It’s only a couple more weeks until the CMA Awards air live on CBS! Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum and The Eli Young Band are among the country heavy hitters who’ll perform.
We recap all the top performers that are making an appearance the 2012 Country Music Awards
Still looking for tickets to “country music’s biggest night,” otherwise known as the CMA Awards? Too bad — they’ve sold out for the fourth year in a row. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to catch the show in all its glory, though: It’ll air live Nov. 1 on ABC.
Good news, too: Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Eli Young Band and Brantley Gilbert have just signed on to perform during the three-hour telecast.
Shelton is up for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year for “God Gave Me You” and Song of the Year (for wife Miranda Lambert’s “Over You” and his own “God Gave Me You”).
“I never get tired of these ‘Oh-My-God-How-Did-This-Happen?!!’ moments,” Shelton said after the nominations were announced in September. “Thank you to country radio and everyone who casts a CMA vote. I am truly honored.”
Eli Young Band and Brantley Gilbert join the party
Eli Young Band’s performance will mark their first trip to the CMA Awards. The group — nominated for Vocal Group of the Year — is just pumped to be invited to the inner circle of country music.
“We’re so happy that we’re having the success these days,” front man Mike Eli told Taste of Country in August. “Like we’ve said many times before, being a band for as long as we have, we really feel like after all these years we really appreciate [it all] — no matter how big or small the accolade. It’s always an incredible feeling, knowing that we’re still accomplishing things as a band, musically and career-wise.”
Gilbert is another newcomer making his first trip to the show. The “My Kinda Party” singer is nominated for New Artist of the Year. As for what to expect from his performance at the show? Brantley told Rough Dog that he does his best to appeal to all country music fans.
“If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that my fans come from different backgrounds — country fans, rock fans, music fans. But when they come to my show, they are BG fans and I want to make sure they walk away with an even greater understanding of my music, and of me,” he told the website.
Lady Antebellum continues their ascent to the top
The three-person group better known as Lady Antebellum is used to all of the attention at awards shows: The band has won the Vocal Group of the Year CMA for the past three years. Will they make it a four-peat? It’s looking like it, especially since they’re again nominated in the category, along with a nomination for Album of the Year for Own the Night.
Don’t assume that Lady A takes their success for granted, though. Charles Kelley told Billboard that they appreciate all the fan support.
“This has definitely been our year to take the tour to the next level for us in our career,” Kelley told the magazine earlier this month. “We’ve had a lot of success selling records, and that’s all been great, but I don’t think we truly felt like we had made it as artists until people came out to the shows. I think that’s where the rubber hit the road as an artist, putting butts in the seats. It’s been a pretty overwhelming year for us in terms of excitement to see the fans filling up these arenas.”
Also set to perform at the 46th Annual CMA Awards are superstars like Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry and the Zac Brown Band. Performers Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are back to host for the fifth consecutive year.
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