47th CMA Awards Offers Surprising Balance & A Big Win
Yes, it was still 2013, and it was still a modern country music awards show, and so traditional and independent-minded country music fans still had plenty to look sideways at if they were brave enough to watch. But that doesn’t mean that the 47th Annual Country Music Association Awards wasn’t a retrenching of the roots and substance in the genre’s most important institution, and a sign of hope for country fans who’ve simply been asking for years for balance to be reinstated into the mainstream country format.
Luke Bryan, who was the big winner at the ACM Awards in April, was completely shut out. So was Jason Aldean. Florida Georgia Line wasn’t, but this was understandable because of the historic success of their song “Cruise,” but they were bested by Kacey Musgraves in the New Artist of the Year category. And in the end, George Strait, King George, bested everyone by taking home the most coveted trophy in country music, the CMA for Entertainer of the Year.
Was it a parting gift for Strait after announcing his final tour? Of course it was. But it doesn’t mean it wasn’t deserved, and it doesn’t mean it isn’t sweet, both for George, and for traditional country fans, even the ones who may not mark themselves as big George Strait supporters. Strait’s win marks the first time in a decade a true country artist has won the trophy. Alan Jackson, George Strait’s duet partner for “He Stopped Loving Her Today” during a stirring George Jones tribute, was arguably the last traditional-leaning artist to win the award in 2003.
Which leads us to the performances of the 47th Annual CMA Awards. Along with the somewhat abridged, but heartfelt George Jones tribute, there was a tribute to Kenny Rogers, who was presented with this year’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award—an award that was founded last year. Lo and behold, a steel guitar made an appearance early in the presentation during Kacey Musgraves’ set, despite the disappointment of the lyric “roll up a joint” in her song “Follow Your Arrow” being censored out. Taylor Swift of all people, offered a stripped down acoustic set that featured Vince Gill, bluegrass maestro Sam Bush, Alison Krauss, and not just as backing musicians. Both Gill and Krauss took turns on verses, no doubt stimulating not a few younger fans to take to Google to figure out who these artists were, facilitating that important initial spark of discovery.
Even Luke Bryan, whose performance of “Country Girl (Shake It For Me) on the 2011 CMA Awards seemed like the pinnacle of indecency for a country awards show at the time, offered a somewhat stripped down, heartfelt performance that featured songwriter Chris Stapleton. In fact, there wasn’t really any performances that seemed gratuitously over-the-top. Apparently there was a moratorium on choreographed backup dancers for the 2013 CMA’s, and about the only pyrotechnics aside from Eric Church’s over-the-top performance of “The Outsiders” were some sparks streaming from beneath the wheels of a simulated boxcar during Jason Aldean’s song “Night Train.” Even the cross-genre moment was when the well-beloved Dave Grohl joined the Zac Brown Band on drums—a stark contrast from the rappers and Kid Rock’s of the world that have somehow become regular fixtures of country award shows recently.
What does this all mean? For one, it means there is a reason to be positive. Whether it is because of the collective crying out about the disenfranchising of country music’s traditional and independent fans through events like Blake Shelton labeling them “Old Farts and Jackasses,” or whether it is the tangible demographic data that shows that country fans as a whole want more traditional country in the country format, someone, somewhere is listening, and some of the change fans have been clamoring for in recent years is finally being enacted.
All that has been asked for is balance—a place at the table for alternatives to pop country—and though the ratio may still be somewhat out-of-whack, some balance was reinstated during the 2013 CMA Awards. If there was another winner during the event beyond the award winners, it might be CMA producer Robert Deaton. Deaton told the Tennessean on Nov. 1st, ““I think the biggest thing I want to strive for is balance. I’m talking about balance of who we are as a music and a genre because we are a lot of different things, you want to be current but you also want to pay tribute to the shoulders that we stand on.” And Robert Deaton backed up those words in the presentation. As much as the censoring of Kacey Musgraves may be a black eye of the 2013 CMA’s, it was done to make sure families and traditional viewers were not offended.
Furthermore, the proof that balance works is in the ratings pudding. The ratings for the CMA Awards was up by 21 percent over last year’s telecast in viewers and 24 percent in the key demographic. The growth was particularly big among young males, with ABC touting a nine-year high among men 18-34.
In September, Saving Country Music published 12 Reasons To Be Positive About Country Music in 2013, and the 47th CMA Awards was yet another one to add to the list. However slowly, however incrementally, and however offset by the continuing lows of some of country music’s mainstream males, things are changing. It had been years since true country fans felt a reason to stand up and cheer and had a reason to feel represented at the CMA Awards. But the 47th installment offered a few of them, and one very big one.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:01 am
Great award for George but he may be the last trad country artist EVER to win it. Also, I see this as bad news for Kacey Musgraves as she is now ‘included’ in the CMA fold, and with her already using top Nashville songwriters I can only see her going more pop…
November 7, 2013 @ 10:43 am
It may be the last win by a traditional country artist, or it may not be. Who thought 5 or 6 years ago we would ever see another win by a traditional country artist? Who is to say it won’t happen in the future if it happened 10 years after the last time it did? I agree the chances may be slim, but I don’t see a reason to be positive about the prospects now. And even if it never happens again, at least it happened one more time.
Kacey Musgraves is an enigma for me. If I had been in charge of her album and singles releases, I would have gone in a completely different direction. I think they’re trying to fit her in a niche to appeal to a demographic instead of allowing her to swing for the fences with her “A” list material to be come a bona-fide major country star. She’s the “other” girl artist, and though this has gotten her very far very fast, it also puts a ceiling above her potential.
Kacey seems to have a good working relationship with Brandy Clark and other good songwriters. My concern is her best material won’t appear on her albums, or be released as singles.
November 7, 2013 @ 1:04 pm
The decision to make Kacey an artist with a left of center message in a right of center genre might seem puzzling to some. This could also limit her audience in the country genre to single young women, the only segment of country’s fan base that probably agrees with her left of center views.
I think the marketing strategy here might be for Kacey to try to capture Taylor’s fans when they grow out of the high school demographic and go to college. The reasoning is that Taylor brought these girls into the “country” genre, and Kacey would be the natural next step when these girls get tired of daydreaming about princesses and fairy tales and are ready to experiment with different things in their lives. And there is a huge fan base of millions of girls who could make this transition in the next 3-5 years.
This strategy has worked before, most notably when Facebook replaced MySpace as the dominant social network. MySpace was the gateway drug for teenagers getting into social networking in 2003-2006. Millions of high school kids were already familiar with social networking as regular users of MySpace. Then Facebook got these teens to sign up when they went to college, and went on to successfully capture the vast majority of MySpace users in the next few years.
So the decision for Kacey and her record label is, whether to try to become the second act after Taylor, or to take the risk becoming a good country singer with no obvious target demographic group like Lee Ann Womack, for example. Any rational record company would take a 30% chance of creating the follow on act for Taylor fans, over producing another Lee Ann Womack. I think they are just making a reasonable business decision.
One potential stumbling block for Kacey is country radio. Conservative middle aged mothers who tune into country radio every day might not like Kacey’s message, especially the “roll up a joint” part.
November 7, 2013 @ 6:10 pm
She’s will be the female Eric Church.
November 7, 2013 @ 8:17 pm
I agree that the choice of singles have been short sighted in my opinion. The best case scenario for any of these songs is buzzy critical faves but very little chance of being big career making hits. ‘Merry Go Round’ hit #10 on the airplay charts, ‘Blowin Smoke’ peaked in the mid twenties and ‘Follow Your Arrow’ is going to have a hard time topping that I think and none of them have been big sellers though maybe last night will help ‘Arrow’. Are they trying to make a star or a critical favorite? Can be both but not the way they are going about it in my opinion.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:05 am
Didn’t get to watch live so watched it recorded late last night (pretty good way to watch actually). The balance was fairly decent but there were still some cringe worthy moments including that opening performance which was douchetastic with Bryan and FGL who seem totally unaware of how stupid they look. Loved the Jones tribute although I would have liked a retrospective to inform the unknowing about his music in addition to the AJ/Strait duet. The winners weren’t terrible I’ll take Blake over the bro country guys any day. The other thing that bugged me was some of the presenters, why Sean Combs? Robin Roberts? What does that even accomplish? Do they think any non country fans will watch just for that? But all and all not the worst show (which of course the CMA never is).
November 7, 2013 @ 10:49 am
The Sean Combs thing was just a gimmick to try to get a few more folks to tune in. The difference is last year, he would have performed. This year, they had him hand out an award. Yes, it was a fumbled opportunity to showcase another artist who more deserved the opportunity, but I’m telling you, these are the incremental steps to creating more balance in the CMA format.
As for Robin Roberts, that in my opinion is completely uncalled for. That is simply a payoff to ABC for running the show. Sure, let her hand out Single of the Year or something, but leave Entertainer hand off to someone who has some cred behind their name in country music.
November 7, 2013 @ 11:33 am
It’s the country music industry’s inferiority complex on display. They want to appeal to the cool kids by bringing in past their prime rappers. It also explains the country rap phenomenon where they are in effect saying country music isn’t cool enough but if we add rap the cool kids will like us more. You won’t be seeing Luke Bryan presenting on any hip hop awards shows I guarantee you that.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:06 am
Fortunately I spare my senses from watching these kinda things but they must have done something in promos that appealed to viewers as that number grew by about 3 million from the previous year. Last chance to see George Strait? FGL? Grohl\Brown combo? WTF?
November 7, 2013 @ 10:52 am
I wouldn’t be surprised if the increased viewership came from Swift fans tuning in to see her win a major award.
November 7, 2013 @ 11:02 am
According to the ratings that were just released, the growth was particularly big among young males, with ABC touting a nine-year high among men 18-34.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:59 am
The ratings info was coming in right as I was posting this. I just added that info up top. I think this proves why balance is the formula that can win the CMA more viewers, and country radio more listeners, as demographic and research data has been saying all along. The ratings were a huge win, and hopefully this reinforces the commitment of the CMA to offering a more balanced program.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:16 am
Aside from kicking off with the mashup from hell (“That’s My Kind of Night”/”Cruise”), that show wasn’t too bad. 🙂 There’s still room for improvement, but it seems as though they’ve backed down a bit from the excesses of last year’s ceremony.
Still incredibly happy for the Kacey and King George wins. As for the Jones tribute, I admit I was kinda hoping for a medley of classic tunes — like what Kenny Rogers ended up getting — but I’m glad George and AJ at least got to do a whole song. (Heck, even the Kenny tribute was, for me, a nice flashback to hearing his stuff on the radio as a kid in the ’80s.) Overall, there seemed to be a little more variety than there’s been in quite a while, and I appreciate that.
November 7, 2013 @ 11:09 am
One other thing that I’m sure was mentioned in the thread last night is how bizarrely creepy Tim McGraw looks nowadays. He must weigh about 125 lbs and he has this perma tan. And that song he sang was God awful. Sad because while he was never my favorite he did have some credibility.
November 7, 2013 @ 4:33 pm
I have little sympathy for Brantley Gilbert any day of the week, but I will say he was absolutely righteous to remark of his nightmares of Tim McGraw forcing him out of bed to do intensive workouts!
I mean, can you imagine Brantley Gilbert lightweight and with a George Hamilton tan? 😉
November 7, 2013 @ 11:26 am
I’m so happy for George Strait this morning. It’s been years since one of my favorite artists won Entertainer of the Year. Although it was more of a parting gift, I’ll take it for all those years he was nominated and should have won.
It’s hard to believe but 23 years have passed since King George last won CMA EOY in 1990. That’s incredible! I was 14 and in High School and still buying cassettes (I got my first CD player in 93). The first Bush was in Office, the Simpsons debuted on something called the Fox network, the phenominon of Garth Brooks had yet to explode, Saddam Hussein invaded Iraq and I bet a few of Trig’s followers weren’t even born!
Just think about the other artists nominated that night in 1990 with George Strait and where their careers are today – Clint Black, Kathy Mattea, Randy Travis, and Ricky Van Shelton.
Initially, I thought there will never be an artist whose career could sustain that can of lapse in years between EOY wins (let alone still be relevant in today’s country music landscape). However, I think an artist might duplicate that feat, soon.
Garth Brooks last one CMA EOY honor was in 1997 (16 years ago). As we prepare for Garth’s return to country music, will he be able to repeat what his mentor did last night?
November 7, 2013 @ 12:20 pm
It’s still probably a long shot, but why couldn’t Garth Brooks land Entertainer of the Year if he came back with a big album and a big tour? Before last night, I would never thought of that as a possibility. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at least nominated in the next year or two. And the timing is good. He’s going to do his televised special, and probably make his big announcement later this month. That will give him a full year of momentum to at least be involved in some capacity in the 2014 CMA Awards.
I’m telling you folks, there are many reasons to be positive here.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:06 pm
I think this show was a pretty good win for real country music.
I think the uptick in viewers (18-34 males) was due to the “train wreck” effect. All those guys thinking, what the F do chicks see in some of these douche bags, I gotta watch.
And what they saw was tolerable and somewhat victorious.
The douche bags looked like douche bags. How proud can you be if your Aldean or FGL that you attract 16 yr. old girls and see your place in the pecking order when you see AJax and Strait perform. Or hell, even TSwift is making you look like a f-ing idiot.
Some real artists got what they deserved.
For the first time in a long time, maybe a guys girlfriend or wife said “what the hell is wrong with Tim McGraw, he looks like shit.” (and friends, Faith ain’t looking to sharp either)
And Eric Church…WTF is your deal man? You can’t proclaim yourself the type of artist your are trying to be.
I think we are seeing the end of Bryan and Aldean. Blake’s little run is probably done. Fake outlaws weren’t anywhere to be found.
And FGL…fuck, these guys are great. Every group needs the rock bottom of stupid, and FGL is the height of rock bottom.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:12 pm
I’m happy George and Kacey won. I enjoyed Carrie( which I know she is very unpopular around here but oh we’ll) Kacey, George and Alan. George is a lot older than me, but he is still so handsome and dreamy.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
I found this article about the CMAs to be really interesting and informative about the way in which country music is perceived by those outside the genre.
I think it’s interesting that he immediately drew parallels between the treatment of Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus at the CMAs, and I think he may have a point when he says that the perception in mainstream country is that it’s okay to try new sounds, as long as you don’t embarrass the genre. That you can “venture out, but come back. Have your musical Rumspringa, if you will. But if you leave and embarrass us, we’re changing the locks.” That while Swift may have gone pop with her latest album and become bigger then ever, because she is willing to come back and act like nothing has changed, and is willing to promote more traditional acts and introduce them to a new audience, she is still welcome to appear and participate at country award shows. While people like Cyrus or Natalie Maines aren’t welcome to return to country because they have criticized and embarrassed the genre publicly.
http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/91922/youre-either-with-us-or-against-us-the-cmas-and-the-country-music-family
November 7, 2013 @ 12:25 pm
Was Miley Cyrus ever part of country? My recollection she has purposely avoided it because she was worried about the rigidness of the format. As for Natalie Maines, I will be the first to say she was wronged, but since then she’s done absolutely nothing to try and get back in the good graces of the genre. In fact she’s burned every bridge she could find and then done a happy dance over the ashes, trashing the entire genre along the way.
Taylor Swift not playing country music still remains a big issue in my opinion. Sure, maybe she gave a little good will toward the genre last night with her performance, but the fact still remains that she is a pop singer in the country genre, and one performance, or $4 million gifts to the Country Hall of Fame can’t resolve that.
November 7, 2013 @ 1:20 pm
“Was Miley Cyrus ever part of country? My recollection she has purposely avoided it because she was worried about the rigidness of the format.”
The argument laid out in the article is that she is country because she was born into the genre as the daughter of Billy Ray and goddaughter of Dolly Parton. Additionally, for a brief period around 2009-2010, it looked like she may try to make a move into mainstream country after she left Disney, as she was invited to perform at the ACMs and she released an album that definitely had some country trappings. This move would have made sense given her country pedigree and it seemed like the leadership in Nashville were willing to accept her into the mainstream. Since then however, she has embarrassed country music through her actions and so has been ostracized from and mocked by the mainstream of the genre.
“As for Natalie Maines, I will be the first to say she was wronged, but since then she”™s done absolutely nothing to try and get back in the good graces of the genre. In fact she”™s burned every bridge she could find and then done a happy dance over the ashes, trashing the entire genre along the way.”
Absolutely, and that”™s my point. A few years ago it seemed like the major players in Nashville realized that they made a mistake in how they treated her and were willing to apologize and reinclude her into the mainstream of the genre. But because she”™s repeatedly trashed the entire genre and embarrassed country music publicly, as you”™ve pointed out, the powers that be have decided that she isn”™t welcome to return to mainstream country music, even if she wanted to, and intentionally overlook and marginalize Maines and her accomplishments, despite the fact that she”™s released some of the most traditionally country sounding albums over the past decade.
“Taylor Swift not playing country music still remains a big issue in my opinion. Sure, maybe she gave a little good will toward the genre last night with her performance, but the fact still remains that she is a pop singer in the country genre, and one performance, or $4 million gifts to the Country Hall of Fame can”™t resolve that.”
Of course not, I agree with you that she”™s absolutely not making country music right now and shouldn”™t be going up for country awards. But the argument made by the author of the article is that because Swift is willing to play nice in public, the powers that be are willing to overlook her significant issues, issues that would get most other people blackballed, and nominate and include her in country award shows, even though she”™s making music that is inarguably less country than someone like Natalie Maines. I thought it was interesting that an outsider picked up on that, and that that point was their key takeaway from the CMAs. I thought they raised some interesting points about country music being a collective family, and the importance of not embarrassing that family in front of others, that I hadn’t necessarily considered before.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:47 pm
Other than her last name Miley Cyrus has never been country nor claimed to be.
This same thing happens in other genres like R & B/Hip Hop and alternative rock where acts start out as these genres prized pupils and then they have some mainstream success and before you know it they are persona non grata in their original homes. Why country should be singled out I don’t understand.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
I’m just curious if FGL got on anyone else’s nerves? No one in the show annoyed me but them. They were kind of ridiculous acting.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:31 pm
Ahh.. don’t let these two get to you. Any energy, but a smile laughing at how dorky they are, is a waste.
They are harmless, and I think their performance in that show was telling. They were laughable. I don’t even consider the music.
November 7, 2013 @ 1:16 pm
It annoyed me that they wore wallet chains to the show! -__-
November 7, 2013 @ 12:25 pm
While I agree the George Strait victory for “Entertainer of the Year” was reassuring considering the current context of the established format at large, I can’t help but feel persisting cynicism at the back of my mind in that this was more an extension of an olive branch than a full-throated referendum of sorts in favor of gravitating back to balance.
While I’m glad Strait earned the accolade above all other competitors, I still can’t help but feel it was offered to him more out of sentimental obligation than on his own track record over the past year. And when you consider the fact that “Give It All We Got Tonight” only reached #1 on the Mediabase chart (it didn’t even reach the top on Billboard) after a nearly-unprecedented payola push predicated on the “60 For 60 Campaign” topped only by Garth Brooks’ “More Than A Memory” in 2007 artificially sent it straight to the top before a near-historic plunge in spins the following week………….as well as that “Love Is Everything” is one of the worst albums of his entire recording career…………..I find HOW we received the accolade rather questionable and propped more as a parting gift out of respect than full-on genuine recognition of his place in the established genre circa 2013 A.D.
The eschewing of choreographed dancers, bells and whistles and some intimate acoustic-driven moments were absolutely welcomed and I’m not going to diminish their significance at all, but next year mark my words. George Strait won’t be nominated at all for Entertainer of the Year, and unless Alan Jackson decides to bid farewell in touring next year too, he isn’t going to be either. In fact I’d go so far to say that even if he did, he wouldn’t garner the same press and response Strait has anyway, sadly.
What remains to be seen is if any “neo-traditionalist” or someone who at least authentically straddles the divide between traditional and contemporary country flavors can effectively earn a birth among the nominees for “Entertainer of the Year”. Frankly, I don’t see a viable contender at this juncture. I think the field will be effectively gerrymandered by the likes of Bryan, Shelton, Aldean and potentially even Florida-Georgia Line for the next several years. That only leaves one other slot, and following her receiving of the Pinnacle Award, I think Swift has the name recognition alone to claim the fifth and final slot.
November 7, 2013 @ 1:32 pm
I think Kacey Musgraves has a shot in 2-3 years after Taylor’s pop music career cools down. When “country” singers cross over to pop and their pop careers lose momentum, they are usually not a big deal in the country genre any more.
November 7, 2013 @ 2:23 pm
Color me highly skeptical she will emerge as a mainstream staple (at least as a lead performing artist, in that I DO see her having a very bright future ahead as a songwriter).
“Same Trailer, Different Park”, while surely selling respectably, nonetheless has sales that don’t add up to the enormous hype and critical acclaim she has been receiving all year. In spite of all this hype, she still has neither a Top Ten hit or an RIAA-certified album to her name, and it also hasn’t translated to cult fanfare via digital single sales.
You know something is amiss when the key moment of her debut at the Country Music Awards is the look on her face following Miranda Lambert’s repeated victory as the CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year (which I’ve already articulated I was quick to notice and couldn’t help but feel disappointed seeing); rather than the performance of “Follow Your Arrow” or even her winning New Artist of the Year! =/
November 7, 2013 @ 2:26 pm
On a similar note, I hope the fact she self-censored the “joint” lyric in her performance of “Follow Your Arrow” last night isn’t indicative of the possibility that she might make a few more concessions to the corporate “country” establishment in the coming months if she concludes that’s what it will take to receive her first Top Ten hit.
That was painful to see last night and demonstrates even someone as generally and authentically outspoken as Kacey Musgraves isn’t bulletproof when it comes to peer pressure.
November 7, 2013 @ 3:06 pm
I don’t think the corporate establishment would mind if Kacey could sell millions of records to young women with lyrics about smoking pot. Her problem is country radio. There are many people in the CMA Awards audience who are NOT in Kacey’s target demographic. Many country radio listeners are married soccer moms who go to church and vote Republican, and there might have been concerns that if she were too outspoken at the CMAs some of the concerned women on the right might call up their local country stations and tell them not to play Kacey’s music. Remember what the radio boycott did to the Dixie Chicks’ careers …
Also if Kacey’s marketing strategy is to win over Taylor Swift fans, that puts her in the awkward position of having to walk a fine line and be “edgy but not too edgy”.
November 7, 2013 @ 3:09 pm
From everything I’m reading, it wasn’t Kacey or the CMA that censored the “joint” reference, but ABC. She sang the line, though when I initially saw it in real time, I thought she wasn’t singing it either.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/kacey-musgraves-cma-censoring-not-only-wrong-but-ineffective
November 7, 2013 @ 3:12 pm
I agree it was an homage and shouldn’t be considered a long-range trend, and I also agree that next year we likely won’t see a traditional country artist win. But that doesn’t take anything away from this win, this year. I almost feel like traditional country fans are so used to everything going wrong, they’re expecting the worst. Why not think of the possibility of an Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, or some other unforseen star rising up to take that place in the coming years? What Strait’s win means is that it is a possibility, which is a hell of a lot more hope than what we had before.
November 8, 2013 @ 5:29 am
To me, the country music industry is like the entrenched American political establishment. It just seems like the system is too corrupt at this point for positive, fundamental change to occur. (I suppose you can read that comment from whatever political direction you choose.)
In both cases, I can’t help but feel like a genuine revolution is the only thing that could actually acheive the kind of change I’d ike to see. I’m visuializing Jason Isbell storming the gates with an angry mob or something like that. 😉
In my fantasy, Allison Krauss and Vince Gill would each be featured in their own solo performances rather than performing as session men for a pop star. Heck, I’d even let Taylor Swift have a cameo. Current Grand Ole Opry members Old Crow Medicine Show could perform during the credits instead of Hootie doing his bland rendition of “Wagon Wheel.” Furthermore, all the alternate choices that Trigger presented in his live blog would at least be nominees in their respective fields. Yeah, yeah, I know even that is a total pipe dream.
Coming back down to earth, I’ll simply echo the congratulations for George Strait on his EOTY win. I’ve never listened to his music that much, but I respect him and it’s just cool to see an old timer win. And while I may not be huge Kenny Rogers guy, it’s just to see respect being shown to elder artists. It wasn’t necessary to wait for The Possum to kick the bucket in order to have that kind of tribute.
November 8, 2013 @ 5:51 am
I guess these pop music award shows are really products of the monoculture, which itself is crumbling.
Additionally, the fact that Brad and Carrie are doing lame “sexting” jokes just shows the fact that the technology time time lag between the big cities and middle America is probably not that long anymore. (When did “sexting” become a big thing in pop culture? I certainly wouldn’t know!)
I can’t help but wonder if in the near future, everybody will be too busy streaming, skyping, spotifying, or watching one of the other thousand channels to pay attention to what the mainstream media is doing, thus flattening out the playing field. If that happened, mainstream country might suck just as bad or worse, but perhaps the array of talent in the independent country field could rise to the top without having to try to go through mainstream channels? I’m getting off topic, but it’s kinda intersting to think about what will happen in the next few years.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:42 pm
Did you miss all the pyrotechnics during the Eric Church performance?
November 7, 2013 @ 12:51 pm
I was about to mention that! 😉
That performance wasn’t bad, but it had ABSOLUTELY NO PLACE AT THE COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS! (eye roll)
November 7, 2013 @ 3:15 pm
I forgot to mention that, but I think the point still holds: compared to the previous last few years, it was a more tame production. Just go watch Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” from 2011.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:49 pm
Oh, and before I forget…
*
(cue inevitable, incessant stream of “Carrie was a shoo-in to win ‘Entertainer of the Year’ after a huge tour and a huge successful album, and it was STOLEN from her!” remarks from enraged die-hard Underwood fans)
3, 2, 1……..GO!!!
*
In seriousness, though, overall I’m simply concluding that Carrie Underwood fans are second only to Brantley Gilbert fans (“BG Nation”) as the most embarrassingly outspoken fans of any “country” artist circa 2013 A.D.
That’s right……………worse than Florida-Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, even Luke Bryan fans on average. I swear, the most outspoken Florida-Georgia and Aldean fans actually look tame overall compared to the most outspoken of Underwood fans! -__-
I visited some other sites and forums that specialize in country music discussion that also covered last night’s 47th Annual Country Music Awards, and I was ASTOUNDED by how the alleged ostracizing of Underwood DOMINATED each entire discussion: where every other comment consisted of conspiracy theories as to why Underwood has never pulled off the “Entertainer of the Year” merit. It gave me a migraine!
November 8, 2013 @ 5:13 am
and yet you’re the only one here talking about it. Good work, dipshit.
November 8, 2013 @ 9:08 am
Don’t know which is more disturbing, Carrie fans obsession with her or your obsession with them.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:54 pm
Watched it to see the Jones tribute which was well done. Happy for George. Thought ZBB and Dave were great for what it was Rock and Roll. Trig, hope you are right about the positive signs for the future but i’ll be dammned if I can see them.
November 7, 2013 @ 1:50 pm
George Strait only won because of the sympathy vote for retiring from the road. You’ll never see that happen for a woman like Reba.
November 7, 2013 @ 3:19 pm
See Bob, I understand what you’re saying, and you may be right, but it will never happen if traditional country fans are always couching themselves as the downtrodden losers. Who would have predicted two years ago that George Strait would have won Entertainer of the Year? Nobody. But he did. And it means that other more worthy country stars could too in the future, parting gift or not. And let’s not diminish the commercial and cultural impact of Strait’s 2013 tour, as well as a few fairly well-performing radio hits. He may have been the sympathy vote, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t earn it.
November 7, 2013 @ 2:03 pm
Well, it might just be a fond farewell parting gift, but I still find it humorous that at the start of 2013 we had the then current Entertainer of the Year throwing out insults and claiming that no one wants to listen to their grandparents music, and now at the end of the year the new Entertainer of the Year is a singer I remember my grandma listening to all the time.
Maybe this is just a temporary thing and 2014 will be right back down in the “1994 / Cruise / My Kinda Night” toilet, but we can always hope that maybe the powers that be in country music have learned at least a little something from the backlash they have been getting this year.
November 7, 2013 @ 3:21 pm
Yes, King George takes rook Shelton. It’s awful sweet.
November 7, 2013 @ 2:03 pm
surprisingly good show last night there’s always some annoying parts in any awards show that’s just how it is. the only real complaint I had was the Obama care jokes. I wish they would just keep politics and religion out of events like that all it does is alienate people like me who love the music but not the cultural baggage that comes with it.
the Kenny rogers segment really got to me even though I pretty much gave up on the guy back in the 80’s. the very first album i ever paid full price for from a retailer was “the gambler” and it cost me around six bucks way back in 1978. before that i always bought my records used because 25-50 cents beats the hell out of six dollars but that song was that fucking great to my 12 year old ears. after listening to the album i ended up loving another song on it “Little More Like Me” even more than the title cut and even now it still moves me. anyways more of a nostalgia moment than anything else i guess but still was great seeing the guy honored.
i really liked musgraves performance (and dress!) even though im still not completely sold on her (Trojan horse?). i liked eric church’s performance a lot too which i did not expect after all the hate ive read about him here lol.
just read the snarky comments on last nights live blog and as usual a fun read.
November 7, 2013 @ 8:55 pm
So glad George won EOY award-a nice tribute! I’m airing my frustration at the Country Music industry! Watching all those talented artists like Vince Gill & Allison Krause sitting around singing small parts in a song called Red was surreal to me! This is country music now! Hate country radio too! Is anyone else longing to hear songs that don’t all sound alike! Love Darius Rucker Keith Urban Blake & Little Big Town Band Perry Lady A etc! All this talent is being wasted on mediocre songs that I cant understand -It’s gotten worse the last 5 or so yrs! Even Miranda the great songwriter has gone crazy with songs like this aint your mamas whatever stupid video! She’s much more than that! Where R all the great songs! They’ve dried up! Carrie Underwood had one good songs Jesus take the Wheel! The rest all sound alike & she screams her way thru them! & I’ve heard her sing country & she can do it right she’s really good at it! So she wastes her talent going for the masses & ignoring country roots! The tribute to George Jones & Kenny Rogers were a joke espl the one for Jones! Folks we lost a legend & this is all he gets! I’m done until country gets its act together! If U want to be pop go there but somebody please start working on writing good country songs instead of this stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere! Stop wasting your talent! Make statements with your music!
November 8, 2013 @ 8:36 am
How can you criticize todays music and at the same time “love” Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Blake, Lady A. They are what is wrong with the music. You can’t have it both ways.
November 8, 2013 @ 10:39 am
I criticize them for putting out low ball songs just to sell albums when they’re so talented & can do better! The talent is there but they’re not putting out quality music! Just sick of the fluff! Like I said where are the songs? Look at the nominees for song of the year? I cant even remember them except the one that won! & it was a great song! There’s nothing good coming out listen to the radio! Stop recording these stupid songs! Countryn music is pitiful right now! Blake keeps doing good stuff just has too much on his plate! Miranda had a bad yr singing stupid stuff! She’s better than that! Why didn’t Jason Aldean ever win or Kelly Clarkson? Sick of Carrie Underwood & Brad Paisley! He used to write good songs! & didn’t he learn anything from that stupid song with the rapper? The Obamacare skit was stupid! I could go on all day/! Apparently U missed my point! The talent is there! It’s just not being used in the right way! Hate what they’re doing to country music! I refuse to listen to radio anymore! Just listen to my old CD’s with the good stuff on them!
November 8, 2013 @ 4:29 am
Hey Trigger, don’t know if you will see this comment… but you’ve mentioned before that one of the reasons you live-blog award shows is because of all the traffic they brings to the site due to bewildered fans seaching for someone to corroborate their opinons.
Did you know notice that the site got a lot hits during the CMAs or an increase in people coming here due to searches like “Florida georgia line sucks” or something like that?
November 8, 2013 @ 11:37 am
I don’t like talking about specific numbers because then people give me hell for bragging or embellishing, but I will say that during the awards show and in the hour after, traffic to SCM increased an average of 500%, and traffic in total over the 2nd half of Wednesday and for all of Thursday was up around 200%. Thursday was actually better than Wednesday with all the residual traffic and interest in the aftermath of the CMA’s, and it was our best day on the site aside from the day of the super-viral “Old Farts & Jackasses” Blake Shelton story. And yes, as you might have seen by some of the comments left on stories about folks like Blake Shelton and Florida-Georgia Line, those types of articles got a ton of interest. Overall I would say the CMA event was very successful at trying to create interest for the artists and causes that Saving Country Music is trying to champion. Now it’s time to make sure we follow up by showing folks they have alternatives.
November 8, 2013 @ 6:33 am
I personally don’t consider George Strait, Alan Jackson or Garth Brooks traditional country. I view them as the pioneers of bad country. Instead of hoping the 90s country guys win awards, I am just going to hope that we get a few more Miranda Lambert’s and Kacey Musgraves and that guys like Shane McAnally (who wrote some of those Kasey tunes) keeps writing songs like those. Who knows, maybe we will even get a young male someday who is awesome! I mean, just one would be so nice!!! But if it doesn’t happen, no biggie. I will just go about my life ignoring what they do and listen to what I want. It’s not like we are dependent on the radio these days.
November 8, 2013 @ 10:28 am
You strike me as one of those “I hate anything mainstream” type cynical people. Putting aside the obvious and very common hatred towards Garth and what he did for country music, how can you possibly say George and Alan were pioneers of bad country? Lets ignore a few mistakes along the way (good time, etc). They both sing about subjects that are very much the focal point of traditional country (ie. family, God, love, heartbreak). And just to point it out, I wouldn’t exactly call George “90’s country”, considering he already had 20 number one hits by 1990. He was an 80’s artist with staying power of 4 decades.
November 8, 2013 @ 6:05 pm
Sorry… Correction… I do not think giving awards to 80s and 90s Country Stars is going to solve the New Country sucks problem. I like mainstream music if it’s good. I love Miranda and I love the Dixie Chicks. Kacey Musgraves is great. Bring on more of that and I’ll like it.
November 8, 2013 @ 11:44 am
But do you consider George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks better than Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and Florida-Georgia Line? Things have to start somewhere, and little victories can lead to bigger victories and winning the war.
November 8, 2013 @ 6:10 pm
Anyone is better than those freaks. It is mind boggling how bad they are!!!! My friend is in a Luke Bryan video and I tried to watch it to see her. I had to turn off the sound. He is puke!!! Bring us just one great guy. Jake Bugg is great. Give us a Country Jake Bugg.
November 8, 2013 @ 8:28 am
From a marketing standpoint, you can’t underestimate the power of this awards show. It boosted the sales of every song/artist that received a nomination and award.
I guess some don’t realize that Kasey Musgraves is the writer of Miranda’s song….”Mama’s Broken Heart”. As a writer and an artist….Kasey will be just fine.
It gave me a pinch to see Vince Gill and Alison Kraus sitting on the sidelines, but families don’t eat their own.
November 8, 2013 @ 11:42 am
But isn’t it better to see them sitting on the sidelines, than to not see them at all? This what would have happened over the past few years. I guess that’s my only point.
November 8, 2013 @ 6:12 pm
Kasey wrote Mamas Broken Heart with Shane McAnally. Great song.
November 8, 2013 @ 12:33 pm
After learning about Luke Bryan’s siblings’ death, I am beginning to empathize somewhat with him. Maybe party songs are his way of coping with all the sadness?
November 8, 2013 @ 2:25 pm
Yes….I love Vince Gill and Alison Kraus. It’s always good to see and hear them.
I am cutting Luke Bryan alot of slack because of his family tragedies.
November 9, 2013 @ 5:06 am
One question, where was Reba?? Crazy… Great to see the King get the top award, but where was the Queen? Also where was Chris Young, I’m my opinion one of the best voices we have today…
November 9, 2013 @ 5:16 am
Oh forgot one thing, can we please please find a way to rid our beloved genre of FGL? I can only pray they become a one hit wonder and quickly forgotten, considering that every one of their “songs” sound the same, lets hope that’s a good start down one hit wonder lane. Sigh.
November 9, 2013 @ 3:42 pm
Chris Young is a great voice, but some of his recent musical decisions have been very regrettable. “Aw Naw” fits right in with the rap-rock, frat-boy trend in mainstream country.
November 11, 2013 @ 8:38 am
Being in Scotland, it has taken me a few days to actually get a copy of the CMA’s to watch.
Have to agree with the sentiment of the article, there was some element of balance, or at least as much as could have been expected.
The opening from Bryan and FGL gave my cringe-reflex a good workout. I never thought I could scrunch my face up into a fist, but I was proven wrong. Completely catatonic.
As far as “mainstream” country music goes, I actually don’t mind Brad Paisley, but I simply hate the presentation style from him and Carrie. Horribly scripted, sit-com canned comedy. I know some people love it, but I can’t help but wince at some of it.
But having said that, I did enjoy the George Jones tribute, as well as Kacey Musgraves performance. Even Luke Bryan’s rendition of “Drink a Beer” showed true soulfulness and heart felt sorrow, obviously from his personal experience, that is missing from 99% of his music.
Finally, it was great to see George Strait getting the recognition he deserves. Having been in the game for over three decades, without changing his musical style greatly, he’s one of the very few big timers who have avoided Nashville’s calls for pop-country. He received that award on merit.