It’s Blake, It’s Miranda, and It’s an “Idol” Diva Face Off at today’s CMA Nominations

The current prom king and queen of country music, husband and wife duo Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, maintain their position as a super power country couple by leading this morning’s CMA Award nominations. Both singers grabbed five nominations for this November’s Country Music Association awards while up and comer Eric Church matched their 5 nods. Grabbing three nominations apiece were Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Little Big Town, Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley. In the prestigious Entertainer of the Year category, Shelton will take on Swift, Chesney, Aldean and Brad Paisley who will also co-host the show again with Carrie Underwood... Speaking of Underwood, she grabbed her 7th consecutive nomination for Female Vocalist this morning, a category she has won 3 times, and this year may be her most dramatic battle yet. While she will take on former winners Lambert, Swift and Maritna McBride, she will also face off with Kelly Clarkson. Yes, Grammy winning pop singer and the other biggest American Idol vet, Clarkson is in the running against Underwood. Don’t be too surprised she’s here though as she had a top twenty country hit with the country version of “Mr. Know It All” this year and she won a CMA last year for her massive hit duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Jason Aldean. We’ll see if either Idol lady can win on November 1st when the CMA Awards air on ABC. In the meantime, head to the CMA website here for more info and look at all the nominees below.

2012 CMA Nominations~

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Kelly Clarkson
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

“Chief” – Eric Church
“Four the Record” – Miranda Lambert
“Home” – Dierks Bentley
“Own the Night” – Lady Antebellum
“Tailgates and Tanlines” – Luke Bryan

Music Video

Come Over – Kenny Chesney – Directed by Shaun Silva
Over You – Miranda Lambert – Directed by Trey Fanjoy
Pontoon Little Big Town – Directed by Declan Whitebloom
Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith – Directed by Michael Salomon
Springsteen – Eric Church – Directed by Peter Zavadil

Musician

Sam Bush – Mandolin
Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Danny Huff – Guitar
Brent Mason – Guitar
Mac McAnally – Guitar

Single of the Year

Dirt Road Anthem – Jason Aldean
God Gave Me You – Blake Shelton
Home – Dierks Bentley
Pontoon – Little Big Town
Springsteen – Eric Church

Song of the Year

Even If it Breaks Your Heart – Eli Young Band – Will Hoge and Eric Paslay
God Gave Me You – Blake Shelton – Dave Barnes
Home – Dierks Bentley – Dan Wilson, Brett Beavers, and Dierks Bentley
Over You – Miranda Lambert – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton
Springsteen – Eric Church – Eric Church, Ryan Tyndell, and Jeff Hyde

Musical Event Of The Year

Dixie Highway – Zac Brown Band and Alan Jackson
Feel Like a Rock Star – Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw
Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die – Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Jamey Johnson, and Kris Kristofferson
Safe and Sound – Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars
Stuck On You – Lionel Richie and Darius Rucker

Vocal Duo Of The Year

Big and Rich
Love and Theft
Sugarland
Civil Wars
Thompson Square

New Artist

Lee Bryce
Brantley Gilbert
Love and Theft
Thompson Square
Hunter Hayes

You Better “Believe” Justin Bieber tops the Charts Again

Teen sensation, and one of the most annoying pop stars around in my opinion, Justin Bieber has done it again… His new album, Believe debuts at # 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart giving him his 4th chart topper. It also sells 374,000 units for the biggest debut of 2012 edging out Madonna’s MDNA. Bieber leads a slew of debuts in the top five from Kenny Chesney (with his 10th top ten album and 11th #1 country album), Fiona Apple and the Smashing Pumpkins plus a surging Rock of Ages soundtrack. Take a look at all the moves in the top ten below and head to Billboard for more info here.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Believe- Justin Bieber (debut)
2. Welcome to the Fishbowl- Kenny Chesney (debut)
3. The Idler Wheel is Wiser…- Fiona Apple (debut)
4. Oceania- Smashing Pumpkins (debut)
5. Rock of Ages soundtrack- Various Artists (lw~ 9)
6. Looking 4 Myself- Usher (lw~ 1)
7. 21- Adele (lw~ 3)
8. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~ 6)
9. Tailgates & Tanlines- Luke Bryan (lw~ 13)
10. Clockwork Angels- Rush (lw~ 2)

Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, Carly Rae Jepsen makes it three weeks on top with “Call Me Maybe” while another new female singer makes a bold move for the top. U.K. songstress Ellie Goulding grabs her first American top ten hit with “Lights” as it flies up from # 12 to # 6 and could be a big threat in the weeks ahead. Also landing in the top ten this week is Usher‘s “Scream” which gives him an 18th top ten single! Check out the brand new top ten below and for more on all the music charts, head to Billboard.com.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (last week~ 1) * 3 weeks on top
2. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 3)
3. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/ Kimbra (lw~ 2)
4. “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
5. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~8)
6. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 12)
7. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 5)
8. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 7)
9. “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction (lw~ 6)
10. “Scream”- Usher (lw~ 11)

And here’s Ellie Goulding’s new smash “Lights”. Enjoy

Lil Wayne takes down the Country Crew

Rapper Lil Wayne made an impressive leap from # 16 to the top of the charts this week as his album, I Am Not a Human Being, finally got a full release in stores. Previously the album peaked two weeks ago and has only been available through digital retailers, but with physical copies hitting the shelves, he moved another 125,000 units to hit # 1. Wayne prevented former Hootie and the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker’s second country album from hitting the top as it landed at # 2 with 101,000 copies. It does lead the country album charts though. In fact, there’s a whole lot of country in the top ten with albums by Rucker, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, The Zac Brown Band and a debut from The Band Perry at # 4. Other debuts in the top ten this week came from Nickelodeon teen group Big Time Rush plus Sufjan Stevens and All That Remains. For all your chart needs, head to Billboard here. And check out the new top ten below.

Official Billboard Results for Week of October 11, 2010

1. Lil Wayne- I Am Not a Human Being (last week~ 16)
2. Darius Rucker- Charleston, SC 1966 (debut)
3. Big Time Rush- BTR (debut)
4. The Band Perry- The Band Perry (debut)
5. Eminem- Recovery (lw~ 4)
6. Kenny Chesney- Hemingway’s Whiskey (lw~ 2)
7. Sufjan Stevens- Age of Adz (debut)
8. Zac Brown Band- You Get What You Give (lw~ 5)
9. Toby Keith- Bullets in the Gun (lw~ 1)
10. All That Remains- For We are Many (debut)

Toby Keith topples Bruno Mars and Kenny Chesney on the Charts

Country stalwart Toby Keith grabbed another # 1 on the Billboard Album charts with his latest Bullets in the Gun pushing last week’s leader Kenny Chesney’s Hemingway’s Whiskey down to # 2. They both beat out the debut from Bruno Mars’ Doo Wops & Hooligans which came in third and features his current chart topping single “Just the Way You Are”. Also debuting in the top 20 this week were Waka Flocka Flame at # 6 and former American Idol singer David Archuleta with his third album The Other Side of Down landing at a lackluster # 13. For all your chart news, head to Billboard here. And check out this week’s top 10 below.

Top 10 Billboard Albums 10-15-10

1. Toby Keith- Bullets in the Gun (debut)
2. Kenny Chesney- Hemingway’s Whiskey (last week~ 1)
3. Bruno Mars- Doo Wops & Hooligans (debut)
4. Eminem- Recovery (lw~5)
5. Zac Brown Band- You Get What You Give (lw~ 3)
6. Waka Flocka Flame- Flockaveli (debut)
7. Linkin Park- A Thousand Suns (lw~8)
8. Katy Perry- Teenage Dream (lw~18)
9. Trey Songz- Passion Pleasure & Pain (lw~7)
10. Selena Gomez & the Scene- A Year Without Rain (lw~10)

Kenny Chesney beats Lil Wayne to the Top!

Country crooner Kenny Chesney lands his 6th #1 album on Billboard’s Top 200 Album chart this week with his latest Hemingway’s Whiskey. The album sells a strong 183,000 copies just ahead of Lil Wayne with his digital-only album I Am Not a Human Being that moved 110,000 copies to land at # 2. Apparently, jail won’t stop Lil Wayne from making hits… In fact the incarcerated rapper beat out the other new debuts from rock legend Eric Clapton and fellow rapper Gucci Mane. For Clapton, his latest top 10 album extends his streak of having a top 10 album every decade for the last 5 decades. Very impressive Mr. Clapton! For all your chart needs, head to Billboard here. And take a look at the new top 10 below.

Official Billboard Results for Week of September 27, 1010

1. Kenny Chesney, “Hemingway’s Whiskey” (DEBUT)
2. Lil’ Wayne, “I Am Not a Human Being” (DEBUT)
3. Zac Brown Band, “You Get What You Give” (last week~ 1)
4. Gucci Mane, “The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted” (DEBUT)
5. Eminem, “Recovery” (lw~ 6)
6. Eric Clapton, “Clapton” (DEBUT)
7. Trey Songz, “Passion, Pain, & Pleasure” (lw~ 7)
8. Linkin Park, “A Thousand Suns” (lw~ 3)
9. Maroon 5, “Hands All Over” (lw~ 2)
10. Selena Gomez & the Scene, “A Year Without Rain” (lw~ 4)