Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Casey James, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Brice, Jana Kramer, Dustin Lynch and Chris Young Among Stars Scheduled to Appear
Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan and Little Big Town are set to perform at the AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS (ACA) airing live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 10 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.
Hosted by Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth, the two-hour event will also feature appearances by Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Casey James, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Brice, Jana Kramer, Dustin Lynch and Chris Young. Additional performers and presenters to be announced soon.
The two-hour live music spectacular offers country music fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists not only in traditional categories, but also in a previously unrecognized area – touring – encompassing the entire spectrum of country music.
With more than seven million records sold and 10 No. 1 hits under his belt, entertainer Jason Aldean just released one of 2012’s most buzzed-about new albums, “Night Train,” which sold over 409,000 copies its first week. The album’s first single, “Take A Little Ride,” has already had a three-week reign at No. 1 and set multiple sales and radio airplay records. He has sold out every show on his My Kinda Party Tour, and he recently announced that he will play at least three stadiums in 2013. Aldean swept the ACAs last year, taking home six awards, including Artist of the Year. He is nominated five times this year.
Grammy Award-winning country music trio Lady Antebellum’s current album, “Own The Night,” debuted at the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Top 200 and has spawned two No. 1 hits: “We Owned The Night” and “Just A Kiss.” In the spirit of the changing seasons, Lady A recently released their first full-length holiday album, “On This Winter’s Night.” They also wrapped a headlining tour that traveled the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia, on which they were joined by more than one million fans in 11 countries on three continents. They will release their first live film, “Own The Night World Tour,” on Dec. 4. The trio has sold more than 11 million albums across the globe, scored seven Grammy Awards and tallied six No. 1 hits. The group has earned six ACA nominations this year.
Multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley has forged his own brand of country music, combining classic country songwriting, influences of bluegrass instrumentation and the energy of rock ’n’ roll. Bentley’s sixth studio album, “Home,” released earlier this year, debuted at No. 1 and has spawned three consecutive chart-topping hits, marking 10 career No. 1 songs for Bentley as a singer and songwriter. His five previous studio albums have sold more than five million copies and earned him an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry. In 2013, Bentley will hit the road with Miranda Lambert for their headlining Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley: Locked & Reloaded Tour, kicking off Jan. 17. He is up for one ACA award this year.
As the most nominated act at this year’s ACAs with seven nods, Luke Bryan recently celebrated three back-to-back double platinum singles: “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “I Don’t Want This Night To End” and “Drunk On You,” all from his platinum-certified album, “tailgates & tanlines.” The Leesburg, GA, native has achieved five career No. 1 singles and “tailgates & tanlines” has remained a Top 5 album for all of 2012. He just wrapped his charitable Farm Tour endeavor, for which a portion of the tour proceeds helped create college scholarships. On the tour, Bryan performed for 100,000 fans in eight shows, doubling the attendance record from last year’s run. Bryan will launch his first major headline tour in early 2013, the Dirt Road Diaries Tour.
Platinum-selling group Little Big Town first entered the music scene more than 13 years ago with hits such as “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home” and “Little White Church.” The band recently earned the biggest selling album debut of their career with the release of “Tornado,” which sold 112,758 units in its first week. The critically acclaimed “Tornado” remained in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Albums chart for five consecutive weeks. The album’s two-week No. 1 single, “Pontoon,” has sold more than one million downloads and their current single, “Tornado,” is their fastest-rising to date. The group is up for one ACA award this year.