Tag Archives: music

CMA Awards 2010 : My picks

I watch the CMAs these days to root for our friends who work for the artists performing on the show. However, I still get excited to see who wins the awards, even if sometimes I thoroughly disagree with the results.

So, for giggles, I thought I’d throw out there my predictions for tonight’s show.

Entertainer of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Brad Paisley Winner!
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

I think Brad will take this one mostly due to his being a huge ambassador for Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry with the flood. He’s been out there in front of the cameras the most out of all of these guys this year. Though, look for Lady A to give him a run for it.

Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert Winner!
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

This is Miranda’s year. Period. She’s earned it and it is time.

Male Vocalist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton Winner!
George Strait
Keith Urban

A lot of people have Blake as the favorite for this, which would be poetic if Miranda won. Country’s new top couple. But I just see Brad snagging this one again this year.

New Artist
Luke Bryan
Easton Corbin
Jerrod Niemann
Chris Young
Zac Brown Band Winner!

This is a tough one to call. The only TRUE *NEW* artist in here is Jerrod Neimann, so, by rights, I think it should go to him. All the rest either are on their second album or have had multiple hits on radio, where as Jerrod has had ONE that rocked the planet. I’m going to call it Zac Brown Band as the winner simply due to their huge success and popularity.

Vocal Group
Lady Antebellum Winner!
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

Nothing can stop Lady A these days… and rightfully so! These guys are the real deal with HUGE appeal across genres.

Vocal Duo
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland  Winner!

Brooks & Dunn will take this one for old times sake. Give it to them their last year. They’ve earned it.

Musical Event of the Year
“Bad Angel” Dierks Bentley featuring Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson
“Can’t You See” Zac Brown Band featuring Kid Rock
“Hillbilly Bone” Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins Winner!
“I’m Alive” Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews
“Till The End” Alan Jackson with Lee Ann Womack

Huge success for Trace and Blake. Its consistently taken the win in other award shows, and I predict that to continue tonight.

Single of the Year
(Award goes to artist and producer)

‘A Little More Country Than That’
Easton Corbin
Producer: Carson Chamberlain

‘Hillbilly Bone’
Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
Producer: Scott Hendricks

‘Need You Now’ Winner!
Lady Antebellum
Producers: Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

‘The House That Built Me’
Miranda Lambert
Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

‘White Liar’
Miranda Lambert
Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Single of the year will go to ‘Need You Now’ due to its wildly popular success in multiple genres and… hey, its just a really awesome song and well done. I still stop to listen to it any time I am surfing channels.

Song of the Year
(Award goes to songwriters)

‘A Little More Country Than That’
Songwriters: Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble

‘Need You Now’
Songwriters: Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Josh Kear

‘The House That Built Me’ Winner!
Songwriters: Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin

‘Toes’
Songwriters: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins and Shawn Mullins

‘White Liar’
Songwriters: Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

You can’t deny this song makes you cry. Come on. Admit it. I can’t even listen to it much of the time because it tugs at my heart so hard. And when a song does that… its the best of the best.

Music Video
(Award goes to artist and director)

‘Hillbilly Bone’
Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
Director: Roman White

‘Need You Now’
Lady Antebellum
Director: David McClister

‘The House That Built Me’  Winner!
Miranda Lambert
Director: Trey Fanjoy

‘Water’
Brad Paisley
Director: Jim Shea

‘White Liar’
Miranda Lambert
Director: Chris Hickey

Hands down. Best video of the year. They’re all great, but this one just took it to the next level.

Album of the year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)

Need You Now
Lady Antebellum
Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum producer
Capitol Records Nashville

Play On
Carrie Underwood
Mark Bright and Max Martin producer
19 Recordings Limited/Arista Nashville

Revolution Winner!
Miranda Lambert
Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke producer
Columbia Nashville

Twang
George Strait
Tony Brown and George Strait producer
MCA Nashville

Up On The Ridge
Dierks Bentley
Jon Randall Stewart producer
Capitol Records Nashville

I’m going with Miranda on this one. She just consistently puts out solid albums that are well produced, well thought out, and leave me wanting to listen over and over again.

Musician
Paul Frankin — Steel Guitar
Dann Huff — Guitar
Brent Mason — Guitar
Mac McAnally — Guitar Winner!
Randy Scruggs — Guitar

Not EVEN a clue. And you’d think I’d know as “musician’s widow.” I’m going with the “one of these things is not like the other” option.

Generational music

As I was driving home last night, it hit me. It’s happened. I’ve become THAT person. You know. The person who gets stuck on the music of their teens and won’t leave it.

Well, okay, its not that I won’t leave it. I do like a lot some of the new music out today. And I am HUGE fan of 70s rock. Huge. And I can dig some of the 80s. But an interesting phenomenon occurs these days in my truck any time I am driving around town alone.

I am almost always tuned into 90s on 9 or Prime Country (Channel 61 on Sirius Satellite Radio). I was born in 1980. I went through my junior high and high school years in, of course, the 90s. Then, of course, college in the early 2000s. So, any rock music post-2003 is pretty much lost on me.

I mean, you know, except for your huge mainstream people that you can’t turn on entertainment news and not be blasted with their music and every make-up and break-up. I know who Lady Gaga is. I know about Katy Perry. I’m even aware of Justin Bieber. But I couldn’t name any of their music outside of their biggest hits, and even then I’d probably stare at you blankly for 5 minutes before it all clicked into place.

So all of that being said, I’ve found huge joy in reclaiming the music of the 90s. Not a trip goes by in which a great memory doesn’t come flooding back at me all due to the song playing on my radio. Especially if I happen to be on some two-lane road when maybe an early Matchbox Twenty song comes on the radio. Suddenly I’m 18 again, cruising home after band practice. Or I have Prime Country on and Bryan White sings “Sittin’ on Go” and I’m suddenly back at UIL competition waiting to compete in my News Writing event.

Music has a way of taking us back in time, and I think that’s why the phenomenon of sticking to the music of your teens occurs. I contend that those are not the “best times of life” but they are definitely the ones in which you experience the most change. You’re learning not only from the books, but you are learning about life. You’re making memories that you will NEVER experience again. You live in some element of bliss, and while you think life just couldn’t get any more stressful, looking back you realize you were never as free as you were then.

And maybe, as a song plays on the radio and you go back in time in your mind, you are able to recapture some of that freedom… even if it only lasts three minutes and its abruptly stopped by a bad commercial about consumer debt or some magic pill guaranteed to help you lose weight, gain hair and sing like an opera star. Those three minutes are like a little dose of medicine for the mind and spirit.

So forgive me if you see me cruising down the road singing “Baby Got Back” followed by  “Time Marches On” followed by “Zoot Suit Riot” (complete with arm motions trying to remember the old flag routine). It’s just me time traveling for awhile.