Hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” Airs Live Wednesday, Nov. 2 on the ABC Television Network
NASHVILLE – Multiple CMA Award winners Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban will appear live from the Grand Ole Opry House along with newcomer Cam to host a celebration five decades in the making when the final nominees for “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” are announced live on “Good Morning America” Wednesday, Aug. 31.
The location of this year’s announcement adds to the already auspicious occasion as the Grand Ole Opry House served as home to the CMA Awards from 1974 until 2004, making it the longest running backdrop of the Awards and home to some of its most iconic moments. Bentley and Urban, with a combined 50 nominations and 12 wins across 8 CMA Awards categories, will be live with Cam from the Opry House stage adding another special moment to that history.
The highly-anticipated announcement of the final nominees for “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” will also be covered on ABCnews.com and CMAawards50.com.
“Having these three artists participate together in our 50th Anniversary celebration on ‘Good Morning America’ makes this kick off to an especially historic Awards season a true celebration of our genre,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “To have Dierks, Cam, and Keith standing on the Opry stage, where so much of the history of the Awards took place, just adds to the excitement of this year’s announcements.”
Nominees in select categories will be announced on “Good Morning America” on the ABC Television Network. The announcements will air in the 8:30 AM/ET half-hour segment of the top-rated morning news program on Wednesday.
Following the announcements on “Good Morning America,” the remaining categories will be revealed live on GoodMorningAmerica.com on Yahoo as well as via Good Morning America’s Facebook page through Facebook Live. The Yahoo-ABC News Network is the No. 1 Source for General News online.
CMA will then release the full slate of CMA Awards nominees, while singer/songwriter Cam will be notifying the finalists for CMA’s Broadcast Station and Personality of the Year with personalized video messages.
The full list of nominees will be available at CMAawards50.com immediately following announcement. The website also features a historical timeline with photos and winners from the past 50 years of the CMA Awards.
The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by more than 7,600 professional members of CMA, which was formed in 1958 and is the first trade organization established to promote an individual genre of music. Winners of “The 50th Annual CMA Awards,” which will air live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 2, will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible members of CMA. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the professional services firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.
“The 50th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer and Paul Miller is the Director. The CMA Awards will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.
Multi-Platinum selling singer/songwriter Bentley has never had to follow trends; he challenges them and creates his own. “The bluegrass picker, the love song singer and the stadium rocker all packaged together” (Associated Press) explores the most intimate and sometimes darkest corners of his relationship history with his No. 1 selling and critically acclaimed album BLACK (Capitol Records Nashville). Bentley’s latest Top 5 single “Different For Girls” follows the multi-week No. 1 Platinum song of his summer “Somewhere On A Beach.” Bentley’s seven previous studio albums have sold more than seven million units, notched 14 chart-topping singles, 16 CMA Award nominations, and a membership to the Grand Ole Opry for more than a decade. With a “reputation as one of the hardest-working entertainers in Country Music” (MusicRow), Bentley continues developing “a rapport with his fans as a live performer that artists possessing 10 times as much headlining experience can’t boast” (Charlotte Observer) with his “2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR.” For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.
California-born singer/songwriter Cam emerged as one of the past year’s true breakthrough artists, achieving her first Platinum record and first No. 1 Country single with “Burning House.” She was the only female Country act to release a song in 2015 and amass a million downloads by the end of the year. Her Untamed album on Arista Nashville/RCA Records, which released Dec. 11, 2015, debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with the year’s best first-week album sales by a debut Country artist. Find her online at www.camcountry.com, on Twitter @camcountry, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/camcountry.
Urban is currently on a worldwide tour that will see him make stops in four countries (U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). The “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016” kicked off earlier this summer and has received widespread critical praise. The show features an all-new production, a heavy helping of Urban’s biggest hits, and his now-legendary, unpredictable two-plus hour performances. For more official Keith Urban news and information go to www.keithurban.net or follow him on www.facebook.com/keithurban or @keithurban.
About the CMA Awards: The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC will be the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” and “CMA Country Christmas,” through 2021.
About “Good Morning America”: Emmy-award winning “Good Morning America” is a two-hour, live program anchored by Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and Lara Spencer. Amy Robach is the news anchor and Ginger Zee is the chief meteorologist. The morning news program airs Monday-Friday (7:00-9:00 AM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.
