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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Country’s young’uns share spotlight

Chris Talbott Associated Press

Call them country music’s young guns, a new generation of stars who are bound not only by chart-topping talent but by friendship.

Chances are you’ve heard one of their songs on the radio recently, and they’ll be hard to miss during tonight’s Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas after dominating the nominations.

The group swirls around a nucleus of Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, who were just acquaintances until they joined Kenny Chesney’s tour last year.

After spending time on a bus full of boys, Scott moved onto Lambert’s bus for a time and the two immediately found out they were “kindred spirits,” Lambert said.

“We wrote songs together and hung out and had dance parties, and it was just really great.”

Their circle also includes Scott’s bandmates, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, and Lambert’s boyfriend, Blake Shelton.

Scott has been friends with Taylor Swift since country’s golden girl was 14. Lambert and Carrie Underwood are buds, too.

Add in Luke Bryan, David Nail and Ashley Monroe and you’ve got a regular posse.

“Everybody’s just kind of working for each other and pulling for each other,” Shelton said. “That helps a lot.

“This business is so competitive. When somebody is doing real good and has your back that’s one thing, but when everybody’s doing real good, kind of shoving each other along, it makes it that much stronger a force.”

And a force it is.

Lady Antebellum, riding the crossover success of its latest, “Need You Now,” leads all nominees with seven.

Lambert and Underwood are up for six awards each, and Underwood could become the first woman to win entertainer of the year twice. Swift, the sensation whose multitude of trophies includes entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards, has five nominations.

Bryan’s already won the fan-voted top new solo vocalist of the year, with the help of a hilarious video spot that included some of his buds, and is now up for top new artist.

And Nail received his first nomination this year for “Red Light” in the single record of the year category.