CMA awards date set

It's been about two months since we had some country music awards to discuss, but that will soon change. The Country Music Assn. has set a Nov. 12 date for its 2008 ceremony, which will air live on ABC.

While a nomination announcement date has not yet been revealed, last year's nominees were unveiled at the end of August. The 2008 awards will be broadcast from the Sonnet Center in Nashville, and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Last year's awards saw the emergence of Taylor Swift as a country star. Swift took home the Horizon Award, and bounded back into the top 10 of the U.S. pop chart the following week. In what has become the norm at country music award shows, Kenny Chesney was honored as the entertainer of the year.

The Wednesday night awards attracted 16 million viewers in 2007, which wasn't too far behind the numbers later put up by the Grammy Awards.

Photo courtesy WireImage

Live blogging the CMA Awards

 

8:08: Parting thoughts: Chesney repeated as Entertainer of the Year, Underwood repeated as female vocalist of the year, Brad Paisley took home male vocalist of the year and Taylor Swift went home with the Horizon Award.

This paragraph was going to sum it all up with some cute, what-does-it-all-mean for country music analysis, but Swift bummed out the late-shift cubicle crowd here by declaring her CMA win "the highlight of her senior year." Can't speak for the rest of the folks around these parts, but this blogger's senior year was spent looking forward to "Star Trek: First Contact" (the Borg!).

Nevertheless, the 2007 CMAs cemented Underwood's transformation to country royalty, and reminded us that Chesney is still the man most country fans want to see. And while no woman snared an Entertainer of the Year nod this year, the future is bright for country women. Underwood has the presence and the voice, but still goes for the easy moments a little too often, and Lambert is certainly a star in the making.

7:54: Reba, introducing Entertainer of the Year. Kenny Chesney! Cuz a man wearing a country hat and sporting a shiny shirt and suit pants knows how to entertain, ladies and sirs.

7:47: Oh no. What's this? Another Rascal Flatts performance? OK, fine, they're poular and all, even if these Rascal vocals are kinda syrupy, but this is not just any Rascal Flatts performance. No, no, no, no. It's one with superstar actor/Kanye West pal Jamie Foxx! Pairing on "She Goes All the Way," Foxx plays the role of silky-smooth R&B lounge dude, but it's safe to say it's a few steps below his Ray Charles take. Foxx just ended the song by saying, "I'm on the CMAs!" Yeah, we're surprised, too.

So what's next on the Jamie Foxx Crossover Appeal Tour 2005-2009?

7:31: And we're out, with 20-minutes to spare before "Kid Nation" starts. Or something more exciting, at least those of us on the West Coast. Oh wait...credits don't mean it's over to the CMAs.

7:39: Who gets more thanks at the CMAs? Agents? Religious figures? Or American Idol?

7:37: Male Vocalist of the Year ... Braid Paisley. Totally called this wrong.

7:33: Kellie Pickler, performing "I wonder," one of the more heart-aching songs of the evening. Indeed, the mother/daughter tear-jerker has Pickler to tears, needing the support of the crowd to get through the tune. Cut to her brother Eric, who's also in tears. Can't knock the outpouring of emotion ... and now Kid Rock! Whoo! Giving a shout-out to J-E-S-U-S.

7:28: Local news just teased a story about a child's toy that can be manipulated into a date-rape drug. Don't they know country awards are for families?

7:20: Chesney, performed "Don't Blink." A woman from Nashville who works for one of our other sites just came by, wanting to point out that Chesney does not make her list of top-100 country artists performing today. After listening to "Don't Blink" again, he doesn't make this writer's list, either.

7:17: Actress Kimberly Williams introduced Kenny Chesney, but not before comparing country singers to newborn babies (her and husband Paisley celebrated the birth a son earlier this year).

7:09: Female Vocalist of the Year: Carrie Underwood. Don't thank "American Idol." Don't thank "American Idol." Don't thank "American Idol." Don't thank .... you thanked "American Idol." But hey! Predicted this one right. But Lambert still shoulda won. And Lambert was still the best performance of the night. (See 5:10 p.m.)

Around the 7:00-hour: Reba McEntire performed "When You Love Someone Like That" with LeAnn. Beautiful restraint, on the part of McEntire's vocals.

From the comment section: Lylobo writes, "one minute tribute for Porter is disgraceful! You should be ashamed!" Agreed, Lylobo. Was going to make a post that said as much, but the Porter Wagoner moment was over before I could even pull up this TypePad page. Then the awards continued before I could get to it. There's no reason why someone couldn't have covered a Wagoner tune or two.  And now I missed the Little Big Town performance to write this. My apologies to the LBT fans the world over.

6:53: Horizon Award winner. Taylor Swift. She breaks down into tears as she says, "This is definitely the highlight of my senior year."

6:47: Keith Urban, performing "Everybody." I know, it's a hit, but Urban can be such a dynamic performer, I was hoping he'd stay away from this ballad. Sigh. No cut-aways to Nicole Kidman,

6:44: Martina McBride, performing "For These Times." She's bringing out the song's faith/gospel undertones. One wishes she would go a little deeper into that territory. She's got the voice to do it, but the song stays a little too safe.

6:42: LeAnn Rimes: "Thirteen years in this business, one marriage and no arrests ... But I still have five years left in my 20s, so it's not over yet."

6:36 Album of the Year. George Strait. It Just Comes Natural. His sixth album of the year win.

6:30: And we're back. Sugarland. "Stay." The sparse, acoustic tear-jerker is carried by Nettles' aching vocals. A co-worker just quipped that it was country's "Stairway to Heaven," commenting on its length. Ah, but "Stairway" is not nearly as probing a look into adultery, my friend.

6:21: Here we go. Vocal Duo of the Year. Sugarland. Singer Jennifer Nettles (thanks Jerry -- I had somehow swapped Kristian Bush and Nettles earlier) gives a shout-out to Brooks & Dunn. Sugarland will be performing soon. Jamie Foxx is teased as doing something with Rascal Flatts.

6:19: Jason Alden. Singing that Johnny Cash song. What happened to the whole giving out the awards thing?

6:13: Brooks & Dunn. Performing new single "God Must Be Busy." Brings a more solemn tone to the awards, with each new lyric ripped from the headlines, complete with a reference to gangs the Bloods and Crips. Wasn't expecting that one. Hmmm. Like the song's questioning of faith. Like the pretty slide guitar. Haven't decided if the contrast of gang warfare and the war in the Middle East is working, though.

6:04: And now the Eagles, here to prove you can go nearly 30 years before releasing an album and still write a terrible song. OH!!! OH!!! OH!!!! Second river metaphor of the night. Something about a "freedom river" outside. The river lyric means it's deep. 

6:01: Carrie Underwood. Sporting a yellow dress, with butterflies on her hip, Underwood looks more like a Disney princess than a superstar. She's singing "So Small," and she wins the Extended Play Award for first river metaphor of the evening ("It's like a river so wide it swallows you whole"). She's got a full orchestra, and a cheesy guitar kicks in to carry the song into prom theme territory.

5:53: Rodney Atkins performs "These Are My People," a slightly patronizing crowd pleaser (I drink beer out of a can! I like football!). Atkins is so down, he even performed in a baseball cap and a T-shirt.

5:51: Vocal Group of the Year: Winner, Rascal Flatts.

5:47: Big & Rich just performed pool-hall rocker "Loud." "We like it loud," they sang. "We like it honkin'." Probably not shouting out for gay marriage.

5:40: Bringing back some elegance to the proceedings, Alison Krauss gives a lovely performance of "Simple Love."

5:32: Brad Paisley performs "So Much Cooler." The opening verse of the song has Paisley admitting he's a sci-fi geek. Perhaps that's why he's performing in front of a "Matrix"-like backdrop of computer code. Somebody's got to bring some edge to these award show proceedings. If I had to choose between the CMAs and the Matrix, I'd choose .... oh wait, looks like Swift has joined Paisley on-stage and is now dancing with him. And a high school marching band is now on-stage. It's not the "Matrix," but things are getting trippy.

5:25: Young star Taylor Swift performs "Our Song" with a glittering guitar that would make Miley Cyrus jealous. But the guitar is little more than an accessory for Swift's winning, beauty pageant-worthy smile and easy-going, if easily forgettable, melody.

5:23: Denton just said, "Apparently some guys don't need writers," referring to the speech just given by Anderson, Cannon and Johnson. Perhaps realizing he could soon feel the wrath of the WGA, he quickly added, "I'm not one of them."

5:20: Song of the Year winner: "Give It Away," written by Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson. It's a song from Strait's album. Hey, wait, Strait just performed... . Hmmmm... .

5:17: George Strait. Performing "How Bout Them Cowgirls." The single comes from Strait's "It Just Comes Natural." I've always liked this song. The chorus: 'How bout them cowgirls / boys ain't they somthin'." There's few better examples of a chorus that simply cannot be argued against. Yep, how bout them. I'm in.

5:11: Single of the Year winner: Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats." It's the first time Underwood won Single of the Year honors at the CMAs. She celebrated by thanking the "promotion staff at Arista." Whoo!

5:10: That's it. The best performance any of us will see tonight. "Nashville Star" vet (don't hold the show against her -- she's good) Miranda Lambert gave a scorchin', hard-rock take on single "Gunpowder and Lead." In a just world, she wins tonight.

5:07: "Desperate Housewives" star James Denton revealed himself to be a "frustrated guitar player." Should the WGA strike last a while, he may have a chance to re-visit his musical aspirations.

5:03: Rascal Flatts is opening the CMA Awards with "Still Feels Good," a jolly mid-tempo number about the nostalgia of teenage make-out sessions. But as I was describing the song, my editor walked by and said, 'Such tight yellow pants,' referring to Jay DeMarcus' outfit. Then I lost track of the tune.

4:54: Dierks Bentley, who's up for album of the year, says he'll be thanking his songwriters and producers if he wins. Then CMT cut to the audience poll, which revealed Bentley is not the people's choice -- that would be Brad Paisley.

4:47 p.m.: About 14 minutes to show time. Carrie Underwood was just asked by a CMT host what she's carrying in her purse. One of the following was not one of her answers: A) Gum B) Some cash C) A cell phone D) Tissues. Ah, if you guessed D, you guessed correct. "American Idol" winners have no need for tissues.

4:40 p.m.: In their interest of full-disclosure, this writer has been at the following awards: Grammys, AMAs and the Billboard Music Awards. The Country Music Assn. Awards are not on that list. They're also not on the list of awards this writer has, well, ever watched. So here goes nothin' ....

CMAs tonight!

The CMAs will be starting in a few hours, so check back to the Envelope for arrival and show galleries, as well as some live blogging here. Winners and any exciting moments will be updated throughout the evening.

As the countdown begins, here's a moment to look forward to: Reba McEntire performing with LeAnn Rimes. It's always a joy to hear the country vet sing.

And here's a moment to skip: Seeing smug mass-retail baby-boomers the Eagles celebrate the release of their Wal-Mart approved album with a performance this evening.

Earlier, I thought about running down the nominees for entertainer of the year with this post. They are as follows:

But previewing the entertainer of the year field seemed redundant. After all, this blog already previewed the male vocalist of the year category. Those nominees are as follows:

Swap your Josh Turner for your Rascal Flatts and you -- more or less -- have the same category.

That's why my pick is The Flatts. Keith Urban is certainly capable -- and deserving -- of sweeping, but The Flatts are coming off the massively successful "Me and My Gang," and its latest, "Still Feels Good," is still in top-10 on the U.S. pop chart.

Plus, Urban and The Flatts are both slated to perform tonight, and I have a feeling neither will go home without a top trophy, especially considering that Urban has a good shot to walk away with the album of the year prize.

Nevertheless, all this speculation will cease in about three hours, anyway.

(Photos courtesy www.cmaawards.com)

Know your CMA women

With the Country Music Assn. Awards only a couple days away, it's time to get brought up to speed if you're not already. Don't know your Taylor Swift from your Kellie Pickler, head to the CMA Web site, scroll mid-way down and play this Memory-styled game.

There's a timer on the upper left, presumably to see how fast you can ace the pre-"Brain Age" teaser, but it works better to see just how long before your lose your patience -- or succumb to boredom. One minute and 17 seconds on this end, and I'm ashamed to admit Rascal Flatts was the only group this writer unturned.

But enough award-related games.

Let's get back to predictions. The male vocalist of the year category was previewed here about one week ago, and today the female vocalist of the year field will get the run-down.

It's another male-dominated year at the CMAs, as no woman earned a nomination in the entertainer of the year field, a fact that's earning its share of gripes. Odd, as Carrie Underwood was fit to snare a best new artist trophy at last year's Grammy Awards, but in CMA Land, she'll have to make do with winning the female vocalist of the year award for the second year running. (In the AP story linked above, it's implied that success on the road and concert ticket sales were a huge factor in deciding who snared an entertainer of the year nom).

But here are the female nominees: Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire and Underwood (at left).

As stated above, the award will most likely go to Underwood, who has just released her sophomore effort, "Carnival Ride." While pure country-pop, the album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts, and seems to have finally cemented Underwood's respect in Nashville. All of 2007, in fact, was a sort of victory lap for Underwood, who, thus far, has seamlessly transitioned from "Idol" to super stardom.

If anyone other than Underwood wins. the best guess is likely McEntire, a six-time CMA winner who last won female vocalist honors in 1987. Her recent "Reba Duets" sees her working with country and pop royalty, elegantly bridging the gap from Faith Hill to Carole King to Justin Timberlake. 

Not every cut is a winner, but it's a more collaborative effort than most duet sets, and the range of artists provide a nice snapshot of McEntire's range and career. McEntire is country royalty, and with Underwood winning the award last year, it wouldn't be a total shock if she took it home in 2007.

McBride's "Waking Up Laughing" represents the first-time the artist self-produced an album, and it's also the first time she had a hand in co-writing some of the tracks. Her efforts to take more control were well-received, and it's a pleasant-enough listen, but it will likely be overshadowed this year.

As will young, "Nashville Star"-vet Lambert (at right). She's got a rock'n'roll heart and a smoking voice, but, sadly, lacks the sales or star power here. Her winning the award on the strength of second album, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," would make this writer happy, as she deserves a more mainstream following. Listen for yourself. "Famous In A Small Town" is as fine a suburban anthem released this year. Has that song been on an episode of "Friday Night Lights" yet? It should be.

Krauss is certainly deserving. The veteran artist has racked up 7 CMAs, but Krauss has a better shot in vocal group of the year category with her band, Union Station. And Krauss will clean-up at 2009's Grammys, thanks to her pairing with Robert Plant on "Raising Sand," which was released on Oct. 23.

More CMA run-downs in the coming days.

(Underwood photo courtesy MLB/Getty Images; Lambert photo courtesy Los Angeles Times)

CMA countdown starts....

The Country Music Assn. Awards are only a couple weeks away (Nov. 7). Tickets are still available for those willing to make the trip to Nashville. A pair of reserved seats at the Sommet Center can be yours for $817.01. With face value at $382.50, you're only paying about $52 in service charges, which, admittedly, isn't so bad.

Alison Krauss, Kellie Pickler and Jason Aldean were added to the list of performers yesterday. They join the likes of Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and the Eagles, among others. Yes, the Eagles, you read that right. But those wondering what the SoCal rockers are doing at a country award show, take heart. According to the CMA database, the Eagles have scored two CMA nominations -- one in 1976 and one in 1977. So, you see, it makes perfect sense to bring back band with such an illustrious country history.

But back to the awards. Over the next couple weeks, leading up the show, major categories will broken down here.

First up is Male Vocalist of the Year. The nominees include Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Josh Turner and Keith Urban (pictured). Including this year's tallies, those artists have a total of 147 nominations among them.

Strait is clearly the veteran/legend among the crew, racking up a whopping 70 nods. He hasn't won since 2005 (Musical Event of the year: "Good News, Bad News"), and this could be his year. He's coming off an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and his album, "It Just Comes Natural," spawned the hit "Give it Away." He's the safe choice, and a solid bet here, but the rival Academy of Country Music Awards already lavished a few trophies on him, and the CMAs may opt for a riskier choice.

The award could have been Chesney's for the taking. His "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates" was one of the more anticipated albums of the fall. It's still bringing in solid sales, having now moved more than 670,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But it failed to be the critical breakthrough, especially with all the pre-release hype of the album showing a more graceful, mature Chesney. It was, ultimately, a slight let-down, and I'm betting that swung the momentum away from him.

Turner's "Your Man" was steeped in tradition, but not a stand-out, and Paisley's "5th Gear" brought a much-needed jolt of humor to country. But the winner here will be Aussie Urban, whose "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing" packed the most grit. It was his most commercial effort, and it accomplished that without sacrificing the guitars. He won the award last year, has a greatest hits package on the horizon, and supposedly won his battle with alcohol abuse. "Love, Pain" also had a bit more groove than the other albums in the category, and he's still country's best male star at the moment.

Now tell me why I'm wrong.

(Photo courtesy AFP/Getty Images)