Luke Bryan To Next Month's Billboard Music Awards

Just announced:  the first group of musical performers at this year’s Billboard Music Awards.

Bryan, Imagine Dragons, John Legend and OneRepublic will all join previously announced Jason Derulo, as performers in the live awards show, airing on Sunday, May 18th, on ABC from 8:00 PM–11:00 PM ET, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Luke is a finalist in 6 categories this year, including Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Country Album and Top Country Song twice. Once for his hit “Crash My Party,” and again for “That’s My Kind Of Night.”

Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, VEVO, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 11, 2013 through March 9, 2014. 

Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of songs and albums.  The “2014 Billboard Music Awards” is produced by dick clark productions.

The Band Perry and Kacey Musgraves added to Billboard Music Awards

2013 Billboard Music Awards nominees Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and Fun all have 11 nominations.

The  list of Country nominees includes:

Top Country Song

"Drunk on You," LUKE BRYAN
"Springsteen," ERIC CHURCH
"Cruise," FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE
"Wanted," HUNTER HAYES
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," TAYLOR SWIFT

Top Country Artist

JASON ALDEAN
LUKE BRYAN
HUNTER HAYES
TAYLOR SWIFT
CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Top Country Album

"Night Train," JASON ALDEAN
"Tailgates & Tanlines," LUKE BRYAN
"Tuskegee," LIONEL RICHIE
"Red," TAYLOR SWIFT
"Blown Away," CARRIE UNDERWOOD

The Billboard Music Awards will air live on Sunday, May 19 beginning at 8/7c on ABC from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Country Revs Up For The Fourth

Billboard Magazine notes that Independence Day is a holiday for much of America, but not everyone. "Among the folks who still have to work: newspaper carriers, convenience-store clerks and a bunch of country artists.  Given the all-American image country acts are so careful to cultivate, working the Fourth is a no-brainer, and the genre will be in full force around the nation when festivities gear up on July 4. Here’s a partial rundown of country’s red, white and blue plans:"

• Brad Paisley appears at a USO concert on the White House lawn. The show will be streamed live here.
• The Mavericks, Craig Morgan and Sarah Darling perform with the Nashville Symphony at Music City’s Riverfront Park.
• Kenny Chesney makes his third appearance on the annual NBC special “Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular.” He also participated in 2003 and in 2008.
• Josh Turner performs from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the annual PBS broadcast of “A Capitol Fourth,” with host Tom Bergeron and guests Phillip Phillips, Matthew Broderick and Kool & the Gang.
• Kix Brooks and Shawna Russell play the Summer OilPatch Festival in Drumright, Okla.
• Willie Nelson hosts his traditional Fourth of July Picnic at Billy Bob’sin Fort Worth, Texas, with Jamey Johnson, Ray Price and Billy Joe Shaver.
• Gretchen Wilson plays FreedomFest at Fort Polk in Louisiana, where the activities include an appearance by 38 Special and a 50-gun salute to America.
• Randy Travis hosts a SiriusXM special, “Red, White and Randy 4th.”

Billboard Music Awards Country Representatives

Lady Antebellum gets a top duo/group nod and Taylor Swift also scores two nominations this week for the Billboard Music Awards, taking place in May from Las Vegas. The show, airing on ABC, will see LA and Taylor vie for Top Touring Act and also Top Country Artist with...

Jason Aldean.

Zac Brown Band


Blake Shelton


No matter who wins, it should put country's best in a very good light!

New Dierks Bentley CD This Fall

Dierks Bentley is gearing up to release a brand new studio album this fall. While Bentley says he’s ”not really in a rush” to put out a new album, he is already in the studio working on the follow up to his critically acclaimed album Up On The Ridge


“We’ve cut the tracks for 15 songs, and I’m trying to sing on the record now,” Bentley tells Billboard.com. “But it was impossible for me to do the Jaeger tour and go in and do vocals, too. So I might have to wait a little longer to make sure I have exactly the best possible vocals I can put on.”


According to Billboard, the album will feature 12-13 tracks (of the 15 he’s cut) including Bentley’s current hit single, Am I The Only One


“I wanted to have something out there for the summertime, and this just felt like the right song for that,” says Bentley. “I’ve been off the radio for a while ’cause I wanted to make an album that was important to me, musically, but wasn’t as commercial. But now I want to be back on (radio) and I wanted my fans to hear our stuff. I just wanted to come back with a song that was fun for fans and fun for country radio and fun for us to play every night…and (‘Am I the Only One’) fits in there.”