Nashville, TN (Top40 Charts/ Webster & Associates) The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) nominates country artist Greg Hanna for the Rising Star Award for the 2011 CCMA Awards, which takes place on September 12 in Ontario, Canada. The top ten contenders for the award are selected by Nielsen BDS spins and must not have previously received the award. Past Rising Star Award winners include such acts as k.d. lang and Emerson Drive. A native-born Canadian, Hanna grew up in Eastern Ontario on a dairy farm where his passion for country music evolved. Before making his debut in the U.S., he climbed the Canadian Charts with "Song In My Head", "Love You For Life", and the summer anthem "Singin' To The Radio". His current single "Makin' Love Real" from his self-titled album (Pheromone Records LLC / MRI / Sony Red) made the Billboard Indicator Chart in June. The video for the single is currently playing on GACTV.com, CMT Pure, The Country Network (TCN), CMT Canada, and streaming heavy rotation on all online video networks. Hanna's past songs that climbed the U.S. radio and video charts include "It's a Man's Job" and "What Kind of Love Are You On". This summer, Greg has been busy on an extensive radio and press tour throughout North America. Recently, he performed on national television shows The Daily Buzz and Music Mix USA. He can be seen in the U.S. on Lifetime's The Balancing Act on July 29. Fans in both the U.S. and Canada can see him live on the upcoming tour dates: July 23: Country Thunder USA - Twin Lakes, WI
July 31: Camrose Big Valley Jamboree - Camrose, AB
August 6: New York State Fair - Paltz, NY
August 14-15: Missouri State Fair - Sedalia, MO
September 10: XTREME MUZIK The Tour with Big & Rich - Tucson, AZ Each year, the country music stars of Canada come out to honor those that have impacted their industry. This year the awards will be held in Hamilton, Ontario and will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. on September 12 on CBC Television and at 10 pm EST / PST on CMT. For more information on the awards, please visit ccma.org. Voters must have a CCMA membership in order to vote. Deadline for voting is July 22, 2011.
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