George Strait wins Entertainer of the Year for the first time since 1990
Country Music’s Biggest Night is officially in the books as the lights go down on the 2013 CMA Awards. The night was filled with plenty of music from some of the genre’s biggest stars. The awards featured a few surprise winners and some familiar favorites. ATC is wrapping up the night and revealing how my predictions went. Continue reading
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My favorite day of the year has finally arrived! Tonight all eyes will be on Nashville as the 47th Annual CMA Awards will be held live from Bridgestone Arena. Hosted for the sixth time by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, the night promises to be filled with plenty of glitz and glamour as country music’s biggest superstars take the stage. Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves, Carrie Underwood, and many, many, more are performing during the telecast as well as a special tribute to George Jones by George Strait and Alan Jackson. Of course the night will also honor the “best” of country music this past year. Coming into the night Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves are tied for the most nominations with six apiece. Here are my official predictions for who will walk away big winners tonight.
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For the better part of the past 12 years the list of CMA Awards nominees has changed very little from year to year. You have the usual suspects like Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, and Martina McBride who seem to land nominations every year in their respective vocalist fields. It’s very rare for any of them to be left out of a category in favor of younger, “hipper” artists who are starting to fill their shoes. The 2012 list of CMA nominees shockingly finds three of those four left out in favor of new superstars who are ready to be the new faces of awards season.
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A couple weeks ago I gave my predictions as to who the nominees in the artists categories would be for this year’s CMA Awards. Since we now know that Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum will reveal the nominees live on Good Morning America on September 5th, I’m rounding out the predictions with some of the remaining categories. Continue reading to find out which albums and songs I think will land in the prestigious Album and Song of the Year categories.
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Recently the Country Music Association announced that Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will once again be hosts of the CMA Awards, which will be held November 1st. By now you guys should know that I am big awards show fan so the announcement lit the fire of excitement for awards season. Not to mention CMA ballots were just recently sent out to voters which means the list of nominees will be made known in the not-so-distant future (maybe next month?). So to get ready, I am predicting who will snag a coveted spot in each category! Continue reading
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Well the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music awards are in the books. Last night the awards show was definitely dressed to fit Las Vegas with plenty of glitz, glamor, and upsets. Here’s ATC’s final wrap up of the night’s big winners as well as how I did with my predictions. Just a heads up, I didn’t do too well.
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The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards is finally here! The annual awards show will take place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Sunday night on CBS. The show will once again be hosted by Reba and Blake Shelton and will feature over-the-top performance from some of the genre’s biggest superstars. However, the entire night will revolve around the multiple trophy presentations that will take place. As with every other awards show, I will offer my predictions for the night’s big winners!
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The nominations for the Academy of Country Music’s 47th annual awards show were announced Thursday morning and Kenny Chesney leads the pack with an astounding nine nominations. Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum were also among the most nominated artists with six and five nominations respectively, while a horde of other artists received multiple nods as well. If y’all were wondering if I’d voice my opinion about each category, then you’d be correct! Read on to see the snubs and surprises among this year’s list of nominees. Continue reading
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Well it’s that time of year again…when every country music fan sits down in front of the TV as country music takes over primetime television for one night. That’s right, Country Music’s Biggest Night has finally arrived! The 45th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC tonight and once again ATC is going to offer its predictions of the night’s big winners.
This year finds four artists heading into the night as leading nominees. Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift each have five nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, and each have a chance to make 2011 the best year of their career. However, in order to do that, they’ll have to overcome some of the genre’s finest superstars in order to make the CMA’s their night as this year’s categories are some of the strongest we’ve seen in recent years. But it’s ATC’s task to attempt to predict how the night will turn out, so as usual you can read who we think should win versus who will win.
Entertainer of the Year
This year’s Entertainer field includes three previous winners and two first time nominees. CMA voters have a tough choice to make as to who has represented the genre the best in the past year. Do you go with an artist who has made a huge impact on the singles and albums charts all while representing an independent label like Jason Aldean? Do you go with one of the genre’s finest superstars who continues to draw huge crowds and be one of country’s best ambassadors like Brad Paisley? Do you go with the artist who has been everywhere from a judge on a TV show, to the front page of magazines for getting married like Blake Shelton? Or do you go with the genre’s biggest superstar, Taylor Swift?
Who Should Win: Taylor Swift
Who Will Win: Taylor Swift
Dark Horse: Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton
Male Vocalist of the Year
Last year the CMA surprised everyone by selecting Blake Shelton as its Male Vocalist winner. This year they could choose the superstar for a second year in a row, or they can go with the artist who has had the best year of the five, Jason Aldean. Aldean’s My Kinda Party is the best selling album of the year, and his singles have all peaked inside the top 2 on the charts. Not to mention he’s crossed over to the Adult Contemporary chart with his massive duet with Kelly Clarkson. After being overlooked for most of his career, this year is Jason’s year to snag his first CMA award.
Who Should Win: Jason Aldean
Who Will Win: Jason Aldean
Dark Horse: Blake Shelton
Female Vocalist of the Year
Only one of these five nominated ladies has made multiple appearances in the top five on the singles chart and has sold over one million copies of an album…in a single week. After stirring up controversy in 2009 after she won this award, Taylor Swift is actually going into the night as the most deserving of the nominees. However, I can’t help but hope that the CMA finally give a long and overdue look of acknowledgement to Sara Evans, who has had a big comeback year this year.
Who Should Win: Sara Evans
Who Will Win: Taylor Swift
Dark Horse: Miranda Lambert
Vocal Group of the Year
This is yet another competitive category. Last year Lady Antebellum was the clear favorite to win, but this year they have both The Band Perry and Zac Brown Band on their heels. TBP has had arguably one of the biggest country hits of the year with “If I Die Young” while ZBB remains to be a consistent force at radio and in sales. Since Lady A had a more quiet year, I think it’ll come down to The Band Perry and Zac Brown Band for the win.
Who Should Win: Zac Brown Band
Who Will Win: Zac Brown Band
Dark Horse: The Band Perry and Lady Antebellum
Vocal Duo of the Year
First off thumbs up to the CMA for nominated little known The Civil Wars…kudos! But this is essentially a two horse race, though some might beg to differ. Sugarland has owned this category for the past few years, but after failing to make a dent on the singles chart with any of their The Incredible Machine singles, this year could see the duo lose to first time nominee, Thompson Square. Keifer and Shawna Thompson have had a huge year with their massive breakout hit, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?” which is one of the most played songs of the year.
Who Should Win: Thompson Square
Who Will Win: Sugarland
Dark Horse: Thompson Square
New Artist of the Year
It pains me to think that Luke Bryan and Chris Young most likely won’t get to win this award since this is their last year of eligibility after receiving nominations last year, though both are deserving of the award. This year’s New Artist is clearly going to be The Band Perry. With the success of “If I Die Young” and “You Lie,” the group has little competition from the four other nominees. But my personal preference is Chris Young who has one of the best voices in country music and is one of the few artists who appreciates the genre’s past.
Who Should Win: Chris Young
Who Will Win: The Band Perry
Dark Horse: Luke Bryan
Single of the Year
Four of these five songs all spent time atop the singles chart, with the Aldean/Clarkson duet peaking at number two. This could go to any of these songs, making this another highly competitive category. The Evans song is the only song by a female artist to spend multiple weeks at number one. The Band Perry tune has been certified triple platinum for over 3 million downloads. “Honey Bee” has been one of the most beloved songs by country fans of the past year. But, only one of those songs has hit number one on the Hot AC chart.
Who Should Win: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry
Who Will Win: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry
Dark Horse: “A Little Bit Stronger” – Sara Evans
Song of the Year
Whose bright idea was it to include “Dirt Road Anthem” over “Don’t You Wanna Stay” in this category?? Wasn’t a really good one considering “Anthem” is one of the worst songs to hit radio this year. But great job to the CMA for nominating one of the year’s best written songs, “You and Tequila,” which should win. However, The Band Perry’s genre-crossing smash was not only well written, but extremely successful. Look to Kimberly Perry to walk away with her first songwriting CMA.
Who Should Win: “You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter (written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter)
Who Will Win: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry (written by Kimberly Perry)
Dark Horse: “Mean” – Taylor Swift (written by Taylor Swift)
Album of the Year
In terms of quality, this year’s lineup of nominees are some of the weakest this category has seen. However, it includes two of the genre’s best selling albums in the Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift sets. My personal favorite is the Jason Aldean album, but it’ll be hard to compete with an album that sold over one million copies in a week and as been certified triple platinum. Look to Swift to claim victory here.
Who Should Win: My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
Who Will Win: Speak Now – Taylor Swift
Dark Horse: You Get What You Give – Zac Brown Band
Musical Event of the Year
It’s rare to have a Musical Event category filled with songs that have actually experienced success on the singles charts. Four of these songs peaked inside the top 2 on the charts, while the other has been a critical darling. My favorite of these five is the Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter song, but this will most likely go to “Don’t You Wanna Stay.”
Who Should Win: “You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
Who Will Win: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” – Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
Dark Horse: “As She’s Walking Away” – Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson
Music Video of the Year
My favorite video out of the five is the Kenny Chesney video, but this will probably go to either Shelton or Swift. The Swift video was creative and memorable, while the Shelton video is for one of the biggest hits of his career.
Who Should Win: “You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
Who Will Win: “Mean” – Taylor Swift
Dark Horse: “Honey Bee” – Blake Shelton
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It’s official! The nominations for the 45th Annual CMA Awards have been revealed and I’m proud to say we weren’t crazy wrong in most of the categories we predicted. Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift are all tied as the leading nominees with five nominations a piece, including Entertainer of the Year. This year’s awards will be handed out during the 45th Annual CMA Awards Show on November 9 which will be hosted for a fourth year in a row by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
We correctly predicted three of the five artists by choosing Aldean, Paisley, and Swift to be nominees but were incorrect with our predictions of Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band as they were overlooked for first time nominee Blake Shelton and previous winner Keith Urban. I’m surprised that after all the single and album success as well as a major tour four time winner Kenny Chesney didn’t make the cut again this year. Also it’s a bit surprising to see Blake Shelton in this category but his stint as a judge on The Voice probably helped him secure his first nomination.
Front Runner: Jason Aldean
Female Vocalist of the Year
In this category we predicted four of the nominated women, but were incorrect with our prediction of Reba McEntire taking the fifth spot. It’s a little surprising to see Martina McBride in this category once again seeing as she didn’t have a new album released and only charted one single with “Teenage Daughters.”
Front Runner: Taylor Swift
Male Vocalist of the Year
This was one of two categories that we predicted all five nominated artists correctly! It’s no surprise to see these five men all land nominations considering they’ve all had huge years in the past year.
Front Runner: Jason Aldean
New Artist of the Year
This was the second category we correctly predicted all five of the nominees! When it comes to this year’s new artists, these five all led the pack and experienced breakthrough years, which the CMA has chosen to recognize.
Front Runner: The Band Perry
Vocal Group of the Year
This same five groups who were nominated last year return as nominees this year. It’s nice to finally see five groups who have actually experienced some success in the past year.
Front Runner: The Band Perry
Vocal Duo of the Year
Three of last year’s nominated duos return this year as the retired Brooks & Dunn and Joey + Rory were replaced with the little known duo The Civil Wars and top contender Thompson Square. This should be an interesting category since Sugarland hasn’t experienced any success at radio since last year’s “Stuck Like Glue” while Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?” is one of this year’s most played songs.
Front Runner: Thompson Square
Single of the Year
We correctly predicted three of the five nominated songs to compete for this year’s Single of the Year honors. The Zac Brown Band and Blake Shelton songs managed to sneak into the category over our predicted “As She’s Walking Away” and Chris Young’s “Tomorrow.”
Front Runner: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry
Song of the Year
So we only correctly predicted one song in this category and that was The Band Perry’s smash hit, although we knew songs by Zac Brown Band and Taylor Swift would make an appearance. I’m ecstatic that the CMA nominated “You and Tequila” in this category seeing as its one of Chesney’s finest singles of his career. I’m a little shocked that “Dirt Road Anthem” snagged a nomination over the far more superior “Don’t You Wanna Stay.”
Front Runner: “If I Die Young” – The Band Perry (written by Kimberly Perry)
Album of the Year
I was pretty confident that this would be one of the categories where we correctly guessed all five nominees, but we were incorrect. Somehow the Blake Shelton “six pack” edged out platinum selling Hemingway’s Whiskey from Kenny Chesney. Apparently the CMAs have taken a liking to Blake Shelton after crowning him last year’s Male Vocalist of the Year.
Front Runner: My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean or Speak Now – Taylor Swift
Musical Event of the Year
A fantastic lineup of the year’s best collaborations which includes three number songs that topped the charts, a remake of a legendary country classic, and one of the best songs of the year. I happen to be a fan of all five of these songs, but if I was a voting member of the CMA, my vote would go to the fantastic “You and Tequila” to win.
Front Runner: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” – Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
Music Video of the Year
This category is going to be hard to predict as all five videos are fantastic in their own right. My personal favorite would be the “You and Tequila” video, but it is going to be difficult to beat out video king Brad Paisley.
Front Runner: “Old Alabama” – Brad Paisley featuring Alabama
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