News

ERIC CHURCH & THE BAND PERRY CHOSEN BY COUNTRY FANS AT GACTV.COM AS WINNERS OF THE ACM NEWCOMER AWARDS

BOTH WILL COMPETE FOR FAN-VOTED NEW ARTIST AWARD
DURING THE LIVE TELECAST OF THE
46th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® AWARDS

Fans Can Vote at VOTEACM.com, Powered by CBS.COM, Starting March 11th  

*    *    *    *    *

Encino, CA (February 25, 2011) - The Academy of Country Music and Great American Country (GAC) announced today that Eric Church and The Band Perry have been named New Solo Vocalist and New Vocal Duo or Group respectively.  The two winners are now considered nominees for the New Artist award, which will be given out on the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.  

Luke Bryan, reigning New Artist from 2010, will present the awards to Eric Church and The Band Perry in front of country radio’s elite at the ACM-sponsored CRS Music City Jam in Nashville on Wednesday, March 2. CRS Music City Jam is open to Country Radio Seminar registrants and takes place at the Nashville Convention Center.

Fans can watch the winners receive their ACM trophies and hear their acceptance speeches on GAC’s “ACM Top New Artists” special, premiering Monday, March 14th at 9:00 PM ET. 

Eric Church released his sophomore album, Carolina, in the spring of 2009 which included such hits as “Love Your Love The Most,” “Hell on the Heart,” and “Smoke a Little Smoke.”  All three of which were  Top 20 songs.  His third album, set to be released later this year, has a newly released single “Homeboy” that is already making its way up the charts.  He can be seen on tour now with Jason Aldean.  This is Eric Church’s first Academy of Country Music Award.

The Band Perry, made up of siblings Kimberly, Neil and Reid released their self-titled debut album in October of 2010 and have not looked back.  Their song “If I Die Young” went to #1 on the charts and their current hit “You Lie” is quickly climbing as well.  They are currently wrapping up tour dates with Blake Shelton and Easton Corbin and will be touring throughout the rest of the year.  This is The Band Perry’s first Academy of Country Music Award.

Voting for New Artist will take place at www.VoteACM.com powered by CBS.com beginning March 11th at 12noon PT and will continue until 5pm PST on Sunday, April 3.  

The winner of the new New Artist category will be awarded on the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

GAC’s “ACM Top New Artists” special  will re-air multiple times until the next round of voting closes, including Wednesday, March 16th at 10:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 20th at 8:00 PM ET, and Thursday, March 24th at 8:00 PM ET. More air times and dates can be found at gactv.com/acm.

Professional members of the Academy of Country Music select the final nominees in the New Solo Vocalist, New Vocal Duo or Group categories. Professional member votes were combined with fan votes to obtain the winners of the Top New categories.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards
The 46th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry.  The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.  Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers.  Barry Adelman is producer, and Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.  For more information, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

About Great American Country (GAC)
Great American Country is the leader in country music entertainment, and delivers to viewers the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. GAC broadcasts original country music programming, music performance specials, live concerts and music videos. GAC is available in more than 59 million households and online at http://www.GACTV.com.

GAC is owned by Scripps Networks, the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Travel Channel and Cooking Channel. Scripps Networks is based in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Nashville, and is a unit of Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE:SNI).

If you are a member of the media, please log on to the Scripps Networks Online Media Center (http://newsroom.scrippsnetworks.com) for the latest brand news, useful photos and graphics, detailed programming information, contacts and current research.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Alicia Mohr
PMK-BNC
(310) 854-4800
Alicia.Mohr@pmkbnc.com

Lauren McGee
PMK-BNC
(310) 854-4800
Lauren.McGee@pmkbnc.com

Lee Hall
Great American Country (GAC)
865.560.3853
LHall@scrippsnetworks.com

Ronna Rubin
Rubin Media for Great American Country (GAC)
615.298.4400
ronna@rubinmedia.biz