Kristin Chenoweth Among Performers on FOX'S AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS, 12/5

Co-hosts Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth, along with country music's Blake Shelton, Pistol Annies, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band and The Band Perry are set to perform at the AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS (ACA) airing live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 5 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

The two-hour event will also feature appearances by Lauren Alaina, Rachel Bilson, Miranda Lambert, Scotty McCreery and the men of "Pawn Stars" (Richard Harrison, Rick Harrison, Corey Harrison and Austin Russell). Additional performers and presenters will 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 of the business - touring - encompassing the entire spectrum of country music.

Voting for all categories remains open until Friday, Nov. 11 at www.theacas.com. Voting for Artist of the Year continues until Friday, Dec. 2.

Blake Shelton has been dubbed one of the "most versatile of contemporary country singers" by The New York Times. The 2010 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year continues to prove to be one of the industry's hottest vocalists as he caps a successful year with career highlights that include Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Television (CMT) Awards, multiple Country Music Association (CMA) Award wins, the release of three albums: "Hillbilly Bone," "All About Tonight" and a greatest-hits album, "Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton." He garnered two No. 1 hits with the title tracks, "Hillbilly Bone" (featuring long-time friend and ACA co-host Adkins) and "All About Tonight." Shelton was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2010. He has seven No. 1 hits, including his back-to-back multi-week No. 1 singles "She Wouldn't Be Gone" and "Home"; his five-week No. 1 debut single "Austin"; and two additional multi-week No. 1 hits, "The Baby" and "Some Beach." Every single one of Shelton's singles released since 2007 has peaked in the Top 10.

The Pistol Annies are comprised of Ashley Monroe ("Hippie Annie"), Angaleena Presley ("Holler Annie"), and Miranda Lambert ("Lone Star Annie"). The trio was born out of a songwriting session when Monroe introduced Lambert to the music of her friend, Presley. "Hell on Heels" is the title track to the trio's 2011 debut album. The trio has performed on selected Miranda Lambert tour dates and it is planning a tour of its own soon. Every song on "Hell on Heels" was written by one or more of the Annies, who all co-wrote the track "Family Feud" with "Pistol Andy" Blake Shelton.

One of country music's biggest breakout acts of 2011, Stoney Creek Records' Thompson Square has earned 12 major awards show nominations in 2011 including seven ACA nominations, an American Music Award (ACA) nod for New Artist of the Year, and two CMA nominations for New Artist of the Year and Vocal Duo of the Year. The husband-and-wife team, comprised of the Oklahoma-bred Keifer Thompson and Alabama-bred Shawna Thompson, combine classic country and rock influences to forge a sound that is thoroughly modern, but built on the bedrock of tradition. The duo's No. 1 single "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" is country radio's most played song of the year, according to music industry tracking service Mediabase. Their current single, "I Got You," is a Top 10 hit. Thompson Square spent the past year on the road opening for multi-platinum country rocker Jason Aldean on his My Kinda Party 2011 Tour. The pair joins Darius Rucker's U.S. tour in November and joins Lady Antebellum's Own the Night 2012 World Tour in January.

The Eli Young Band's lead single "Crazy Girl," has been certified platinum with sales of more than one million downloads. The song is currently at No. 2 on both country radio charts while the video for the single has tracked over six million views on YouTube. "Life at Best" made its debut at No. 3 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 6 on the Billboard 200. It came in at No. 1 on the iTunes Store Top 10 Country Albums chart and No. 3 on iTunes' all-genre Top 10 Albums chart, just behind Jay Z/Kanye West and Adele. While currently on tour with Dierks Bentley, EYB is a headliner in its own right, selling out shows across the country from California to Rhode Island.

AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS is executive-produced by Bob Bain (TEEN CHOICE 2011, "Kids' Choice Awards"). Fletcher Foster, Paul Flattery and Tisha Fein serve as producers; and Greg Sills is supervising producer. Michael Dempsey will direct the special.

 

 

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