Surf.Atlantic.Net!

Tonight, the Country Music Association will honor the best in today's country music. With some of the biggest stars performing and presenting, including Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, and Brooks & Dunn, this will certainly be a night to remember. If you can't wait for the awards show, check out my predictions.

• Entertainer of the Year
Most certainly the most coveted prize at the show, this award honors the performer who has consistently entertained fans and listeners year-round. This award is also one of the most difficult to pick, for all these performers are extremely talented musicians. This year, like many others, all the nominees are men: Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, and Alan Jackson. My personal favorite is Kenny Chesney, and it's quite possible that he might win this year, but it will definitely be difficult to beat out veterans Brooks & Dunn or Alan Jackson.

• Male Vocalist of the Year
Personally, I think this award is a type of beauty contest for the hot men of country music. Sure, they all have musical talent as well, but as a woman, I can attest to the fact that it certainly doesn't hurt if the singer is pleasing to the eyes. The nominees in this category, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and George Strait, all deserve this high honor, but once again, I am going to have to stick with my favorite, Kenny Chesney. This past year, Kenny has been on tour, but still managed to release a Christmas CD and begin work on his ninth studio CD.

• Female Vocalist of the Year
I tend to wonder why none of the nominees from this category are not also considered for the Entertainer of the Year award. Just because they are women doesn't mean they can't entertain just as well, if not better than the men! Between Terri Clark, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Martina McBride, and Dolly Parton, I believe Martina will most likely take home this award. If you haven't listened to this woman sing, you definitely should. You'll be amazed at the powerful voice that comes from such a tiny woman. Although she is up against some tough competition, I do believe she will be honored once again with this award.

• Horizon Award of the Year
This award honors the best new country music artist. Most of the time, the nominees have been around longer than just the past year, but have only recently received recognition in the world of country music. This award becomes a precursor for many of the other awards. The nominees this year include Gary Allan, Buddy Jewell (who gained fame by winning USA's Nashville Star), Joe Nichols, Blake Shelton, and Darryl Worley. All of these men have a fair shot of taking home the award, but I think it would be interesting to see Buddy Jewell win because of how he obtained a record deal in the first place.

• Album of the Year
This is also a very important award, for it honors an album that the musician worked very hard on, possibly for over a year. With such an abundance of albums released in a year, it must be extremely difficult to narrow it down to only five nominees. This year, the nominees are: American IV: The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash, Home by the Dixie Chicks, Man with a Memory by Joe Nichols, Tim McGraw And The Dancehall Doctors, and Unleashed by Toby Keith. Usually one wouldn't be surprised by any of the nominees, but this year I was surprised to see the Dixie Chicks and Joe Nichols nominated. The former because of the whole mess the Chicks caused over the war in Iraq, and the latter because he is such a new musician. So, because of this, I think either Toby Keith or Johnny Cash will win the award this year.

Written by Laurie Mascia

Do you plan on watching the CMAs? If so, who do you want to win? E-mail us!