Country music videos nominated

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Videos by newcomers Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson were among the leading nominees for the 2005 CMT Music Awards announced Wednesday.

The video for Big & Rich's song "Holy Water" received nominations in the categories for Group/Duo and Most Inspiring Video, while the video for "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" was picked to contend as a breakthrough video.

Wilson's "When I Think About Cheatin"' was nominated for Female Video, and her hit "Redneck Woman" got nods for breakthrough video and for video director.

Videos with Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith received four nominations. Their nominations include one for collaborative video for their work on Jimmy Buffett's remake of "Hey Good Lookin."'

Three Tim McGraw videos were nominated, including one for his collaboration with rapper Nelly on "Over and Over."

CMT announced the four final nominees in each category Wednesday except one, Video of the Year. The four in that category will be announced during the live broadcast at 7 p.m. April 11, with final voting held online during the show.

McGraw, Chesney and Keith are perennial winners at the fan-voted show, which was formerly known as the Flameworthy Video Music Awards.

But Big & Rich and Wilson are new artists, breaking through in the past year with multi-platinum selling albums. Big & Rich meld country with rock and rap beats, while Wilson matches a rowdy image with hard-driving sound.

"They changed everything, a seismic change," said CMT General Manager Brian Philips. "I think those are examples of video clips that just exploded onto the screen and everyone knew from five seconds in that they were watching something special."

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy will host the show, and performers will include Chesney, Alan Jackson, Keith, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Wilson and Big & Rich.

Country music icon Loretta Lynn will receive the CMT Johnny Cash Visionary Award during the show, a few days before her 70th birthday.

The award recognizes an artist's musical vision, innovative music videos and pioneering initiatives. It was originally known as the Video Visionary Award but was renamed last year in honor of Cash, who died in 2003.

Much like the namesake of the Cash award, Lynn has reached a critical peak late in her career.

She turns 70 on April 14, but she won two Grammy awards last month for her album, "Van Lear Rose," a collaboration with White Stripes frontman Jack White. The album, named on many critics' Top 10 lists in 2004, featured 13 songs written by Lynn.

Lynn and White appeared in recent music videos for the songs "Portland, Oregon" and "Miss Being Mrs."

"She's had a career worthy of every award we could give her," Philips said. "The fact that she was able to make great new music within the last year that again popped right off the screen on CMT is all the better."

Lynn has released 70 albums and had 24 No. 1 singles, including "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)," "Don't Come Home A'Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)," and her signature song, "Coal Miner's Daughter."

The Dixie Chicks won the first CMT Visionary Award in 2002. Cash won the award in 2003, and McEntire was honored last year.