Brooks Gets 5 Nominations for Country Music Awards

Newcomer Garth Brooks leads the finalists for 1990 Country Music Assn. awards with five nominations, the association announced today.

Brooks is nominated for male vocalist of the year, single and song of the year for “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” music video of the year for “The Dance” and the Horizon Award for career development.

The 27-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist has been recording only for a year. He has lived in Nashville for just three years and before that he was an Oklahoma State University student.

For the top award, entertainer of the year, the finalists are Clint Black, Kathy Mattea, Ricky Van Shelton, 1989 winner George Strait and Randy Travis.

Travis, who has dominated country music awards the last five years, failed to win a nomination as top male vocalist. Those went to Black, Rodney Crowell, Shelton and Strait as well as Brooks.

Finalists for top female vocalist are Patty Loveless, Mattea, Reba McEntire, Lorrie Morgan and Tanya Tucker.

Winners will be announced during a nationally televised show Oct. 8. Finalists and winners are chosen by the 6,000 singers, musicians, songwriters and others who belong to the Country Music Assn.

Other finalists for single of the year are “Here in the Real World” by Alan Jackson, “Killin’ Time” by Black, “When I Call Your Name” by Vince Gill and “Where’ve You Been” by Mattea.

Finalists for No. 1 album are “Here in the Real World” by Jackson, “I Wonder Do You Think of Me” by the late Keith Whitley, “Livin’ It Up” by Strait, “Pickin’ on Nashville” by the Kentucky HeadHunters and “RVS III” by Shelton.

Song of the year finalists, besides Brooks, are “Here in the Real World” by Jackson and Mark Irwin, “Killin’ Time” by Black and Hayden Nicholas, “When I Call Your Name” by Gill and Tim DuBois and “Where’ve You Been” by Jon Vezner and Don Henry. This category is for songwriters.

For vocal duo of the year, finalists are Baillie & the Boys, the Bellamy Brothers, Foster & Lloyd, the Judds and Sweethearts of the Rodeo.