March 17, 2009 — When Lady Antebellum walked off with the Academy of Country Music’s trophy for Top New Vocal Duo/Group a year ago, it was a phenomenal moment. They had just one hit single at the time, and their first album hadn’t even been released when they got nominated.

The ACM honor was a sign that the industry as a whole was behind the trio, and it’s not been forgotten.

"I have watched that back so many times on my DVR to make sure it really happened," group member Dave Haywood told the ACM’s Tempo magazine. "It was far beyond our wildest dreams, honestly. If nothing else happened after that, we could have walked away just completely happy, but things kept coming in, and it was like, ‘What in the world is going on?’"

Quite a bit, obviously. The album has since gone gold, Lady A has picked up two more hits, and the band was also tapped as an opening act for Kenny Chesney’s upcoming summer tour. In the meantime, the group is also nominated for Top Vocal Group in this year’s ACMs, slated for April 5.

The Academy has established an extra tier in its "new" awards this year, with the Top New Artist of the Year trophy going to either Julianne Hough (Top New Female), Jake Owen (Top New Male) or the Zac Brown Band (Top New Duo/Group). Sara Evans hosts a GAC special, ACM Top New Artists, with performances by all three artists. It debuts Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.

Source: gactv.com