CALGARY, AB – The Canadian Country Music Association® (CCMA®) and Global are proud to announce that reigning CCMA Male Artist of the Year Dallas Smith and singer/songwriter and worldwide entertainment icon hailing from Flatwoods, Kentucky, Billy Ray Cyrus, are co-hosting the 2019 CCMA Awards presented by TD. The 2019 CCMA Awards will air live on Global from Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome on September 8 at 9 p.m. EST/PST. Global has also extended its broadcast to stream on Twitter and broadcast live on Corus radio stations Country 105 (Calgary), CISN Country 103.9 (Edmonton), and Country 104 (London/Woodstock).
Ahead of the 2019 CCMA Awards, Dallas Smith and Billy Ray Cyrus each sat down with ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey to talk new music, hosting an award show, and more. Watch ET Canada tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. EST/PST to catch the exclusive one on one interviews. Click here to watch a promo.
“I’m thrilled to be co-hosting this year’s CCMA Awards with Billy Ray Cyrus – he’s a legend!” shared Smith. “This is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to celebrate country’s biggest night with everyone.”
A multiple JUNO and CCMA Award-winning entertainer, Dallas Smith is one of the most celebrated artists in Canadian Country music. Smith, always one to dominate uncharted territory, is the first and only Canadian country artist in the Nielsen BDS era, to have seven #1 singles, including four consecutive chart-toppers from the same album. Nominated for four 2019 CCMA Awards (Apple Music Fans’ Choice, MNP Male Artist of the Year, FORD Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year), Smith will be heading out on the road across Canada following his co-host duties as part of the Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone Tour this fall, alongside Dean Brody.
“This is really a full circle moment for me because I received my first ever platinum record plaque while I was in Canada in the 90s. We also shot the series ‘Doc’ in Toronto, so it feels like coming home every time I’m in Canada. I’m really looking forward to co-hosting the show with Dallas,” Cyrus shared.
This is the first time that Billy Ray Cyrus will be hosting an award show and his first time taking to the CCMA Awards stage. The award-winning artist has been making headlines since his 1992 breakout single “Achy Breaky Heart” and has continued to make waves in the industry since. His country-rap, hybrid collaboration with Lil Nas X continues to break chart-topping records, hitting 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts making it the longest-running #1 single in history and the new single “Chevys and Fords” is already a country music playlist essential.
Tickets to the 2019 CCMA Awards are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com. For each ticket sold, $1 will go directly to the MusicCounts in support of their year-round music initiatives.
Fans are encouraged to follow updates for the 2019 CCMA Awards presented by TD via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
For more information on the CCMA and the 2019 CCMA Awards presented by TD please visit ccma.org.
Global is a Corus Entertainment Network and is available through all major TV distributors, including: Shaw, Shaw Direct, Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink, SaskTel and the new STACKTV, streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video Channels.
About Billy Ray Cyrus:
Billy Ray Cyrus became a household name over the course of his unprecedented career which spans across music, television and theater. Throughout his nearly three decade career, Cyrus has achieved worldwide success as a singer, songwriter, actor and producer. The Flatwoods, KY native exploded onto the music scene when his first album, Some Gave All, debuted on the all-genre Billboard album chart at No. 1 and stayed there for a record-breaking 17 weeks in 1992. The lead single, “Achy Breaky Heart,” became a phenomenon as the single went multi-platinum. After “Achy Breaky Heart,” Cyrus followed up with back to back hits “It Could’ve Been Me,” “She’s Not Crying Anymore,” “Wher’m I Gonna Live When I Get Home?” and the anthemic “Some Gave All.” Cyrus knocked himself out of the top Billboard position with the his second No. 1 album, It Won’t Be The Last, featuring smash hits “In the Heart of a Woman,” “Words By Heart” and “Somebody New.” Cyrus followed up with dozens more that defined country music. “To me, my most defining moment in country was being joined by George Jones and Loretta Lynn on my self-penned ‘Country Music Has the Blues,’” said Cyrus. He also enjoyed a successful career as an actor in “Doc” and “Still The King,” as well as the Disney series “Hannah Montana” with his daughter Miley. Recently, Cyrus has shattered records with Lil Nas X with the global smash, “Old Town Road,” which has remained No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 18 consecutive weeks. Returning to his Kentucky roots, BBR Music Group/BMG released Cyrus’s new single on July 19 with emerging artist Johnny McGuire titled, “Chevys and Fords,” which Rolling Stone Country proclaimed is “a gently rocking country tune brimming with Springsteen-inspired, vehicle-based nostalgia…finds the two vocalists singing about how they come from a long line of Chevys and Fords.’”
About Dallas Smith:
A multiple JUNO and CCMA Award-winning entertainer, Dallas Smith is one of the most celebrated artists in Canadian Country music. In 2018, the Platinum-selling Country star added to one of the most notable careers in Canadian music with two CCMA Awards for “Male Artist of the Year” and “Video of the Year”. He has amassed international appeal since making his Country music debut with Jumped Right In, a project that netted a CRIA Gold-certified single, 5 CCMA Award nominations and a JUNO Award nomination for Country Album of the Year. He followed with the infectious CRIA Platinum-certified single “Tippin’ Point” and continued to dominate the Canadian Country charts with songs like “Lifted”, multi-week #1 hits “Wastin’ Gas”, “Autograph”, “Side Effects”, “Sky Stays This Blue”, “Sleepin’ Around” and “Make ‘Em Like You”. Adding to the list of accolades, Smith has two CRIA Platinum-certified singles, 12 CRIA Gold-certified singles and 3 CRIA Gold-certified albums. Smith continues to dominate uncharted territory and is the FIRST AND ONLY CANADIAN COUNTRY ARTIST in the Nielsen BDS era, to have four consecutive #1 singles from the same album, topping the three from Shania Twain’s “Come On Over”. Smith also surpasses Shania Twain for the most #1 songs by a Canadian Country artist in the Nielsen BDS era with seven. On March 15th, Smith released “The Fall” EP, which includes his latest single “Drop” and will join Dean Brody for the co-headlining Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone national tour this fall.
About the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA)
Established in 1976, the CCMA is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization committed to the promotion and recognition of Canadian country music. Built upon the foundation to educate, elevate and celebrate Canadian talent, the CCMA progressively heralds the spirit, community and creativity that country music fosters through year-round initiatives, culminating every fall with Country Music Week and the Canadian Country Music Association Awards. Sponsors of Country Music Week and the 2019 CCMA Awards Show include FACTOR, Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s “Canada Music Fund”, Radio Starmaker, the Government of Alberta, The City of Calgary and Tourism Calgary.
About TD Music:
Since 2013, TD is proud to sponsor over 80 music festivals and 100 community music programs from coast to coast. From national stages that bring thousands of music fans together, to classrooms and resources that give the next generation a platform for education, expression, collaboration and inclusion, we strive to create opportunities for people to come together to experience the power of music.
With an interest in creating opportunities for people to come together and emerging artists to thrive, TD invests in music to help build more connected communities and open doors for an inclusive tomorrow.
About Corus Entertainment:
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that develops and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company’s portfolio of multimedia offerings encompass 37 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a suite of digital assets, animation software, technology and media services. Corus is also an established creator of globally distributed content through Nelvana animation studio, Corus Studios, and children’s book publishing house Kids Can Press. The company also owns innovative full-service social digital agency so.da, and lifestyle entertainment company Kin Canada. Corus’ roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada, Global News, Globalnews.ca, Q107, Country 105, and CFOX. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com.
Media Contacts:
For Dallas Smith:
Charlotte Thompson | [email protected] | 416.464.8220
For Billy Ray Cyrus:
Scott Adkins | [email protected] | 615.301.1722
For the Canadian Country Music Association:
Tiffany Astle | [email protected] | 416.554.7329
Richelle Umali | [email protected] | 647.383.8857
For TD Bank Group:
Geraldine Anderson | [email protected] | 403.294.3328
For Global TV:
Michelle McTeague | [email protected] | 416.966.7724
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