April 5, 2009

As The Roulette Wheel Turns: Last night's 44th Annual ACM Awards boasted no shortage of entertainment...or intrigue, and early ratings show a big win for the ACM and country music. The CBS telecast averaged an 8.6/14 for the night, drawing more than double the audience of the next-closest network (NBC, 3.8/6). Last year, the ACMs were up against the Desperate Housewives season finale and placed second for the night with a 7.3/12.


Fan-voted awards for Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist went to artists
whose fan bases are used to participating in the process, Carrie Underwood and
Julianne Hough, respectively. Taylor Swift's Fearless won Album, Brad Paisley
accepted Male Vocalist in absentia and Jamey Johnson won his second Song of the Year for "In Color." (Johnson won as a writer of George Strait's "Give It Away" in 2007
and will perform the song with Lee Ann Womack at tonight's Artist of the Decade:
George Strait taping, which airs May 27.)


Scheduled performer Tim McGraw was a last-minute scratch, and his publicist told
Country Aircheck, "Due to a major disagreement with the ACM show producers, Tim's manager pulled him from the show." McGraw is still expected to perform at the Strait tribute. And for the second year in a row, the backstage press room provided the night's most brilliant fireworks, as Toby Keith voiced his extreme displeasure with Tennessean reporter Peter Cooper's coverage of an alleged dispute between Keith and Kris Kristofferson. Full coverage in tonight's Country Aircheck Weekly.


















Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for the week ending
April 4. Look for the full chart in tonight's Country Aircheck Weekly.

GEORGE STRAIT/River Of Love (MCA)
DARIUS RUCKER/It Won't Be Like This For Long (Capitol)
JAKE OWEN/Don't Think I Can't Love You (RCA)
RODNEY ATKINS/It's America (Curb)
TAYLOR SWIFT/White Horse (Big Machine)

All daily airplay data is from Mediabase 24/7.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5 Downloads: Here are Play MPE's Top 5 for April 5:


REBA/Strange (Starstruck/Valory)
KENNY CHESNEY/Out Last Night (BNA)
MARTINA MCBRIDE/Ride (Live From Wal-Mart Soundcheck) (RCA)
BUCKY COVINGTON/I Want My Life Back (Lyric Street)
BRAD PAISLEY/Then (Arista)

Tube Check Tonight (4/6): Sara Evans, Backstory (GAC).


Tube Check Tomorrow (4/7): Rascal Flatts, Today (NBC); Jason Aldean, Wide Open (GAC).

Tomorrow's Birthdays (4/7): Bobby Bare, John Dittrich, C. C. McCartney.