Canada’s hottest new female country artist, Victoria Banks, is one of the top nominees for this year’s Canadian Country Music Awards with a total of seven nominations.

After generating a huge buzz and earning praise from some of the industry’s toughest critics at last year’s Country Music Week in Winnipeg, Victoria’s remarkable 2009 nominations include: Rising Star, Record Producer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and the coveted Female Artist of the Year. Her acclaimed self-produced debut album “When You Can Fly” is a contender for Album of the Year, and her Top 20 single “The Wheel” earned a nomination in the Single of the Year category.

“It’s a huge honor to be nominated by my peers,” expressed Banks. “I’ve put a lot of hard work and love into this record and I appreciate the recognition from the CCMA. It means a lot to me.”

In addition to her musical recognition, Victoria’s website www.victoriabanks.net is nominated in the Website of the Year category.

This year’s awards ceremony will be hosted by Canada’s own Jason Priestly on September 13th and will be broadcast live from Vancouver’s GM Place on CBC.