Category Archives: Awards

by | February 23, 2015 · 10:00 am

I’m Not Gonna Miss You

Gowns, tuxedos, the red carpet, and little golden men. Put them all together and what do you get? The 87th annual Academy Awards. This is the biggest night in Hollywood. You might be wondering “Yeah okay the Oscars are about movies…how does country music come into play?” Well, my friend, I have two words: Glen Campbell.

Campbell’s song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” was nominated for Best Original Song. The song, written by Campbell as well as Julian Raymond, was featured at the end of his documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me. They took home a Grammy for the song just a few weeks ago.

147391In 2011, the country-pop icon announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He is now 78 and suffering through the late stages of the disease. The song was written as a love letter to his family. It details how he won’t understand the pain they feel when his memory is lost to the disease. Raymond commented on the situation saying that Campbell unfortunately could not comprehend what the Oscar nomination meant because of this condition.

Due to his health circumstances, Campbell was unable to travel to the Academy Awards to perform his song. His family personally asked fellow country music artist Tim McGraw to perform the song in his place. McGraw and wife Faith Hill attended the awards last night, as well as Campbell’s wife and daughter.

B-fVwW5CAAA0avDSeated on a stool set on center stage, McGraw gave a performance that definitely tugged at some heartstrings. With nothing to distract from solely listening to the lyrics, Campbell’s song was absorbed by those who heard it. Anyone who has or knows someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can feel the heartbreak of the song. It is the person(s) the song is directed towards rather than the person singing the lyrics who is the one suffering emotional pain.

His song did not take home the Oscar, but I know his family took home something from the performance. It was a very heartfelt tribute to a great artist. I listened to Campbell himself perform the song and it is hauntingly beautiful. McGraw executed the performance with grace.

The music video for his song shows clips of Campbell through the years. With and without the disease, his love for his family shows through. “You’re the last person I will love/You’re the last face I will recall/And best of all, I’m not gonna miss you.”

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Filed under Awards, Countrypolitan, Live Music, Song Analysis

by | February 17, 2015 · 8:00 am

Jamie Foxx tribute to George Strait on the CBS George Strait special

George+Strait+Norma+Strait+Academy+Country+B9F99BaVpvjlWhile watching The CBS George Strait special, I saw Jamie Foxx give a Tribute to George Strait by singing his song “you look so good in love”. Before Jamie Sang the song he mentioned an experience when he was younger about trying to go see George in the town next over to his hometown. He talked about when he found out that George was coming to his town to preform, that he was going to see him no matter what even if he had to go over the tracks to see him. As Jamie said, unfortunately he wasn’t able to see him but no one believed him that George strait had performed there until he met George Strait and he verified his story.

I enjoyed watching the tribute for one because I love that song but also it shows how much George Strait has influenced country music artist but also other Genre Artists like Jamie Foxx who is an R&B artist. It amazes me how a country artist could influence an artist who isn’t even in the same Genre. This truly shows how country music has shaped music today and how George will be known as one of the greats for all time.

While Jamie was singing the tribute, I saw some similarities and some differences in how he sung it and how George sings it. In Jamie’s version, it has more of a gospel and R&B sound to his voice; whereas with George, it has a deeper tone and a more rustic feel to his voice. The most profound similarity is the way the music flows with lyrics showing that side of Nashville sound and being elegant and smooth in both of their versions of the song.

Although Jamie wasn’t the only person who sung a song in tribute to George i think that his was the most profound due to the fact that exemplifies that country music can cross all boundaries even other genres. As I finished watching the rest of special I started to look back to my past to remember things about George Strait and how much his music has affected me and I am not even a country singer so I knew that some of the people like Jamie, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton , Miranda Lambert, and Taylor swift who are singers, how much he has affected their lives in a tremendous way by either influencing their music or allowing them to be the opening act in his concert for their first concert. George Strait has and will always be an iconic figure in the music business no matter what genre it is and this tribute below shows how this is true.

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Filed under Awards, Live Music, Music Videos, New Traditionalism, Reflection, Uncategorized

by | February 13, 2015 · 8:00 am

My Ultimate Miranda Lambert Playlist

With Miranda Lambert’s huge success of winning the Best Country Album Award at the Grammys for her album Platinum, I began reminiscing on some of her old albums and decided to compile a playlist of my all time favorite Miranda Lambert songs, although there’s no way I can fit ALL of my favorites I’ll do my best!

“Gunpowder & Lead” has to be one of my absolute favorites. Growing up Lambert’s family took in abused women and children. She wrote this song for those women, describing how she herself would handle an abusive relationship. Although it covers a dark topic the song is a kickass girl power jam.

“Mama’s Broken Heart” was actually given to Lambert by Kacey Musgraves, one of the original writers along with Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. It’s about a girl who gets her heart broken and starts acting out because of it. When people in the town notice the girl’s behavior her mom is informed and tries to put her in line. I love this song because it perfectly describes the crazy emotions that go through your head when you get your heart broken.  I actually got to see Brandy Clark perform this when she opened for Jennifer Nettles this past summer!

“Only Prettier” is one of Lambert’s snarkiest songs, written about two groups of girls that cannot get along and think the absolute worst of one another. The song is about Lambert’s group of friends saying the only difference between the two groups is that hers is prettier.

“I Wanna Die” describes the singer’s relationship with a guy who she knows is a complete jerk, but wants him anyways. This song is super relatable for just about any girl on the planet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_UPbe8XgGE

Now we transition to a group of deeper, more meaningful songs. The song “Over You” was actually written by Lambert and Blake Shelton about Shelton’s old brother, who was killed in a car accident when he was a teenager. Lambert added the song to her album Four the Record to honor Shelton and his brother’s memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2-oD06SWo

“The House That Built Me” holds the biggest personal connection for me. Written about a young woman going back to the house she grew up in to visit and try to find a small piece of the person she used to be. When this song first started playing on the radio my mom always told me it reminded her of me because she knew I was going to grow up and leave home (Virginia) someday.

I’ve always loved “Famous in a Small Town.” My dad grew up in a small town and whenever we go back to Alabama to visit I’m constantly reminded of this song. Everyone knows everything about everyone else. This past summer I went to the mall with my dad and my aunt and they saw at least 2 people they knew in EVERY. SINGLE. STORE. It was the longest shopping day I’ve ever had, needless to say this song is not an over exaggeration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMXG1-YKn1c

One of Miranda Lambert’s newer songs, “Automatic,” is another great track. I love it because it’s one of those songs that brings you back to your roots. It reminds us all of simpler times before we had internet to do everything and before we started living in this “instant” society. I think it’s a great reminder that we need to work for the good things in life.

Kerosene is by far my favorite Miranda Lambert album, and as many of you may know it was her first album. All of the songs on the album are very simple, such as “I Can’t Be Bothered,” “New Strings,” “Kerosene,” “Me and Charlie Talking,” and “Bring Me Down.” These songs make me think of the battle between the Texas Country and Nashville Country subgenres that we’ve been discussing in class. This album is very much Texas Country and each song has a very raw sound.

Miranda Lambert has been very successful with 5 hit albums, countless music awards, and years of sold out tours. She is a strong woman with admirable morals and amazing talent. Her country music style changes with each album and I can’t wait to see what she does next. What are some of your favorite Miranda Lambert songs? Leave them in the comments below!

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Filed under Awards, Music Videos, Reflection, Song Analysis, Women

by | February 12, 2015 · 8:00 am

Assessing the Grammy’s, Country Music Style

The Grammy Awards reign as music’s most important award show, but not necessarily to country music. The country genre is generally not recognized by the major awards, like Best New Artist and Song of the Year, but the awards within the the genre help to provide it with more exposure. In particular, the performances by country artists allow the genre to perform for a new audience, and show off their unique production and performance style.

Miranda Lambert’s performance of “Little Red Wagon” started witimageh her showing off an incredible and well-planned outfit. She wore a black jumpsuit which emulated a Top-40 mantra, but reflected her roots with some snazzy cowboy boots. Her set design featured neon red lights, fireworks and smoke. But the most interesting part of her performance was the censorship by CBS of some of the lyrics. I’ve listened to a lot of her songs, and while mainly on the radio, I’ve never picked up on any of her content to be remotely inappropriate. After doing some research (or just googling the lyrics), I was kind of surprised that an entire line of her song was bleeped out for the use of one common expletive. Truthfully, it took away from the end of what was a spectacular live performance by Lambert.

imageThe second country performance of the night was by Eric Church, who got the opportunity to sing “Give Me Back My Hometown” in addition to being nominated in four categories, including Best Country Album for The Outsiders. Unlike the radio edit, the instrumentation includes a banjo melody that really brings the country roots to the Grammy’s stage. The backdrop contained stop motion film of various scenes featuring destruction of many hometowns throughout the world. At the bridge, the film shows all the scenes in reverse, providing the audience hope for the end of city violence. I thought his performance, while his sunglasses added an always interesting element, was really well put together and a highlight among a lineup with many emotional performances.

Brandy Clark, in addition to being nominated for Best New Artist and Best Country Album, got to perform an acoustic version of her song “Hold Your Hand” with Dwight Yoakam. I haven’t actually heard Brandy Clark before, and didn’t know how big of a deal she was, until I noticed she was nominated for Best New Artist among big names like Iggy Azalea and Sam Smith. The performance was the most natural of the night, and the smooth alto voice of Clark drew my attention to the song.

imageOverall, I thought the country performances of the night all showcased unique aspects of country music: acoustic guitar, banjo, and an uptempo powerful confidence. In particular, I hope to hear more of Brandy Clark on country radio — I think she’s soon to be a force to be reckoned with.

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Filed under Awards, Live Music, Movies and TV

by | February 11, 2015 · 11:00 am

Country Music at the Grammys

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_463034182Eric 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.

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Filed under Awards, News