News & Publications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sep. 13, 1999
MORE OF COUNTRY’S HOTTEST STARS JOIN TALENT LINE UP FOR “THE 33rd ANNUAL CMA AWARDS”
Trisha Yearwood, Lonestar and Mark Wills Added to Already Star-Packed Telecast With Dixie Chicks Slated to Provide Sizzling Opening Hall of Fame Inductee Dolly Parton Performs in Hall of Fame Segment
NASHVILLE – The red-hot Dixie Chicks, nominated for four CMA Awards, will set the tone for the star-packed CMA Awards when they open the three-hour telecast with a sizzling version of “Ready To Run,” the Top 10 first single from the box office smash, “Runaway Bride.” Fans of the Texas threesome have already come to expect the unexpected from The Dixie Chicks, and they guarantee a few surprises in kicking off “The 33rd Annual CMA Awards” on Wednesday, September 22. Three of Country Music’s hottest acts of 1999 – Trisha Yearwood, Lonestar and Mark Wills – have been added to the cast of the gala event, which will be telecast on the CBS Television Network from the Grand Ole Opry House, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET
The Dixie Chicks won both the Horizon Award and Vocal Group of the Year in 1998. The trio’s new Monument album FLY debuted last week at number one on the pop album chart with over 340,000 units sold. They are nominated in four categories, including Entertainer of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year. Their single, “Wide Open Spaces,” is nominated for Single and Music Video of the Year. WIDE OPEN SPACES has sold more than six million copies and established them as one of Country’s superstar acts in two brief years.
CMA’s reigning Female Vocalist, Trisha Yearwood, has established herself as a star of international proportions over the past decade. In just one week recently, she traveled the globe to perform with Pavarotti in Italy, Don Henley in New York City and Garth Brooks in Los Angeles. Of her eight CDs, three are gold and the rest are platinum or multi-platinum, and they have yielded 10 number-one singles. The Georgia native is nominated for Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for WHERE YOUR ROAD LEADS, from which she will be performing “I’ll Still Love You More.”
Lonestar, the foursome from Texas, has staked their claim to Country’s hierarchy on the strength of “Amazed,” which stayed at the top of the Country charts for an astounding nine weeks this summer, establishing a modern-day benchmark for a chart single. The soaring ballad, which they will perform, propelled sales of the album, LONELY GRILL, to platinum in just 10 weeks, crossed over to the adult contemporary charts (#26 this week), and earned the BNA recording group Vocal Group and Single of the Year nods from CMA – their first CMA nominations.
Mark Wills is one of Country’s bright new male artists breaking through at Country radio, with two of three singles from his self-titled debut CD reaching the Top 5. Stunning ballads such as “I Do (Cherish You),” “ Don’t Laugh At Me,” and “Wish You Were Here” have taken him to the upper reaches of the charts and garnered him a platinum-selling album. Mark is nominated for Single and Video of the Year, and “Don’t Laugh At Me,” which he will perform during the telecast is also nominated for Song of the Year.
Dolly Parton’s appearances on the CMA Awards over the past three decades have always been among the show’s most-highly anticipated and memorable of any other artist. This year, Dolly is being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Dolly will thrill the audience again as she has agreed to perform as part of her induction ceremony. The dynamic blonde’s long-time duet partner, Kenny Rogers, will introduce Dolly’s induction ceremony. Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame, posthumously, are Conway Twitty and Johnny Bond.
Previously announced performers include Alabama, joined by pop sensation ‘NSync, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, host Vince Gill, Merle Haggard with multi-platinum pop star Jewel, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, George Strait, Shania Twain, Steve Wariner, The Wilkinsons , Chely Wright and Dwight Yoakam.
Winners of “The 33rd Annual CMA Awards” are voted on by the nearly 6,000 professional members of the Country Music Association. Ballots are tabulated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.
“The CMA Awards” was the first music awards special to be carried on network television, and has consistently earned top ratings. Going head-to-head against ABC, NBC and Fox season premiere week, the 1998 CMA Awards placed first for the night in households, viewers and all adult demographics.
This year’s broadcast will be produced by Walter C. Miller and directed by Paul Miller. Donald K. Epstein will write the script. A stereo-radio simulcast of the gala event will be satellite-delivered by MJI Broadcasting. The program will be televised via tape around the world, including the UK by BBC 2. For more information on the CMA Awards, Internet users can locate the CMA website using the address www.CMAawards.com.