AWARDS NEWS: Fran Romeo, TheTrap and Boulder Station Casino Win CMA Awards

(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Academy of Country Music has awarded its off-camera categories from the 39th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards prior to the May 26 broadcast from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The winners are:

NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR The Trap, Nashville, TN

CASINO OF THE YEAR: Boulder Station Casino, Las Vegas, NV

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: Fran Romeo, TBA Entertainment

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR: WSIX, Nashville, TN

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR: Blair Garner, Syndicated

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: Tony Brown

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: Billy Sherrill

GUITAR: Brent Rowan

BASS
Michael Rhodes

DRUMS: Eddie Bayers

STEEL GUITAR: Paul Franklin

PIANO/KEYBOARD: John Hobbs

FIDDLE: Aubrey Haynie

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT: Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson

–Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

Beyonce, Alicia Keys Among BET Nominees

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyonce, Denzel Washington and Venus Williams are among the nominees for the 2004 BET Awards, which honor musicians, actors and athletes.

The awards, announced Wednesday, are set to air on the black cable network June 29 from the Kodak Theatre. Multiple nominees included Beyonce, OutKast, Usher, Alicia Keys and last year's "American Idol" winner, Ruben Studdard.

Special honors will be doled out to the Isley Brothers, who will receive a lifetime achievement award, and Danny Glover, who will be honored for his humanitarian work. Actress Mo'Nique is the ceremony's host.

The categories and nominees are:

Video of the year: Beyonce with Jay-Z, "Crazy In Love"; Alicia Keys, "You Don't Know My Name"; OutKast, "Hey Ya!"; OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move"; Usher with Ludacris & Lil Jon, "Yeah."

Group: Floetry; G-Unit; Jagged Edge; Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz; OutKast.

Male R&B artist: Anthony Hamilton; R. Kelly; Ruben Studdard; Usher; Luther Vandross.

Female R&B artist: Beyonce; Mary J. Blige; Janet Jackson; Alicia Keys; Monica.

Male hip-hop artist: 50 Cent; Chingy; Jay-Z; Ludacris; Kanye West.

Female hip-hop artist: Da Brat; Rah Digga; Missy Elliott; Jackie-O; M.C. Lyte.

Collaboration: Beyonce with Jay-Z; OutKast with Sleepy Brown; Pharrell with Jay-Z; Twista with Kanye West & Jamie Foxx; Usher with Ludacris & Lil Jon.

New artist: Chingy; Anthony Hamilton; Ruben Studdard; Pharrell Williams; Kanye West.

Gospel artist: Yolanda Adams; Byron Cage; Donnie McClurkin; Smokie Norful; Vickie Winans.

Actor: Laurence Fishburne; Samuel L. Jackson; Bernie Mac; Mos Def; Denzel Washington,

Actress: Halle Berry; Vivica A. Fox; Beyonce; Sanaa Lathan; Gabrielle Union.

Male athlete of the year: Carmelo Anthony; Barry Bonds; LeBron James; Shaquille O'Neal; Tiger Woods.

Female athlete of the year: Laila Ali; Cheryl Ford; Lisa Leslie; Serena Williams; Venus Williams.

Viewer's choice: Beyonce, "Crazy In Love"; OutKast, "Hey Ya!"; Outkast featuring Sleepy Brown, "The Way You Move"; Kanye West, "All Falls Down"; Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz with Ying Yang Twins, "Get Low"; Usher, Ludacris and Lil Jon, "Yeah."

www.bet.com

'Wicked' Leads Tony Award Nominations

NEW YORK (AP) — "Wicked," a quirky and fantasy-filled musical about those folks who live along the Yellow Brick Road, picked up 10 Tony Award nominations Monday.

"Assassins," the controversial Stephen Sondheim musical, followed with seven and four shows tied with six nominations apiece: "Caroline, or Change," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Avenue Q" and the Lincoln Center revival of "Henry IV."

Mega-hunk Hugh Jackman, who will host the Tony ceremony on June 6, was among the nominees for outstanding actor in a musical for his portrayal of flamboyant entertainer Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz." Kevin Kline and Christopher Plummer picked up nominations for best actor in a play.

"Anna in the Tropics," last year's Pulitzer winner; "Frozen," the chilling tale of a young girl's disappearance; "I Am My Own Wife," winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for drama; and "The Retreat From Moscow," got nods for best play.

Besides "Wicked," "Avenue Q" and "Caroline, or Change," the other best musical nominee was "The Boy From Oz."

Jackman will compete with Hunter Foster, "Little Shop of Horrors"; Alfred Molina, "Fiddler on the Roof," Euan Morton, "Taboo" and John Tartaglia, a puppeteer in "Avenue Q."

Competing for best actress in a musical were Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel for "Wicked," Donna Murphy for "Wonderful Town," Tonya Pinkins for "Caroline, or Change" and Stephanie D'Abruzzo, who sings the part of a puppet in "Avenue Q."

Kline and Plummer were nominated for their roles in two Shakespeare productions, "Henry IV" and "King Lear," respectively. They face Simon Russell Beale, "Jumpers"; Frank Langella, "Match"; and Jefferson Mays, "I Am My Own Wife."

Nominated for best performance by an actresses in a play were: Eileen Atkins, "The Retreat From Moscow"; Tovah Feldshuh, "Golda's Balcony"; Anne Heche, "Twentieth Century"; Swoosie Kurtz, "Frozen" and Phylicia Rashad, "A Raisin in the Sun."

"Wicked," which tells the story of the witches in "The Wizard of Oz" before Dorothy arrived, was one of the season's most expensive musicals, costing $14 million. Despite some mixed reviews, it has been a consistent sellout, grossing more than $1 million each week.

Besides best musical and leading actresses in a musical, it garnered nominations for book, score, choreography, orchestrations, sets, costumes and lighting.

Joe Mantello, snubbed for his direction of "Wicked," still received a best director nomination — for his other Broadway musical, "Assassins." The Sondheim-John Weidman musical, which deals with presidential assassins from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, was nominated for best musical revival along with "Wonderful Town," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Big River."

"Assassins," panned by many critics during its original off-Broadway run in 1991, was much more favorably reviewed in its latest incarnation by the Roundabout Theatre Company. The show also picked up nominations for two of its featured actors (Michael Cerveris and Denis O-Hare), sets, lighting and orchestrations.

Sean Combs may have been passed over for an acting nomination for his work in the revival of "A Raisin in the Sun," but the landmark Lorraine Hansberry drama was nominated for its three actresses (Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Audra McDonald) and revival of a play, along with two Shakespeare epics — Henry IV" and "King Lear" — and Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers."