Lee Ann Womack and Brad Paisley scored six nominations each for the 39th Annual Country Music Awards, airing live on CBS from New York's Madison Square Garden on November 15th. Superstar duo Brooks and Dunn will host the event.
Womack and reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Keith Urban announced the nominations at a New York press conference Wednesday morning. Womack received nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year -- for her latest, There's More Where That Came From -- and Single and Music Video of the Year for "I Hate Myself in the Morning."
Womack also received two nods for the year's best collaboration, Musical Event of the Year -- one with George Strait for "Good News, Bad News," and one with Willie Nelson for "I'll Never Be Free." "Apparently you weren't available for these," Urban joked of the remaining duets in the category.
Paisley, whose fourth album, Time Well Wasted, recently debuted at Number Two on the pop chart, matched Womack's six with nominations for Entertainer of the Year; Male Vocalist of the Year; Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for "Alcohol"; and Musical Event of the Year, with Sara Evans for "New Again."
Urban tied with Toby Keith with four nominations. Urban is up for Entertainer of the Year; Male Vocalist of the Year; Album of the Year for the multiplatinum Be Here; and Music Video of the Year. Keith earned nods for Entertainer of the Year; Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for "As Good As I Once Was." Both Urban and Womack were unaware of their nominations before the announcements.
Gretchen Wilson, George Strait, Rascal Flatts and newcomers Sugarland earned three nominations each.
Wilson, who won the Horizon award (given to the best new artist) last year, joins Womack for Female Vocalist of the Year; Song of the Year for "Redneck Woman," co-written with John Rich of Big and Rich; and Music Video of the Year for "When I Think About Cheatin'." Wilson will release her new album, All Jacked Up, as the follow-up to her multiplatinum debut Here for the Party, on September 27th.
Brooks and Dunn received a nod for Vocal Duo of the Year, a category they have won twelve times. Their newest album, Hillbilly Deluxe, landed country's biggest-selling duo a debut at Number Three on the charts this week.
Other nominated artists include Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw.
Also on-hand to announce the Broadcast Awards finalists were up-and-comers Blue Country and Miranda Lambert.
This year will mark the first in CMA history that the awards will not be held in Nashville. Leading up to the awards, a week-long celebration titled Country Takes NYC will take place in New York City from November 9th through the 15th. The week will feature themed days, as well as nightly concerts by performers Keith Urban, Montgomery Gentry and Dierks Bentley, among others.
Tickets for the CMAs go on sale to the public -- another first -- on September 17th.