Category Archives: Awards

by Lejla Pracic | November 20, 2014 · 8:00 am

CMA Spotlight

Every year I pop my popcorn, grab a comfy blanket, and plant my self on the couch for the next few hours. No, it’s not to watch the Walking Dead series marathon or any other show for the matter, but to watch the Country Music Awards.

Since I was about 12 I have watched the CMAs every year. I just love the CMAs! In my opinion it is probably the best music awards show on television. Not saying that other music award shows are not great, because they are, but there is just something special about the Country Music Awards. Maybe it’s because my dad and I used to watch them together when I was younger or because we would always try to guess which artist was going to win from each category. It could also be that because I love country music so much, I admire the CMAs as well and not to mention that Carrie Underwood hosted the show for the past two years. From the opening act to the closing act, the CMAs are just something spectacular to be a part of even if it’s just from your living room. One day I wish to be able to attend the CMAs and be in the same room with so many of the country artists that I absolutely love.

This year I was unable to watch the CMAs live but I the next day I was sure to follow my traditional routine and stream them online. It seems like every year they just get better and better. The CMAs never fault to put on a great show and do country music a great justice. It is such a great thing to see so many deserving artists honored for all their hard work. In addition to seeing all the awards presented, there are so many amazing performances that night. It’s like getting a concert from all your favorite artist. If you have never watched the CMAs, you definitely need to. I promise you won’t be sorry.

6 Comments

Filed under Awards, Reflection

by Dustin Hixenbaugh | November 18, 2014 · 10:16 pm

CMT’s 40 Most Influential Artists

The folks at CMT are releasing the names in their list of country music’s 40 most influential artists of all time. So far, the list includes some obvious names, with George Strait at #5, Johnny Cash at #8, and George Jones at #10. Surprisingly, it also includes a number of performers who are not country themselves, but who have nevertheless influenced the genre in notable ways, including Michael Jackson (#12), The Beatles (#14), and Led Zeppelin (#32).

Yesterday, the site revealed its entry for #4 — Dolly Parton. (Great choice.) Now, the question is, what artists will claim the top 3 spots?

It’s not an easy question to answer. There are a lot of classic country performers whose names haven’t appeared yet–Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, Gene Autry, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb, Chet Atkins, Lefty Frizzell, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings, and Tammy Wynette to name just a few. Despite Dolly’s high ranking, the list is shy on female performers, and Wells–the first woman to truly crack country music’s “men’s club” wide open–would be a deserving contender. Given the list’s overall modern bias, I guess it’s also possible that Shania Twain, the Dixie Chicks, or even Blake Shelton could find a place in the top 3, but I doubt it.

Here are my off-the-cuff predictions for the last names to be revealed:

#3. Merle Haggard. Like Dolly, Merle’s been on the scene since the 1960s and has become one of the genre’s most respected elder statesmen. I think #3 is a little high (not a diss — I think he’s great), but it’s hard to imagine CMT leaving Bakersfield’s favorite ex-convict hanging.

#2. Elvis Presley. Like I mentioned, the list includes several artists who are more associated with rock/pop than country. Realistically, Elvis probably deserves the #1 spot, as country music has never quite recovered from “Heartbreak Hotel,” which topped all the charts in 1956. But he just can’t win this fight because…

#1. Hank Williams. More than 60 years after his death, ole Hank remains one of country music’s favorite inspirations and most recognizable icons. It will be a complete and utter rebellion if any other artist claims the top spot.

So there you have it. It’s not clear when #3 and #2 will be announced, but #1 will be revealed on December 1. What performers do you think might make the final 3? Who are you surprised to see on (or omitted from) this list?

(P.S. Yes, you’ll get credit for commenting on my post. I want love, too, y’all.)

3 Comments

Filed under Awards, Lists

by Holly Kern | November 12, 2014 · 8:00 am

#bradblewit

Everyone who tuned into the Country Music Awards last Wednesday night was the first to learn what the sex of Carrie Underwood’s baby is. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood kept the crowd rumbling with laughter as they hosted their 7^th straight CMA awards.

Screen Shot 2014-11-11 at 11.33.20 AM The roast-like jokes started as they came out on the stage to introduce the show. They started with a song they wrote in honor of George Strait and his “Cowboy Rides Away” tour. They then presumed to make fun of Strait when Paisley said, “usually when a cowboy rides away, he goes somewhere.” Then after a couple different jokes made towards Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift and democrats it was time set the stage for the baby sex reveal. The picture shown was Underwood’s immediate reaction after #bradblewit.

Brad started by making the comment “We’re pregnant!” (Which by the way, OMG she is a beautiful pregnant lady!) Then from there Underwood starts making comments asking why he said “we”. And from there Paisley is persistent that he will always be a part of the baby’s life and Underwood can’t keep the baby from him! From there he starts to beg Underwood to tell him what the sex of the baby is and finally she lets in and whispers in his ear what it is. He turns to the audience then and says “I’m so happy, I know something ya’ll don’t know; Suck it TMZ!”

Then a couple minutes later as they’re starting to introduce Garth Brooks’s return to the CMA stage, Paisley lets the cat out of the bag (or better yet, the bun out of the oven). Carrie starts by asking, “Do you think he’ll sign my baby?” And then Paisley replies by announcing,

“Hey, we could name him Garth!”

In which then Underwood acts like she’s angry at Paisley for the public revelation but it’s all apart of the show. The crowd then realizes what just happened and they all start cheering and smiling in happiness for Underwood’s joy.

Paisley’s Tweet after he revealed the sex

Let me be the first to say, it’s been a beautiful thing to watch Carrie Underwood’s whole celebrity life play out in front of our eyes. We fell in love with her on American Idol and we’ve followed her journey ever since and I believe I speak for the majority when I say we are overjoyed to see her finally play the role as a mother. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Fisher!!

7 Comments

Filed under Awards, Movies and TV, New Country

by Gerrit Cook | November 4, 2014 · 8:00 am

Why Are You Performing at the CMA Awards?

“Country Music’s Biggest Night” is working with mainstream pop this year. On November 5^th, Ariana Grande will perform a duet with Little Big Town during the CMA Awards. I consider myself “in the know” when it comes to the music industry, but it doesn’t take a forensics team to conclude that Grande doesn’t really fit in with the country music crowd. Her Wikipedia page considers her a representative of EDM and electropop, and her selection as a performer for the CMA Awards confuses me.

Don’t get me wrong; I love all kinds of music. My Itunes library consists of anything from N.W.A to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana to Eric Church, Ziggy Marley to…you get the idea. I am all for musicians on opposite ends of the spectrum collaborating together to make a song or maybe even an album, but to have this performance on this night seems weird. The CMA Awards is considered “Country Music’s Biggest Night.” Why are you having someone who hasn’t earned their place in the country music industry performing on its “biggest night?”

If I was a country artist that wanted to perform at the CMA Awards, and an artist who is in a completely different category ousted me I would be pissed! I am trying to picture George Strait and Willie Nelson looking perplexed as this performance would unfold and I cant help but laugh. This situation is almost similar to Taylor Swift coming out as a “pop artist” after her start as a self identified “country artist.” Now I am struggling to figure out what is and isn’t country.

We all know that rock, bluegrass, and jazz have an influence in country. Pop has had an influence as well, but it has always been one of those genres that never made sense to me. Country was around for a long time before people started making techno sounds on a computer, and to have Grande waltz right in and perform seems like an odd mix. My only explanation: TV ratings and money.

If an Ariana Grande fan hears about her performing at the CMA Awards, he or she might watch an awards show that they previously wouldn’t have. Multiply that by the millions of people who have bought her records and it could make a big difference in the ratings. After the announcement of this surprising performance, TV Networks might get in a more intense bidding war for the rights to cover the future CMA Awards. In the end, CMA wins.

I am not trying to slam Grande’s music in any way, I mean, her record sales speak for themselves. I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to have the most important night in country music be shared with an artist that represents a completely different genre. In my opinion, they might as well get Waka Flocka in the mix.

2 Comments

Filed under Awards, News

by Holly Kern | October 29, 2014 · 8:00 am

My picks for this years CMA Awards!

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 9.02.10 PM Well, its that time of the year again! The biggest night in country music is coming up next week, the CMA awards. It airs next Wednesday on Nov 5^th at 7 PM, I sure hope anybody who’s enrolled in this class watches to see who takes home what awards this year and with Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley as the hosts, its sure to be a fun, musical night. Since I love country music so much I’m going to breakdown the nominations in a couple different categories and make my picks, hopefully as accurately as possible! Now I will point out that along with my own opinion I did do some research to decide my choices so let’s see how many I can get right this year!

Album of the Year: I believe Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party will take the prize this year. This album sold over 2 million copies and won Billboard Music Award’s Country Album of the year title earlier this year. I feel like we’ve seen Luke Bryan only grow since 2009 when he released his first big single “Do I”. Crash My Party released six singles all of which were widely successful.

Entertainer of the Year: KING GEORGE! What more do I have to say? Honestly I believe it would be a complete injustice if Strait didn’t win this award this year. For his “Cowboy Rides Away Tour” he pulled out all the stops bringing in tons of different artists for his farewell tour to enhance the fan experience. He HAS TO and WILL win. It’s also worth noting that he took this category in this years ACM awards also.

New Artist of the Year: This one is going completely off whom my favorite is and it’s a toss up between Cole Swindell and Thomas Rhett. I think Rhett may have the edge over Swindell because Swindell has just recently gotten hot with 3 singles released; where as Rhett has been around a little longer and has released 5 in the last 3 years and his “It Goes like This” and “Get Me Some of That” were really hot in 2013. Although, I personally like Cole Swindell’s voice the best!

Song of the Year: I believe “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice will take the cake on this one. This song sold 1,028,000 copies in the US. This song pulled the emotions of all the country listening women in America when we found out Brice wrote it for his then fiancé to be performed during their first dance. This song hit the tops of the Billboard country charts and had a lot of radio airplay (still does). But I must mention that this song is in good competitive company with “I Hold On”, “Follow Your Arrow” and “Automatic” in the mix!

Vocal Duo of the Year: Anybody who thinks anyone besides Florida Georgia Line will win this award must be out of his or her mind! Of the nominees, if I could put money on FGL winning (don’t worry I cant really, NCAA rules) I would put it all on them. Last year they won this exact award from CMA and they for sure did not disappoint us with their music since! (They also won top duo in this years ACM awards in April) “This is How We Roll” and “Dirt” have been their most popular singles this year, both becoming at least platinum certified singles.

So what do you think? What and who will be remembered at this year’s CMA awards?