NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Country Weekly announcement) - According to country music fans,
Alan Jackson still reigns as king. Fans across the U.S. and beyond cast their votes for the 2003 Country Weekly Fan Favorite Awards, and Jackson once again edged out other top contenders in the categories of Favorite Entertainer, Favorite Male Artist, and Favorite Collaborative Song for "
It's Five O'clock Somewhere" with Jimmy Buffett.
Topping off his enormously successful year, Toby Keith took two awards, Favorite Album for Unleashed, and Favorite Video for "Beer for My Horses" with Willie Nelson. Fans also gave top honors for the second consecutive year to Martina McBride (Favorite Female Artist), Alabama (Favorite Group), and Brooks & Dunn (Favorite Duo).
Darryl Worley clinched his first award for Favorite Song with "Have You Forgotten?," while country rocker Keith Urban was named Favorite New Artist.
Country Weekly editors honored country music veteran Dolly Parton with the esteemed Career Achievement Award. This award recognizes a living country music artist whose professional recording career has spanned at least fifteen or more years, and whose songs and performances have made a lasting contribution to the tradition and heritage of country music.
The editors of Country Weekly determine the recipient of the Career Achievement Award based on fan nominations from the first round of voting.
Over 65,000 country music fans cast votes for their favorite artists and songs in the Country Weekly Fan Favorite Awards this year. Nomination voting started in June, followed by a Top 20 semifinal round, and then the Top 5 Final Round. Fans voted through official mail-in ballots provided inside designated issues of Country Weekly, and online at countryweekly.com.
For the first time, Country Weekly also featured an exclusive Fan Favorite Awards voting booth at the CMA Music Festival this year where fans could vote live during the nomination round. The winners will be featured in the "2003 Yearbook" issue (12/23/03), on sale at newsstands December 9th.
Country Weekly is the No1 selling country music magazine with an unsurpassed presence in 94,000 checkout counters across the USA and a readership of more than 3.6 million. Country Weekly debuted April 12, 1994, and is published by American Media, Inc.
