(MENAFN- Arab Times) NASHVILLE Tennessee Dec 3 (Agencies): CMT honored a diverse group of country musicians reflecting the wide range of styles the genre has embraced from country rocker Jason Aldean guitar slinger Keith Urban and fiery singer Miranda Lambert and then capped it all with a special tribute to country legend Merle Haggard.
The 'CMT Artists of the Year' show which aired live from Nashville Tennessee on Tuesday evening bounced between country's present future and past with nods to influences from rock n' roll hip hop rhythm and blues and the Bakersfield Sound. Aldean who is one of country's biggest touring artists teamed up with Chris Cornell of the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave to open the show with a blast of arena rock guitars. 'When we heard he was going to be here I started trying to figure out a way to get him on stage with us' Aldean said of Cornell. Lambert who made history this year as the most decorated female country artist at the CMA Awards last month followed with a soulful performance of 'Holding On To You' from her album 'Platinum.' Urban meanwhile took to the stage with an all-female backing band to perform James Brown's 'It's a Man's Man's Man's World' while rapper Wiz Khalifa lauded his party brothers Florida Georgia Line as 'two guys that are hitting it hard.' 'We look up to him a lot' said Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard about the rapper. 'He's got a lot of great music and we've hung out with him a couple of times.' Haggard who watched it all from the audience was given the first Artist of a Lifetime award for his own innovations in modern country music when he helped create the twangy electrified California country sound half a century ago. Eric Church along with country singer Ashley Monroe and musician T Bone Burnett performed Haggard's 'Workin' Man Blues' and actor Billy Bob Thornton compared Haggard to writers like John Steinbeck and Tennessee Williams. 'He's truly a storyteller' Thornton said. 'And that's something that has been lost.' The songwriter who penned tunes about drifters convicts and blue collar workers including 'Okie From Muskogee' and 'Mama Tried' was succinct upon accepting the award. 'Anything I'd say would fall short of the mark so thank you very much and God bless you' Haggard said. Reigning CMA entertainer of the year Luke Bryan was also scheduled to receive one of the night's honors but a death in his family forced him to cancel his appearance. The country group Lady Antebellum and songwriter Chris Stapleton dedicated a performance of Bryan's acoustic ballad 'Drink a Beer' to Bryan in his absence. 'Tonight if you're watching back home Luke this one's for you and your family' said Lady A singer Charles Kelley. Also: LOS ANGELES: Gravitas Ventures has acquired the North American theatrical VOD and DVD rights to the documentary 'Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of.' The film was directed by Stephen Kijak ('Stones in Exile') and stars original group members Nick Carter Howie Dorough Brian Littrell AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson. All the band members are producers along with Mia Bays. Gravitas has scheduled a theatrical and VOD release for Super Bowl weekend on Jan 30. The group rose to fame in 1996 with its first album 'Backstreet Boys' and hit its peak with the album 'Millennium' in 1999 and 'Black and Blue' in 2000. The group has sold 130 million records worldwide making it the bestselling boy band in history. It has continued performing and released its eighth studio album last year. 'From 1992 to 2002 we were the biggest band in the world' Littrell said. 'No one thought it was going to be as big as it was. Then it just stopped. And what do you do when you're a full grown man in a boy band' Production companies are Pulse Films K-Bahn and Missing in Action Films. The international theatrical release of the film will be handled by London-based distributor More2Screen with a worldwide release starting Feb 26. SEATTLE: A former drummer in US alternative rock band Cake has been sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison for molesting a three-year-old girl in 2009 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Peter Ivan McNeal was found guilty in March 2013 of one count of sexually molesting a child 10 years old or younger the Attorney's Office said on Tuesday. McNeal molested the girl on Thanksgiving in 2009 at a home where he was a guest in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles the statement said. He was sentenced on Tuesday by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who ordered the 48-year-old to register as a sex offender the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Cake formed in California in 1991 has hits including 'The Distance'. McNeal joined the band in 2001 and remained for several years.
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