NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CMA Awards) - Some of Country Music's hottest new stars will announce the finalists for the CMA Broadcast Awards, Tuesday, Aug. 26 (7:15 AM/CDT) at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The audio announcement of the finalists, which is one of the most anticipated events of the year for Country radio, will be available live via StarGuide from CMA's official radio partner MJI Programming, a division of Premiere
Radio Networks.
Announcing the finalists for the 2003 CMA Broadcast Personality and Station of the Year honors will be Steve Azar, Jennifer Hanson, Buddy Jewell, Jimmy Wayne and Darryl Worley. The announcements will be made prior to the announcement of the finalists for "The 37th Annual CMA Awards," which will be carried live by "The Early Show" on the CBS Television Network with CBS News Anchor Hannah Storm, reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Martina McBride and special guests reigning CMA Horizon Award winners Rascal Flatts.
"What an outstanding group of artists to announce our Country radio finalists," said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson. "Radio helps drive awareness of our new artists and Country radio has certainly embraced this group during the past year."
Azar wrote and recorded the modern, working man's anthem, "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)" and has been working hard touring in support of his Mercury Nashville debut Waitin' On Joe. The companion music video for the title single, featured actor Morgan Freeman and was on CMT's "Top 20 Countdown" for 14 weeks.
Hanson landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Single Sales chart with her debut hit "Beautiful Goodbye" from her self-titled Capitol Nashville release. This year she has already made five appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, including a recent debut performance of her current single "Half a Heart Tattoo."
Jewell's self-titled Columbia Records release debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Album chart and No. 13 on the Top 200 Album Chart - the third highest Country debut album in the Nielsen SoundScan era behind Billy Ray Cyrus's Some Gave All and LeAnn Rimes' Blue. The "Nashville Star" winner is currently in the Top 15 on the singles charts with his self-penned "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)."
Wayne is known as a songwriter (co-wrote Tracy Byrd's "Put Your Hand In Mine"), but he is quickly making a name for himself as a performer with the release of his self-titled DreamWorks Records Nashville album. His debut single, "Stay Gone," which he co-wrote, recently reached No. 3 on Billboard's Country Singles Chart.
Worley has experienced an exceptional year since his nomination for the Horizon Award at the 2002 CMA Awards. His pro-American anthem "Have You Forgotten?" took only five weeks to hit No. 1 - and stayed there for seven. His DreamWorks Records Nashville album by the same name has sold more than 500,000 copies since it was released in April. In March, Worley performed before an address from President George W. Bush at McDill Air Force Base and was presented the USO Merit Award in April.
The CMA Broadcast Award winners will be recognized during "The 37th Annual CMA Awards," which will be broadcast live Wednesday, Nov. 5 (8:00-11:00 PM/EST) on the CBS Television Network from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
The finalists for Broadcast Personality and Station of the Year are selected in four categories (Small, Medium, Large and Major markets). The categories are established by market size based on population as ranked by Arbitron. There is a separate category for National Broadcast Personality of the Year. CMA members, who are full-time, Country on-air personalities and CMA member radio stations in the U.S. and Canada, were eligible. Personalities who were not CMA members, but were employed by a CMA member station were also eligible.
A panel of distinguished broadcast professionals, representing all market sizes and regions, judge the entries. Winners are determined by the aggregate score of the first round of judging and the second round, which is done by a different panel of judges. The international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP tabulates scoring by the judges.
