Gina Serpe Tue Mar 4, 3:01 AM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Forget just who Kenny Chesney is—just what he is is a music award magnet.

The country superstar continued his stronghold at the top of the twang-happy heap Tuesday, raking in a leading 12 nominations, more than double his nearest competitor, for the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

In addition to nabbing yet another nod for the ceremony's top prize, that of the gender-neutral Entertainer of the Year, an award he's taken home each of the past three years, Chesney also scored a nomination for Top Male Vocalist as well as a laundry list of would-be honors for his latest album, Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, and single, "Don't Blink."

While the former earned the 10-gallon hat-wearin' crooner an Album of the Year award, with nominations for Chesney as both singer and producer, "Don't Blink" racked up nominations for Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year.

Not quite hot but at least warm on Chesney's nomination-garnering heels is Rodney Atkins, who scored a second best six ACM nominations and also performed during the nomination announcement, which were announced Tuesday morning by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood on CBS' Early Show via satellite from Nashville.

Atkins, who is the reigning Top New Male Vocalist having taken home the award last year, will vie against Chesney for Top Male Vocalist this time around. His "Watching You" is also up for Song and Video of the Year, while If You're Going Through Hell scored a nod for Album of the Year.

Three acts were next in the race to the podium, with Brad Paisley, Big & Rich and Sugarland each receiving four nominations.

Paisley, the reigning Top Male Vocalist, will defend his honor in the category again this year as well as trying his luck as Entertainer of the Year. His 5th Gear and "Online," are also up for Album and Video of the Year, respectively.

Big & Rich and Sugarland, meanwhile, go head-to-head in all nominated categories, with both acts up for Top Vocal Duo, Single Record, Song and Video of the Year. For the latter three categories, Big & Rich hopes are courtesy of their hit "Lost in This Moment," while Sugarland earned their nods with the single "Stay."

Rounding out the nominations were Miranda Lambert and newcomer Taylor Swift, each of whom scored three nods.

Lambert, the reigning Top New Female Vocalist who, along with Atkins, performed during the nomination announcement, who this year is up for Top Female Vocalist, Album of the Year for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Single Record of the Year for "Famous in a Small Town."

For her part, Swift will attempt to succeed Lambert in the Top New Female Vocalist category, and is also up against her as Top Female Vocalist. Her final nod, for Album of the Year, came courtesy her self-titled debut.

Meanwhile, while she didn't fare as well as in years past, nomination announcer Underwood didn't go home empty-handed. The onetime American Idol champ received one nomination this year, for Top Female Vocalist. Her title-sharing cohort, Kelly Clarkson, is also up for one award at the country-fried ceremony, that of Vocal Event of the Year for her "Because of You" duet with Reba McEntire.

McEntire herself will be hosting the show, making it her 10th time doing so.

Rounding out the would-be Idol honorees was Kellie Pickler, who is up for Top New Female Vocalist.

For the first time ever this year, the show's most coveted prize, that of Entertainer of the Year, will not be chosen by the Academy, but rather by the public. Fan voting will open on May 5, though details as to how to participate in the process have not yet been released.

Billed as country music's party of the year, the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will take place in Las Vegas May 18 and air live on CBS.

Here's the complete list of nominees:

 ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

  • Kenny Chesney   • Brad Paisley   • Rascal Flatts   • George Strait   • Keith Urban

TOP MALE VOCALIST

  • Rodney Atkins   • Kenny Chesney   • Brad Paisley   • George Strait   • Keith Urban

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST

  • Miranda Lambert   • Martina McBride   • LeAnn Rimes   • Taylor Swift   • Carrie Underwood

TOP VOCAL GROUP

  • Diamond Rio   • Eagles   • Emerson Drive   • Little Big Town   • Rascal Flatts

TOP VOCAL DUO

  • Big & Rich   • Brooks & Dunn   • Halfway To Hazard   • Montgomery Gentry   • Sugarland

TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST

  • Luke Bryan   • Jack Ingram   • Jake Owen

TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST

  • Sarah Buxton   • Kellie Pickler   • Taylor Swift

TOP NEW DUO OR VOCAL GROUP

  • Carolina Rain   • Lady Antebellum   • The Wreckers

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

  • Brad Paisley, 5th Gear   • Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend   • Kenny Chesney, Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates   • Rodney Atkins, If You're Going Through Hell   • Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR

  • Kenny Chesney, "Don't Blink"   • Miranda Lambert, "Famous In A Small Town"   • Big & Rich, "Lost In This Moment"   • Sugarland, "Stay"   • Gary Allan, "Watching Airplanes"

SONG OF THE YEAR

  • Kenny Chesney, "Don't Blink"   • Big & Rich, "Lost In This Moment"   • Emerson Drive, "Moments"   • Rodney Atkins, "Watching You"   • Sugarland, "Stay"

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

  • Kenny Chesney, "Don't Blink"   • Big & Rich, "Lost In This Moment"   • Brad Paisley, "Online"   • Sugarland, "Stay"   • Rodney Atkins, "Watching You"

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR

  • Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson, "Because of You"   • Tracy Lawrence with Tim McGraw & Kenny Chesney, "Find Out Who Your Friends Are"   • Kenny Chesney & George Strait, "Shiftwork"   • Bon Jovi & LeAnn Rimes, "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore"   • Vince Gill & Sheryl Crow, "What You Give Away"

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer 22 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - “American Idol” contestant David Hernandez once entertained audiences by removing his clothes instead of singing tunes, a manager at a male strip club in Phoenix told The Associated Press.

The 24-year-old finalist from Glendale, Ariz., once worked as a stripper at Dick’s Cabaret, appearing fully nude and performing lap dances for the club’s “mostly male” clientele, club manager Gordy Bryan said Monday.

“He had the look and the type that people like, so he made pretty good money here,” Bryan said.

It’s not clear whether a history as a stripper could disqualify Hernandez from the competition. In 2003, finalist Frenchie Davis was dismissed because of her appearance on an adult Web site; but last year, Antonella Barba remained in the competition after racy photos of her surfaced on the Internet.

Fox spokeswomen Jill Hudson did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Monday.

According to Bryan, Hernandez steadily worked at the club for three years until September 30, 2007.

“He never renewed his licensing with the state, so he hasn’t been on my roster since then,” Bryan said.

Bryan said he was aware that Hernandez was a vocalist, but that Hernandez never sang at the club. Bryan said he now believes Hernandez stopped working at the club because of his participation in “American Idol.” Hernandez has never been referred to as a stripper or former stripper during the Fox singing competition.

Rumors of a stripper past — along with photos of a scantily clad Hernandez working as a bartender at gay nightclub Burn — were first posted last week on VoteForTheWorst.com, a site that encourages “Idol” viewers to vote for “the bad and truly entertaining contestants.”

“It was like moths to a flame,” said VoteForTheWorst.com founder Dave Della Terza. “As soon as I posted that, we started getting 10, 20 letters every single day from people saying, ‘Yeah, he’s a stripper in Phoenix.’”

Terza and other members of VoteForTheWorst.com community scoured MySpace, Photobucket and other social networking and photo sharing sites to find information and images of Hernandez. Terza said he contacted the club to confirm the Internet chatter, but they never got back to him.

“They said they couldn’t give me a statement before talking to their lawyers,” said Terza.

Hernandez, who originally auditioned for “Idol” in San Diego on July 30, 2007, is in the Fox singing competition’s top 16 contestants. Last week, he earned rave reviews from the judges after his performance of The Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” He is scheduled to perform with the other male contestants on Tuesday’s show.

___

On the Net:

http://www.americanidol.com

Natalie Finn Mon Mar 3, 12:38 PM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - The music hasn't died, it's just under the weather.  

Four upcoming stops on Van Halen's reunion tour have been postponed due to an unidentified illness currently afflicting frontman Eddie Van Halen, concert promoter Live Nation announced Monday. 

According to Eddie's physician, "he is undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures," the company said in a statement. 

Shows scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in Dallas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Baltimore have been reset for Apr. 24, Apr. 22, Apr. 13 and Apr. 15, respectively. Tickets for the canceled dates will be honored at the rescheduled shows. 

Otherwise, the "Jump" rockers plan to resume their road trip Mar. 11 in Charlottesville, Virginia 

But what Van Halen really wants its fans to know is that, contrary to some reports, the band's routinely sold-out tour has not been canceled. Performances are still booked through Apr. 25, where Eddie Van Halen, his son Wolfgang, original frontman David Lee Roth and drummer Alex Van Halen are supposed to hit up Sacramento, California. 

Eddie Van Halen, who received a clean bill of health in 2002 after battling tongue cancer for several years, has also struggled alcoholism and substance abuse in the past. 

His most recent stint in rehab was last March, just as rumors of a possible reunion was lighting a fire under fans of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound band.

"I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best. At the moment I do not feel that I can give you my best," Van Halen wrote on the group's Website at the time.

"That's why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so that in the future I can deliver the 110 percent that I feel I owe you and want to give you."

29 minutes ago

ATLANTA - Kid Rock has pleaded not guilty to a charge of battery from a fight at a Waffle House in Atlanta.

Robert James Ritchie, better known as the musician Kid Rock, was not present for the plea. His attorney, Darryl Cohen, waived an arraignment hearing and entered the plea on Ritchie’s behalf in DeKalb County State Court, according to Cohen’s office.

Ritchie and five members of his entourage were arrested October 21st on a misdemeanor charge of simple battery. The charges stem from a fight at a a metro-Atlanta Waffle House, where they had stopped following his performance at The Tabernacle.

Officials say a fight broke out after another customer recognized a woman in Kid Rock’s party and exchanged words with her, prompting Ritchie to exchange words, too.

24 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen is undergoing tests for an undisclosed medical problem, causing his band Van Halen to reschedule four upcoming U.S. concerts, a spokesman for the tour promoter said on Monday.

Van Halen has fought cancer and alcohol in the past but a statement released by Live Nation made no mention of his current problem.

"According to Eddie Van Halen's physician, he is undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures," the statement said.

A company spokesman said there was no further information on the guitarist's condition beyond the statement.

Van Halen, 53, co-founded the group that bears his name with his brother, drummer Alex, and played guitar and keyboards. Van Halen had a string of hits including "Runnin' with the Devil" and "Panama" starting in the late 1970s.

In August the group unveiled plans for a 25-city North American tour that began in September 2007 and has continued since then.

Live Nation said Van Halen's condition caused the band to reschedule concerts in Dallas, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Raleigh, North Carolina. Those shows were scheduled to take place early this month and have been put off until April.

In the 1990s, Eddie Van Halen had hip replacement surgery and was treated for oral cancer. He also has battled alcohol abuse with a stint in rehab and recently was divorced from actress Valerie Bertinelli.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Bill Trott)

Sarah Hall Mon Mar 3, 5:29 AM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Kid Rock's not waffling on his plea when it comes to a battery charge.

The rap-rocker pleaded not guilty Monday to a misdemeanor count of simple battery stemming from a fight at an Atlanta-area Waffle House last October.

Rock, 37, did not appear in court and had his attorney, Darryl Cohen, enter the plea on his behalf.

The singer (real name: Robert Ritchie) and members of his entourage ran into trouble at the breakfast-purveying chain in the wee hours of Oct. 21, following a concert at the Tabernacle concert hall in Atlanta.

While at the restaurant, a woman who was with Rock's group allegedly got into a heated debate with another Waffle House patron whom she recognized.

The two apparently took their quarrel into the parking lot, where Rock and five members of his entourage became involved before piling onto the rocker's tour bus and departing.

Police stopped the bus shortly thereafter and took Rock and his cronies into custody on a single charge of simple battery. Rock was released later the same day after posting $1,000 bail.

During an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show later that same week, Rock maintained that he had been provoked into participating in the encounter, adding that he did not consider himself to be a violent person.

"The last thing I want is that reputation," he said. "I believe in just standing up for things I believe in, and being honest, and sometimes it gets me in a little bit of trouble."

By ERIN CARLSON, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Jessica Simpson was the blonde elephant in the room when two of her exes and her new guy — Dane Cook, John Mayer and Tony Romo — were honored together as Fun Fearless Males by Cosmopolitan magazine.

But Dallas Cowboys quarterback broke the ice when he joked about the situation while claiming his award at Monday’s luncheon.

When musing about what made him qualify as Cosmo’s Fun, Fearless Male, Romo said: “Dane Cook, John Mayer … if you date Jessica Simpson, I guess.”

The Simpson trend began last year when her ex-husband, Nick Lachey, was honored by the mag. But there were other honorees with non-Simpson connections: John Krasinski (NBC’s “The Office”), singer Chris Brown, rapper Common, Peter Krause (ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money”), Dave Annable (ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters”), Animal Planet’s Dave Salmoni and MySpace.com co-founder Tom Anderson.

Romo told The Associated Press that football makes him fearless — but so does being a celebrity athlete whose life off the field is tabloid fodder. Romo’s relationship with Simpson came under fire earlier this year when fans blamed the couple’s weekend trip to Mexico for the Cowboys’ defeat by the New York Giants (who ultimately won the Super Bowl).

Romo said he tries to ignore the intense media glare into his personal life.

“You live life. I’m just trying to be a good person, trying to do work hard and do things the right way,” said Romo, who has also been linked to Carrie Underwood and actress Sophia Bush.

When asked about his offseason plans, Romo said he’ll “probably just hang out with the guys, you know, get away a little bit and get back home.”

Will Simpson come too?

“Yeah,” he said, grinning.

___

On the Net:

Cosmopolitan:

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/

By STEVEN WINE, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago

Kathleen Edwards, “Asking For Flowers” (Zoe)

Kathleen Edwards sometimes struggles with intonation, takes breaths in awkward places and sings above her limited range.

Yet the Canadian’s voice is the ideal delivery system on “Asking For Flowers,” because she comes across as authentic. An example is the title cut — when Edwards sings “10 years I’ve been working nights,” she sounds like someone who has been working nights for 10 years.

Edwards merits comparison to another quavery alto, Lucinda Williams, because both have a fondness for electric guitars, a knack for narrative and an engaging ability to strike a pose tender or tough — or both. On one sweet ballad Edwards sings about her “hot pink chenille housecoat,” but the song title is unprintable.

That tune is one of 11 on “Asking For Flowers,” and unlike your average floral arrangement, there’s not a dud in the bunch. Highlights include the murder ballad “Alicia Ross,” the topical, slyly titled “Oh Canada” and the mostly instrumental “Goodnight, California,” reminiscent of fellow Canadian Neil Young. Also terrific is the clever “I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory,” where Edwards earns bonus points for her reference to Marty McSorley.

It’s easy to imagine Lucinda Williams singing these songs, but she would be hard-pressed to improve on them.

CHECK THIS OUT: “Alicia Ross,” sung from the perspective of the victim, is artfully done and worthy of the rich folk tradition for such songs. Edwards avoids melodrama and leaves details to the imagination of the listener.

35 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Playtime is over for The Game, who began serving a 60-day jail sentence for felony firearm possession.

The rapper turned himself in Sunday night at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The 28-year-old entertainer (real name: Jayceon Terrell Taylor) was convicted last month of possession of a firearm in a school zone. He was accused of pulling a gun on a player from an opposing team during a pickup game at a South Los Angeles school nearly a year ago.

Two other counts were dismissed under a plea agreement, the district attorney’s office said. Taylor was also sentenced to 150 hours of community service and three years’ probation.

37 minutes ago

NEW YORK - A building where a young disc jockey pioneered hip-hop in the 1970s has been saved from a plan that would have jacked up its rents to market rate.

During the 1970s, DJ Kool Herc began spinning records at parties in the basement recreation room of the Bronx building. The hip-hop movement then spread around the world.

Last year, tenants reached out to DJ Kool Herc after receiving word that the owner planned to leave an affordable housing program. The 100-unit apartment building has been deemed eligible to be listed on national and state registers of historic sites.

The affordable housing program, known as Mitchell-Lama, offers owners incentives such as low-rate mortgages and tax breaks in exchange for charging tenants low to moderate rents for a certain period of time.

Sen. Charles Schumer on Monday said the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to a developer because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through.

The New York Democrat has said: “This building, which housed hip-hop’s founding father … is a New York treasure that must be preserved as a bastion of affordable housing.”