5. Luke Bryan Not <\/b>Shaking His Butt<\/p>\n
Luke is turning 40 next year and, although he won entertainer of the year, he let go of his bro country image with his performance of \u201cStrip It Down,\u201d while fully clothed. We were finally able to focus on his vocals to understand why he was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year. It is good to see him finally acting his age.<\/p>\n
This 4-foot-11 Grand Ole Opry star made many appearances in earlier CMA awards with Brad and Carrie. He unfortunately passed away earlier this year so it was only right to honor him with an urn. Well a miniature urn inside a bigger urn that Paisley\u00a0pulled out. He mentioned that Dickens wanted to leave making people laugh and he surely accomplished that. There were a few questionable jokes during their intro, but they nailed that one.<\/p>\n 3. Carrie Underwood.<\/p>\n As Little Big Town would say, I\u2019ve got a girl crush. With her 12 perfect outfit changes and wowing of the crowd with her current song \u201cSmoke Break,\u201d there was nothing she did that wasn’t flawless. Whether she had princess Leia buns or knee high leather boots, she rocked it. Her and Brad Paisleys monologue wasn’t their best one in their eight years as hosts, but she looked pretty doing it.<\/p>\n 2. Miranda Lambert Keeping it Honest<\/p>\n Great timing Blake. With their split up only months ago and Blake’s announcement of his\u00a0new girlfriend just 20 minutes <\/a>before the show, Miranda’s statement of \u201cI needed a bright spot this year\u201d is very accurate. She deserved Female Vocalist of the Year and killed her performance of \u201cBathroom Sink\u201d with her new pink hair. Blake tried to \u201cwin\u201d the break up but failed. I can\u2019t wait to see the new album she releases all about him.<\/p>\n 1. Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton<\/p>\n Since I began with Chris Stapleton, it is only fair to end with him considering his enormous success during the award show. Not only did he win three awards as I mentioned earlier, but also had the best performance of the night hands down. I think who really stole the show though was JT. “The Nashville sound meets the soul of Memphis” said Brad Paisley<\/a>. I would not be upset if Timberlake went country, because I believe he can do it all. Thank you to this duo for killing it.<\/p>\n The 2015 CMA Awards (a.k.a the water cooler gossip at work on Thursday) had some pretty mixed reviews. There are countless articles and disagreements regarding outfits, performances, and winners. While scrolling through lists of the best and worst moments, it … Continue reading ![\"200\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/200.gif\")
<\/a>4. Tribute to the Late Little Jimmy Dickens<\/p>\n![\"2608\"](\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/2608-300x180.jpg\")
<\/a>Even though ratings were down 16%<\/a>\u00a0from last year, I think country music is finally starting to get over\u00a0the hump of the pop sound. With the successful boom of Chris Stapleton and the non-bro Luke Bryan, I believe that country music will start to make its way back up. There is hope for this genre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"