Lady Antebellum leads country music awards

Lady Antebellum won a Grammy for their single I Run To You

Lady Antebellum and newcomer Easton Corbin are leading the nominations for the first American Country Awards.

American Idol winner Carrie Underwood is close behind with six nominations, while another former Idol contender, Danny Gokey, is up for best newcomer.

Winners will be voted for online by country music fans ahead of the live show from Las Vegas on 6 December.

The new awards show will be broadcast by US channel Fox TV. Award categories include best album and best tour.

Lady Antebellum's nominations include artist of the year, album of the year for Need You Now and single of the year for the track of the same name.

Corbin's nods include breakthrough artist and music video of the year, among others.

Taylor Swift is up for best tour and artist of the year.

Other nominees in the 16 categories include Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner and Rascal Flatts.

There are three other major awards organisations that celebrate country music - the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Television Awards.