Brooks & Dunn News

(5/22/03, 10 a.m. ET) -- On Wednesday (May 21) the 38th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards was held for the first time in Las Vegas. The three-hour event got off to a rollicking start when the evening's host, Reba McEntire, poked fun at Las Vegas and the Dixie Chicks. McEntire said, "Everybody here loves to gamble! They're backstage right now checking the latest odds on the Dixie Chicks playing the Bush family reunion."

The event, which was broadcast on CBS, featured many familiar faces. Going into the show, Toby Keith was leading the pack with a total of eight nominations. He was followed by Alan Jackson who had six nominations and Kenny Chesney with five. All three men were competing in the categories of entertainer of the year, top male vocalist, top album, single record of the year and song of the year. Trick Pony also had five nominations, including top album and single. But, by the end of the three-hour show, Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn were the evening's big winners.

Jackson won his eleventh ACM Award for Drive, which was chosen as album of the year. It was the first award of the evening and Jackson humbly said, "I appreciate the Academy recognizing this album. It's a very special album for me. It had a lot of personal music on it."

Brooks & Dunn added their seventeenth ACM Award to their collection--they were named top vocal duo. "Stick with us. We love you," Ronnie Dunn said.

Kenny Chesney took home the award for single of the year for, "The Good Stuff." "I didn't want to cut this song at first," Chesney said while accepting his award. He added, "I'm glad I did." Chesney also won the ACM award for top male vocalist, and was so emotional that he was barely able to utter "Thank you" before leaving the stage. The two awards marked his first ACM win in six years--his last award came in 1997 when he was named top new male vocalist.

The 19 acts who appeared on the telecast included the Dixie Chicks, who appeared via satellite from a concert in their adopted hometown of Austin, Texas. The Chicks were up for three awards--entertainer of the year, album of the year and top vocal group--but ended up winning none.

During a show that was strong on patriotism, the Chicks seemed to still be suffering the fallout from Natalie Maines' ill-timed remarks about President Bush. In fact, when Vince Gill read their nomination for entertainer of the year, the crowded booed loudly. However Gill admonished the crowd, saying "Stop it, stop it. You know who gets blessed when you forgive--you."

Martina McBride was named female vocalist for the second straight year. She earned a big round of applause when she said, "I am so proud of country music and the songs that we're making and the performances that were here tonight, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Rascal Flatts raised their total of ACMs to three with two additions this year. They won in the category of top vocal group and song of the year for "I'm Movin' On."

The top new male vocalist award went to Joe Nichols, who currently has two hits on the charts, "The Impossible" and "Brokenheartsville." The top new female vocalist honor went to Kellie Coffey who had her first hit this year with the song, "When You Lie Next to Me." The Canadian group Emerson Drive was named top new duo or group.

The evening ended on a slightly bizarre note. Toby Keith, who was nominated for the second straight year in the entertainer of the year category, won. But, he had apparently already left the venue before the award was announced.

The Academy Of Country Music Awards are chosen by the 3,000 members of the California-based academy. However, the prestigious humanitarian award is decided by country music fans. This year's winner was Lonestar. Lead singer Richie McDonald said, "The truth is, Nashville and the country music community have huge hearts." For winning the award, Home Depot will build a playground in a town of their choice.

Before the telecast the Academy announced that George Strait would receive the special achievement award while Alabama was given the Pioneer award.

The Academy Of Country Music is a not-for profit organization which was established in 1964 to support, promote and enhance the advancement of the country music industry worldwide.

The following is the Academy Of Country Music Awards winner’s list:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Drive - Alan Jackson

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Toby Keith

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR

"The Good Stuff" - Kenny Chesney

TOP VOCAL DUO

Brooks & Dunn

SONG OF THE YEAR

"I'm Movin' On" - Rascal Flatts

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

"Drive (For Daddy Jean)" - Alan Jackson

TOP MALE VOCALIST

Kenny Chesney

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST

Martina McBride

TOP VOCAL GROUP

Rascal Flatts

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR

Mendocino County Line - Willie Nelson with Lee Ann Womack

TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST

Joe Nichols

TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST

Kellie Coffey

TOP NEW VOCAL DUO/ROUP

Emerson Drive

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

George Strait

HOME DEPOT HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Lonestar

PIONEER AWARD

Alabama

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