Keith Urban and Blake Shelton Lead After MidNite "Third Shift Award" Nominations

LOS ANGELES, August 15, 2012 -- After MidNite and Blair Garner are proud to announce Keith Urban and Blake Shelton are leading the first-annual Third Shift Award nominations. As the country stars near the finish line, Urban is ahead of the pack with four nominations in the Fanatical Fan, Fantasy Duet, Pedal to the Medal and Pin Up-Male categories. He's followed closely by Shelton, who is up for Artist of the Year, Pop-A-Top and Top Twit awards. Other artists making the final round include Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Chris Young, each with two nominations. Rodney Atkins, Scotty McCreery, Kip Moore, Jake Owen, Kellie Pickler, Reba and Shania Twain have received one nomination each. The final round of voting will take place August 15 - 22 and the winners will be announced on After MidNite the morning of August 29. See the attached list of finalists for more details.

"It's been amazing to watch our listeners as they cast their votes. The artists have clearly called their troops into action and it's become a hotly-contested battle with some surprising results. Most of all, our listeners are just happy to have their voices heard. A lot of times, folks who work overnights don't have that opportunity, but our Third Shift Awards give them the chance to be heard loud and clear!"

Several of the nominees including Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Scotty McCreery and Kip Moore have already called in to the show to talk about the nominations and have credited their fans with pushing them to the next round.

The first-annual Third Shift Awards were created to give late-night country music fans the opportunity to recognize their favorite artists. Winners in 10 unique categories -- Fanatical Fans (the artist with the most fanatical fans); 3rd Shift Pin Up -- Female; 3rd Shift Pin Up -- Male; Pop-A-Top Award (the artist you'd most like to share a beer with); 3rd Shifter Artist of the Year; 3rd Shifter Song of the Year; Pedal to the Medal Award (the song most likely to get you a speeding ticket); Underdog Artist (the artist deserving of more respect); Top Twit (the artist who gives good Twitter); and Fantasy Duet (living artists who have never recorded together) -- will be chosen via a bracket-style voting contest on www.AfterMidNite.com.

About After MidNite with Blair Garner
On November 13, 1993, After MidNite aired for the first time on 12 stations. Word spread and within four months, more than 100 affiliates were on board. Today, the highly-acclaimed Country radio show is nationally syndicated by Premiere Networks and can be heard on approximately 230 affiliates. After MidNite with Blair Garner is heard by 2.7 million weekly listeners. In 2011, Garner received the 2011 ACM "National On-Air Personality of the Year" award. For more information, please visit www.AfterMidNite.com.

Third Shift Awards Finalists
August 15, 2012