KEITH URBAN AND MARTINA MCBRIDE ARE ANNOUNCED TO PERFORM ON �THE 40TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS�

�Country Music�s Biggest Night�� continues to grow with the announcement today that Martina McBride and Keith Urban will perform on �The 40th Annual CMA Awards� to be telecast MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. The artists join a star-packed lineup of nominees and performers that already includes Dierks Bentley, CMA Awards hosts Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Carrie Underwood and Gretchen Wilson.

McBride received a nomination in 2006 for Female Vocalist of the Year, an Award she has won four times in the past (first in 1999, and then consecutively in 2002, 2003 and 2004). She is currently tied with Reba McEntire for the most wins in this category. McBride�s latest album is �Timeless,� featuring her renditions of 18 classic Country songs. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA. She recently added her vocals to the late Dean Martin�s version of the holiday standard, �Baby, It�s Cold Outside,� for an expanded version of his classic �Christmas with Dino� album, released on September 12. McBride will kick off her 16-city �Joy of Christmas� tour, now in its fourth year, on November 24 in Chicago.

Urban received four nominations in 2006, including Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, both of which he won in 2005; Song of the Year for �Tonight I Wanna Cry,� which he co-wrote with Monty Powell; and Single of the Year for �Better Life,� which he co-produced with Dann Huff. Both songs are from Urban�s 2004 album �Be Here,� which has sold more than three million copies to date. His current single, �Once in a Lifetime,� the first from his forthcoming fourth studio album, �Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing,� made history by debuting at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Song Chart, the highest debuting single in the 62-year history of that chart. The album will be released November 7.

Additional artists will be added to the lineup and announced at a later date. �The 40th Annual CMA Awards� airs live from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. It is a production of the Country Music Association. Walter C. Miller is the executive producer and Robert Deaton is the consulting producer.

�The 40th Annual CMA Awards� is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC�s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning.