More Star Power Added to "The 40th Annual CMA Awards"  10/18/06

MORE STAR POWER ADDED TO "THE 40TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS"

Superstars Faith Hill, Sheryl Crow and Vince Gill with Brooks & Dunn and John Rich with Gretchen Wilson Announced to Perform

Legend Kris Kristofferson to Introduce Newest Members of Country Music Hall of Fame

The all-star lineup of Country Music's biggest artists continues to shine brighter with the announcement today that superstar Faith Hill will perform on "The 40th Annual CMA Awards," to be telecast MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. Actor, legendary songwriter and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Kris Kristofferson will introduce the 2006 Hall of Fame inductees. Sheryl Crow and Vince Gill have been added to the Brooks & Dunn performance, and John Rich of Big & Rich will perform with Gretchen Wilson.

The artists join a lineup of nominees and performers that already includes Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.

Hill won Female Vocalist of the Year in 2000, and is nominated in the category again in 2006. She is also nominated in the Musical Event of the Year category with husband Tim McGraw for "Like We Never Loved At All." She and McGraw have a string of nominations in the Musical Collaboration category, including "Let's Make Love" (2000), "Just to Hear You Say that You Love Me" (1998) and "It's Your Love," which won the CMA Award in 1997.

Hill and McGraw recently smashed the record for the highest-grossing tour in Country Music history, selling $89 million worth of tickets on their 73-show, 55-city "Soul2Soul II Tour." The tour was one of the top-grossing in the country for 2006, with more than a million tickets sold.

Kristofferson, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004, will introduce the segment spotlighting the 2006 Country Music Hall of Fame inductions. The 2006 inductees include influential musician/producer Harold Bradley, legendary singer Sonny James and multi-award-winning entertainer George Strait, who also will perform on the broadcast.

Bradley will be inducted in the "Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980" category, which is awarded every third year in a rotation with the "Career Achieved National Prominence Prior to World War II" and "Non-Performer" categories. James will be inducted in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Between World War II and 1975" category. Strait will be the second artist inducted in the "Career Achieved National Prominence Between 1975 and the Present" category.

Crow and Gill will perform "Building Bridges" with three-time CMA Awards hosts Brooks & Dunn. Tied for top nominee spot with Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn received six CMA Award, nominations, including Musical Event of the Year for "Building Bridges" with Crow and Gill. This is

Crow's second CMA Award nomination. Her first was in 2003 for CMA Vocal Event of the Year with Kid Rock for "Picture." Gill, who hosted the CMA Awards for 12 years, holds the record for most consecutive Male Vocalist of the Year wins, with five (1991-1995).

Rich will be performing with Wilson on "Come to Bed," a song he co-wrote. Rich and duo partner Big Kenny Alphin received three CMA Award nominations in 2006. They received individual nominations as the songwriters on "8th of November," a powerful anthem about a physically and emotionally scarred Vietnam Veteran; and as a duo for Vocal Duo of the Year, and Music Video of the Year for "8th of November," which was directed by Robert Deaton, George Flanigen IV and Marc Oswald.

Additional artists will be added to the lineup and announced at a later date. "The 40th Annual CMA Awards" airs live from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. It is a production of the Country Music Association. Walter C. Miller is the executive producer and Robert Deaton is the consulting producer.

"The 40th Annual CMA Awards" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.

Source: ABC Press Release