One of the biggest nights for the music industry took place on Sunday. The 57th annual Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles and there were countless big name artists present. Hosted by L.L Cool J, the show featured many live performance as well as a star studded audience. I, being a award show junkie, sat down and was ready for a great night. Unfortunately, what I noticed this year is the underrepresentation of country artists. There are four categories that are specifically tailored to the country genre. However, only one was announced live on the air. I found this quite disappointing seeing as I am a huge fan of country music and most of the artists I love weren’t even present.
The winners of the night were not necessarily my picks but the competition was pretty tough. Miranda Lambert was the only country artist to receive her award for Best Country Album on air. Carrie Underwood won in the category of Best Country Solo Performance for her song “Something in the Water” while The Band Perry took the Grammy for Best Group Performance. In the final category of Best Country Song, the Grammy went to Glen Campbell for “I’m Not Going to Miss You.” I really wish they would have presented these awards live and give these artists, as well as the nominees, the recognition they deserved. A list of all the winners can be found at http://www.grammy.com/nominees
The first country performance of the night was by Miranda Lambert. She performed her song “Little Red Wagon” which I had not heard before. I have seen many of her previous performances, but this one was definitely edgier. She was dressed in black leather from head to toe, and the added pyrotechnics created an energetic atmosphere. The song itself was shocking since I thought it sounded like it was influenced by rock music. Her performance was great but I think it was more of a crossover into contemporary music rather than her typical “twangy” sound.
Eric Church also performed “Give Me Back my Hometown” at the show. It was a typical performance for him. He stood center stage strumming his guitar, all the while sporting his famous sunglasses. Once he concluded, the focus shifted to Brandy Clark who then performed “Hold My Hand” with Dwight Yoakum. Seeing Dwight was a surprise since I had no reason beforehand to expect his presence at the show. Nonetheless, this duo sounded fantastic.
While I love awards shows representing all genres of music, I am grateful for the ones that deal strictly with country music. I love seeing all my favorites artists enjoying themselves on a night of music, awards, and glamour. However, the Grammys were quite entertaining as a whole. Congratulations to all the winners, but especially to those artists representing country music.
I think that the song that Miranda Lambert chose to sing was an interesting one. The overall feel of the Grammy’s this year was a very somber one, with the only upbeat performances by Lambert and Madonna. I think she chose this song as to kind of blend in with the pop culture crowd, and I was not a big fan of it. I tried to understand what other reasons could be for choosing this song, but I am not sure I can think of one other than to fit in with more “popular” music. She looked great and the performance was fun, I just was not a face of the song she played. I agree though that Eric Church performed just as to be expected of him. Overall, I think you’re right that country music was very underrepresented in the live show.
I agree with you in the sense that award shows look over country music. Unless we are dealing with an award show that is specifically designed around the genre of country, country artists and their music are almost looked at as if they are the red-headed stepchild of the music industry. I did not watch the Grammy’s this year, but I can relate from other shows in the past. It is disheartening that country music is given a “bad rep” compared to the other glorified genres. And, while watching Miranda’s video you included, I felt as if Miranda was trying to conform to the views of popularity and trade in her twang for pop and rock. I enjoy watching the CMA’s much better.
I agree with you guys that country music is kind of brushed aside at major award shows. To me, even the CMA’s and AMA’s are unwatchable now because it seems like it has turned into some big popularity contest instead of actually rewarding the best music. Miranda Lambert’s performance is just about exactly what I expected: a big rock show production with twang. I thought Eric Church’s performance was a little boring but so were a lot of the other performances this year. I hope that in the future country music plays a bigger role in more award shows but it just doesn’t seem like that will happen.
The only awards show I watch (mostly) every year is the Oscars. It also has a category for songs — ones that are written for new movies — but even there country music is badly represented. Lots of iconic country singers have been nominated, including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and this year Glen Campbell. But the only country song that ever won was one Tex Ritter sang for the movie High Noon… back in the 1950s. I think popular culture tends to see country music as having only “fringe” appeal. All this despite the crazy amount of money it makes.
I am always disappointed with the under representation of country music and artists in awards shows. That is why I love the CMA’s over others. I feel like country deserves more recognition then it gets in other shows. Most award shows tend to stray away from country music in order to please a wider audience, however, country music should be represented more because it is a huge part of the music industry. I think Miranda Lambert performed that particular song because it was a little more mainstream and contemporary and appealed to more people. Even if it wasn’t as “country” as country music lovers would have wanted to see, I am happy that she, along with Eric Church, was able to represent country music in the Grammy’s.