees Press Conference to Air Live on CBS News' The Early Show

41st ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS Country Music's Biggest Party of the Year(TM) Nominees Press Conference to Air Live on CBS News' The Early Show

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame - Nashville, TN

WHAT: A press conference announcing the nominees for the 41st ANNUAL
ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS Country Music's Biggest Party of
the Year(TM), a three-hour special to be broadcast LIVE from MGM
Grand in Las Vegas. The event, which honors country music's top
talent as well as the industry's hottest emerging talent, will
be broadcast live on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 8:00 PM live
ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

WHO: Announcing the nominations will be multi-platinum selling group
Rascal Flatts along with double-platinum recording artist Carrie
Underwood and The Early Show's Hannah Storm.

Rascal Flatts are the reigning ACM Vocal Group of the Year with
a total of 5 Academy of Country Music trophies. Their latest
album Feels Like Today was the best selling album of 2005 and
has spent 74 weeks at the top of the chart never slipping out of
the Top 10. The album includes the Grammy winning song "Bless
The Broken Road." The band will release a new Lyric Street
album on April 4, Me And My Gang.

2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood begins 2006 with her
debut album, Some Hearts, setting the benchmark for all new
artists to follow and making music history as the
fastest-selling debut country album. Some Hearts has sold two
million copies since its release and has the separate
distinction of becoming the fastest-certified debut country
album ever released, even as the disc's powerful lead single,
"Jesus, Take the Wheel," reigned at No. 1 for 6 weeks on the
country singles chart.

Hannah Storm has been an anchor of CBS News' The Early Show
since October 2002. She has covered many major news events for
the program, and has interviewed major newsmakers, including
first lady Laura Bush, Sen. John McCain, and National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

WHEN & Wednesday, March 8, 2006
WHERE: 7:00 a.m. CT - Press Check-In
7:30 a.m. CT - Press Conference

Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame
222 Fifth Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37208

***Please note: Talent will be available for brief post press
conference interviews***

MORE: 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, which is comprised of
more than 3,800 professional members and a newly established
Associate Membership, is headquartered in Burbank, Calif. For
more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and the
Academy of Country Music, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

RSVP: For media credentials, contact Brooke Primero or Rick Rhodes at
BNC, either via phone (310) 854-4800 or email,
bprimero@bncpr.com or rrhodes@bncpr.com.

PRNewswire -- March 2

Source: The Academy of Country Music

CONTACT: Brooke Primero of BNC, +1-310-854-4800, bprimero@bncpr.com, for
The Academy of Country Music

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

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