Country Music Channel Awards: winners

Given I rarely write much about the Country Music Channel I thought I should acknowledge the winners of the CMC Music Awards held over the weekend. Highlights from the awards will be broadcast on CMC from Saturday 12 March.

Staged at The Great Cask Hall, Hope Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley this was the first year that the annual Artist of the Year award was expanded into series. The four categories were voted entirely by CMC viewers.

Adam Brand, formerly of Dancing with the Stars, won the CMC Oz Artist of the Year for the fifth time in a row. Unable to attend the awards as he was in Nashville, Brand sent his thanks via video: “This award is the most special of all awards because it’s voted by the most important people in the world; the fans.”

Taylor Swift was voted CMC International Artist of the Year, also sending a video thankyou, hinting that she would be visiting Australia soon.

CMC Music Video of the Year was Keith Urban for the video Til Summer Comes Around from his fifth studio album Deying Gravity. Urban also sent a video acceptance.

McAlister Kemp were awarded CMC New Oz Artist of the Year. The duo were scheduled to perform but had to pull out at the last minute after they were added to the Alan Jackson tour line up.

Guests included, Dean Brody, Mark & Jay O’Shea, Dianna Corcoran, Rob Hirst, The Sunny Cowgirls, Victoria Baillie, Jayne Denham and Mark Wells.

The CMC Music Awards 2011 were staged ahead of the fourth annual CMC Rocks the Hunter roots and country music festival, which also took place on the weekend.