ACM’s Present a Sausage Fest for 2015 New Artist Award
The increasingly irrelevant Academy of Country Music Awards, or ACM’s, released their annual earache of ignoble pseudo-country performers known as the semi-final “New Artist” nominees this Monday, that spellbind any beholder with an even elementary understanding of the definitions of “New” and “Artist” as to how such names were populated. And lo and behold, there’s not one candidate among them that isn’t sporting a male appendage. And when you count Dan + Shay, that makes seven of them scrunched into skinny jeans.
Now I’m not one of these hoity toity swinging Richards who wants to enact some form of affirmative action in the country music awards industry. Caring that much would afford these ACM distinctions more value than they’re worth. But for all things holy, with all the talk of how females are continuously getting figuratively screwed in country music these days, you couldn’t come up with at least one woman, or at least one artist people with even a modicum of taste could get excited about, that could eventually be beaten out by Luke Bryan’s former merch guy, a former Survivor contestant, or a guy who plays EDM, because of backroom kinky sex vote swapping amongst labels?
The ACM’s “New Artist of the Year” nominees read like a lineup of who is trying to screw country music more at the moment, and who has the most lucrative hair product endorsements, aside from Cole Swindell who doesn’t have any hair. Yeah yeah, Brett Eldredge and Kip Moore may have a decent song or two, but hell, Kip Moore is 34-years-old and had a #1 Platinum hit with “Somethin’ Bout A Truck” some four years ago now, and Elgredge’s “Don’t Ya” was a Platinum hit in 2012. How exactly are these guys “new”?
Why don’t you put some artists who’ve really made waves in 2014 on the list, like Sturgill Simpson, whose album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music released way back in May is currently beating out every other candidate’s album on the Billboard charts except the country swindler Sam Hunt’s EDM monstrosity. That’s right, Sturg is besting Cole Swindell, Chase Rice, all of them. Or why not give some love to Maddie & Tae who’ve been making historic waves on the charts this year? How about Brandy Clark? And why are we nominating four folks in Tyler Farr, Brett Eldredge, Kip Moore, and Thomas Rhett who were nominated last year? Come on people, give some other performers a chance.
To determine the winner, the ACM’s have announced they’ll take into consideration a formula that combines both length and girth…I mean, fan voting to be then unceremoniously brushed aside by PricwaterhouseCoopers and replaced with whomever the good ol’ boy oligarchy decides is best for their bottom lines. At least this year the ACM’s are actually adhering to their own self-appointed rules unlike last year when they nominated Justin Moore who was clearly ineligible, and then to make matters even more sinister, eventually won. What a mockery of the intelligence the ACM’s display with their “New Artist” award.
Sorry ACM’s, but this is one list you could have kept in your pants.
ACM’s “New Artist” semi-finalists:
Brett Eldredge
Tyler Farr
Sam Hunt
Kip Moore
Thomas Rhett
Chase Rice
Cole Swindell
Dan + Shay
January 12, 2015 @ 11:40 am
What a freaking joke. I have two more names you could put on the list that are more worthy than all of these nominees and are mainstream: Eric Paslay and Jon Pardi. Both put out much better albums and have had some chart success. Or are they scared off by the fact that these two play mostly country music? Pardi was handpicked by Alan Jackson to open for him on his upcoming tour. Paslay has more top 30 hits than Rice, Rhett and Dan + Shay. Dammit ACMs.
January 12, 2015 @ 11:41 am
Wait… who was on Survivor??
January 12, 2015 @ 11:58 am
Chase Rice was. Also an interesting fact, Sturgill Simpson and Chase Rice officially share a record label in Thirty Tigers, though Chase now has some deal with Columbia Nashville on top of that.
January 12, 2015 @ 12:20 pm
Lord have mercy. I did not know that. HaHaHa. Party Down South I could believe, but Survivor?? Too bad he didn’t contract some sort of flesh eating bacteria. He’s such a douche.
January 12, 2015 @ 12:46 pm
So I had to YouTube that treat.
“Hey you guys, looky what I got. I finally caught a fish! It was a little slow, might be hurt, but I got it!”
LMAO
Survivor: Nicaragua – Chase Catches First Fish: http://youtu.be/hbYSBkaLytA
January 12, 2015 @ 2:05 pm
Did chase change? He was still with his own independent label dack janiels but promotion of “ready, set, roll” was paid for and picked up by Sony nashville. His music was actually fairly good around 2012 or so with his dirt road communion album. “Jack Daniels and Jesus” would be a good song for anyone to sing.
January 12, 2015 @ 2:47 pm
Dack Janiels I believe was done through Thirty Tigers. Thirty Tigers is not officially a record label, but facilitates the release of music like a record label and allows arists to keep their own publishing. So even though it appears on the surface that Chase Rice “owns” his own label, there’s no office or personnel for it. In truth it is Thirty Tigers.
I don’t know the specifics of his deal with Columbia Nashville, or how that interfaces with Thirty Tigers, but I know that Thirty Tigers still represent him in some capacity. He is still a Thirty Tigers artist.
January 12, 2015 @ 11:43 am
Holly Williams.
January 12, 2015 @ 11:44 am
The fact that there are artists that were nominated last year on this is absurd. That would be like being nominated for the best album category for multiple years with the same album. You should only be allowed to be nominated for a new artist category once. After that, you’re not new anymore.
January 12, 2015 @ 2:27 pm
I was thinking the same thing. If they were new last year, how can they still be new a year later!
January 12, 2015 @ 4:07 pm
SILENCE!!!! How dare you try to argue with us by using logic and facts!!! You are a hater and will be dealt with accordingly by you and your ilk being called “haterz” ad nauseum! We make the rules, and if we say an artist will be nominated for best new artist two years in a row, that is what shall be done!!!
You have no power here!!!!!
Back In The Saddle Tiddy Bits | Rawhide And Velvet
January 12, 2015 @ 11:57 am
[…] Sucky sausage fest for the 2015 Artist Award […]
January 12, 2015 @ 1:20 pm
Thirty Tigers is a management agency. Tracy is a goddess.
January 12, 2015 @ 2:49 pm
Thirty Tigers does management, promotion, and distribution. Some artists have it all, some have only one or two of their services. If you’re talking about Traci Thomas, yes, she is a big reason for the success of Jason Isbell and is a great manager.
January 12, 2015 @ 2:04 pm
I don’t care about any of them but i guess Eldredge by default.
January 12, 2015 @ 2:26 pm
Trigger,
What exactly are the numbers on meta modern sounds in country music? How many copies has it sold? All this talk about how great it’s doing but I’ve never seen a number?
January 12, 2015 @ 2:51 pm
Last numbers I saw were 65,000, but those are probably pretty dated. Sturgill just shot up the charts again last week, going from #22 to #15 on Billboard Country Albums chart. It’s the little album that could.
January 12, 2015 @ 3:49 pm
Does the 65K include albums purchased on iTunes?
Been sitting anywhere from #20 to #6 or 7 for months now, currently #11.
January 12, 2015 @ 4:32 pm
Yes, it would include whole albums purchase on iTunes, or under the new album rules, I believe if someone purchase an album’s equivalent worth of individual tracks, or 1,500 streams through a subscription service, this would also count as a sale. But again, that is an old number in believe from November or so, so who knows where it is now.
iTunes charts can be a useful barometer to gauge some things. But in the stream heavy environment, and one where if people do purchase music it many times is individual songs, it doesn’t always give the best picture. #15 on the Billboard Country Albums chart for a totally independent release from May is pretty incredible.
January 13, 2015 @ 3:15 am
Just for the sake of comparison, How many copies do artists like Hank 3 and Shooter Jennings sell? I’d be interested in learning how some of the other underground people stack up too.
January 12, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
I have to ask why we believe record companies push men? My initial assumption is that they sell better and since the show is just a showcase to sell more albums, the record companies want the best opportunity to make as much money as possible. It’s not truly “best” anything, let’s get over that real quick. It’s just who’s likely to make us more money.
January 13, 2015 @ 12:57 am
Record companies push men and women but radio refuses to play more than a few women even though some like Gretchen Wilson, Kellie Pickler and Kacey Musgraves outsold many men they played more. And they don’t even play most women long enough to have a chance to sell. Usually it’s one top 20 if they are lucky then radio shuts them out forever.
http://www.mjsbigblog.com/the-country-radio-climb-how-are-major-labels-serving-new-acts-male-female.htm
“Record executives say they”™ve been told there”™s only one slot for a new female.”
http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/11/08/country-radio-needs-show-female-artists-respect/18670057/
January 12, 2015 @ 8:32 pm
Had to give props for “sausagefest”. Suits my sophisticated sense of humour.
January 12, 2015 @ 9:16 pm
There isn’t one name on that list that says ” Country Music ” to me or would even pique my interest in the format . It is now , in my opinion , a genre unto itself having less and less to do with real Country music with every release and less and less to do with substance of any kind regardless of the the name it chooses to market itself under.
Again …..thanks to many informative sites such as this , You Tube , satellite radio and online access to purchasing music we are fortunate in these times that we do not have to settle for being lumped with the lowest common denominator and force fed at the trough of inferior and wholly generic ‘artistry’ . Lists like this only make me more grateful and appreciative of that fact .There is just SO MUCH wonderful music out there that these minimally talented and ultimately irrelevant and insignificant ‘entertainers’ with nothing to say would be wise to keep looking over their shoulders .
January 13, 2015 @ 12:44 am
Send this bro-country radio based pizza back to Domibros because we didn’t order extra sausage. No way I’m listening to 10-20+ bros in a row. Pandora has a decent women of country station.
2007 nominees
TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST
Rodney Atkins
Craig Morgan
Chris Young
TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST
Miranda Lambert
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift
My how country music has progressed! There’s so much sausage it’s plugging radio programmers ears and the awards can’t even have a female new artist category or nominee anymore. All involved in creating this sexist sausage fest should be proud!
January 13, 2015 @ 2:55 pm
Why wasn’t Brandy Clark or Maddie & Tae included!? Is there not one female that the voters deem worthy? What a joke!
And we wonder why the stale old boys club continues to reign in country music. Sad backward way of thinking voters & country radio!!!
January 14, 2015 @ 5:48 pm
I agree it is a sad joke! It might be too early for Maddie and Tae though and it looks like EPs aren’t eligible. MAYBE next year after their album releases.
“This award is presented to an outstanding male vocalist, female vocalist, vocal duo or vocal group in the country music industry who gains either initial fame or significantly greater recognition, through efforts surrounding the promotion of a debut or sophomore album, during the prior calendar year of November 28, 2013 to November 26, 2014.”
I liked when radio and awards allowed 3 new artist categories with room for men, women, duos and groups.
2007
TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST
Rodney Atkins ** WINNER **
Craig Morgan
Chris Young ** FAN’S CHOICE **
TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST
Miranda Lambert ** WINNER **
Kellie Pickler ** FAN’S CHOICE **
Taylor Swift
TOP NEW DUO OR VOCAL GROUP
Heartland
Little Big Town ** WINNER & FAN’S CHOICE **
The Wreckers
2008
TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST
Luke Bryan
Jack Ingram ** WINNER **
Jake Owen ** FAN’S CHOICE **
TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST
Sarah Buxton
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift ** WINNER & FAN’S CHOICE **
TOP NEW DUO OR VOCAL GROUP
Carolina Rain ** FAN’S CHOICE **
Lady Antebellum ** WINNER **
The Wreckers
2009
TOP NEW MALE VOCALIST
Jamey Johnson
James Otto
Jake Owen ** WINNER ** (Becomes eligible for ACM New Artist of the Year) ** FAN-VOTED WINNER **
TOP NEW FEMALE VOCALIST
Sarah Buxton
Julianne Hough ** WINNER ** (Becomes eligible for ACM New Artist of the Year) ** FAN-VOTED WINNER **
Ashton Shepherd
TOP NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP
Eli Young Band
The Lost Trailers
Zac Brown Band ** WINNER ** (Becomes eligible for ACM New Artist of the Year) ** FAN-VOTED WINNER **
http://countrymusic.about.com/od/acmawards/
January 13, 2015 @ 8:57 pm
This is so on the mark….However I do not see the big hype over Maddie & Tae; they are awful. And yes indeed Brandy Clark was overlooked
January 14, 2015 @ 5:08 pm
Jon Pardi should definitely be on there. He might be a little rocky but he does have a few great country tunes. If I had to pick one of the shitters on that list, Id go with Brett Eldredge. Guys actually sub-par.
January 15, 2015 @ 1:11 am
With the way they operate I nominate Lindi Ortega because she is new to American mainstream country listeners, or how about Lydia Loveless, or First Aid Kit, or I don’t know any female country act that put out a record in 2014! I never understood how the new artist category worked on ANY awards show, it always seem to be an artist the mainstream music buying public hasn’t caught onto yet. Because most nominees always seem to have one or two albums they released before a major label deal or have been performing for years and thus are not really new, Susan Tedeschi comes to mind from when she was nominated back in the 90s.
January 15, 2015 @ 10:58 am
First Aid Kit is actually a name that I think should be given a legitimate consideration for distinctions like this. They’re on a major label, they have incredible support from high-production videos, and they draw large crowds. If First Aid Kit was really pushed to mainstream country, they could really kill it. Of course, I don’t thing they see themselves in that company, but unfortunately because they’re on a major label, Americana has been ignoring them too.
January 17, 2015 @ 11:52 am
Why hasn’t Trigger made any more posts? Was he assassinated by angry pop country fans?
January 17, 2015 @ 12:46 pm
I’ve been posting away. If you are not seeing anything, try refreshing your browser, or using a different browser and see if they new posts appear.
January 17, 2015 @ 3:18 pm
I can’t get anything past this one. What did you post on? Maybe I can look that up without it having to show up on the latest news thing. If it’s not too much trouble, can you please tell me all the topics so I can try looking them up individually?
January 17, 2015 @ 3:26 pm
His page does this quite often for me. It typically will stay that way for a week when it does it but if I open the page incognito it will work correctly.
January 17, 2015 @ 3:27 pm
I found the Sturgill Simpson signs Atlantic Records one. I just can’t get them on the actual site page.