At a Glance: The Highs and Lows of the 2013 CMAs

It was truly an incredible night for all of country music and incase you missed it here are the highlights. You are definitely going to want to YouTube these babies because they’re gems and really shouldn’t be missed!

·      Duck Dynasty’s twist on “Blurred Lines”

o   This needs no explanation; it is just as hilarious and bizarre as it sounds.

Willie Robertson "twerking" on Carrie Underwood

Photo courtesy of ABC 7

·      Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert’s “We Were Us” performance

o   These two were born to duet. Their voices meld together perfectly and sound even better live than they do on the radio.

·      Little Big Town’s “Sober” performance

o   Their music is so raw and beautiful that they don’t need any special effects. Their harmonies never cease to give me chills.

·      Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s hilarious hosting

o   See overview in my blog post below. Bottom-line: They’re awesome!

·      Alan Jackson and George Strait honoring the late George Jones

o   Amazing to see two country music greats paying homage to one of country music’s most legendary artists.

·      Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts and Jennifer Nettles honoring Kenny Rogers

o   Rucker nailed “The Gambler”, and Nettles makes a great stand in for Dolly Parton while singing “Islands in the Stream” with Rogers. It was a nice way to honor the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award Winner.

Photo courtesy of Taste of Country

·      Both of Luke Bryan’s performances

o   Bryan set the tone for the rest of the rockin’ evening in his opening number with Florida Georgia Line. Later on in the show, Bryan got much more serious, singing “Drink A Beer” in tribute to his late brother and sister . Better have the tissues on hand before you watch this one! 

·      Eric Church’s performance of “The Outsiders”

o   Church did was he does best: kicking ass, taking names and melting faces with his outstanding performance of his latest song.

·      Zac Brown Band and Dave Grohl perform “Day for the Dead”

o   It’s always cool when musicians from different genres come together. Zac Brown Band puts on an amazing performance as it is but when Grohl’s incredible drum solos are added it becomes magic!

No awards show is without their blunders, however, and the CMAs were no exception. Here are the less than awesome parts of the night:

·      Carrie Underwood’s wardrobe

o   Underwood is a seriously gorgeous girl, I mean did you see those legs?! But a few of her outfits left me gaping at the screen thinking “Why Carrie? Why?” The worst was definitely her first outfit, which had awkward fabric side burns (for lack of a better description) at the bottom and bronze chainmail accents that made the incredibly fit artist look heavier in certain areas.

Photo courtesy of Hollywood Life

·      Jason Mraz forgetting the lyrics

o   Singing while moving through the crowd and performing to a camera can be tough work, and while Hunter Hayes managed just fine, Jason Mraz did not. There was an incredibly awkward moment when Mraz came out of his dressing room to meet up with Hayes and either forgot the lyrics entirely or had no idea where they were in the song. Hayes helped his buddy out and the two were able to recover, but Mraz’s blunder was far from inconspicuous.

·      Darius Rucker assigned to feud with Julianne Hough

o   As a part of Paisley and Underwood’s opening act they assigned stars in the audience someone to “feud” with. It was all good and fun until Darius Rucker was assigned Julianne Hough. This particular match-up was uncomfortable due to recent controversy over Hough’s choice of Halloween costume. Rucker was confused but played it off well, high fiving and laughing with those around him.

The Winners! 

- Entertainer of the Year: George Strait

- Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton

- Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert

- Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town

- Album of the Year: Based on a True Story, Blake Shelton, Scott Hendricks (producer)

- New Artist of the Year: Kacey Musgraves

- Vocal Duo of the Year: Florida Georgia Line

- Song of the Year: "I Drive Your Truck," Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington and Jimmy

Yeary

- Single of the Year: "Cruise," Florida Georgia Line, Joey Moi (producer)

- Musical Event: "Highway Don't Care," Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban

- Music Video: "Highway Don't Care," McGraw, Swift, Urban and Shane Drake (director)

- Musician: Mac McAnally

Recap of Country Music's Biggest Night! - The 47th Annual CMA Awards

Even though the CMA Awards are not a noteworthy country album, it is considered “Country Music’s Biggest Night”. They honor the very songs, albums and artists that I love and write about on a weekly basis. What kind of country blog would I be if I did not share my thoughts on this wonderful evening in country music? So here is my take on the 47^th Annual CMA Awards which aired on ABC last night, November 6th:

No one does an awards show quite like Nashville, Tennessee and the folks of country music. It is such a good time that even P. Diddy had to join in on the fun. Yes, Puff Daddy, the former rapper, was at the award show dubbed “country music’s biggest night”. Despite that awkward cameo, made complete by a shameless plug of Diddy's new music company, the night went as close to perfect as live shows can get these days.

The VMAs and other music award shows have begun to feel like a huge concert with the scattered presentation of awards inconveniently interrupting the performances. The CMAs, however, have managed to incorporate great performances and still feel like an award show. With performances from big names such as Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line, the CMAs were rockin’ but they never forgot what the main purpose of the show was. The best part about the CMAs, and country music in general, is the sincere support and admiration that the artists have for one another. These feelings of encouragement between the stars are so strong that they practically jump through the TV screen and wrap you in a warm embrace. The way they smile at, interact with and root for one another is so heartfelt that you can’t help but cheer for every single one of them in return.

Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line rock the opening of the CMAs

Photo courtesy of The Tennessean

The show was co-hosted for the sixth time by country music superstars Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. These two are one of the best duos to ever host an award show. Due largely in part to playing to sell out stadiums across the world, they are naturals on stage and in front of a live audience. But most importantly they are natural with one another. There is no competition for who can sneak in the most one-liners, nor is there awkward tension and uncomfortable silences. It is apparent that Paisley and Underwood are just as good of friends off-stage as they seem to be on-stage. These two also nail a crucial part of hosting: the humor. Paisley and Underwood’s jokes are spot on, perfectly timed and do not feel forced in the slightest. These days, a host is expected to do it all: look fabulous, deliver lines flawlessly and have the audience cracking up at their every joke. Most hosts fail to accomplish this, but Paisley and Underwood are a well-oiled machine and excel at their jobs as emcees.

Their opening song of “Why Can’t We Be Friends” was pure genius and was centered on the ridiculous feuds between celebrities today. This even prompted Luke Bryan and Zac Brown to hug out their widely publicized disagreement. It was hard to tell if this was spontaneous or had been scripted as a part of the opening, but it was awesome all the same. The duo held no punches when it came to making cracks at Miley Cyrus. Paisley publicly thanked Taylor Swift for managing to grow up in front of their eyes without “humping a teddy bear or gyrating with Beetle Juice”. He then went on to don an outfit later in the show that was incredibly similar to Thicke’s at the VMAs.  The best part of the Paisley/Underwood opening was their Duck Dynasty twist on the ever-popular “Blurred Lines” song. The performance was made complete with twerking from Willie and Jase Robertson.

Bryan and Brown hug it out! 

Photo courtesy of CBS

Paisley channels his inner Thicke and Underwood rocks her own foam finger

Photo courtesy of E! Online

It was surely a star-studded evening, with some of the biggest names in country music taking home trophies. Florida Georgia Line were two time winners for “Single of the Year” and “Vocal Duo of the Year”, while Blake Shelton took home awards for “Album of the Year” and “Male Vocalist of the Year”. The biggest surprise of the night, however, came when George Strait beat out Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift for “Entertainer of the Year”. No disrespect to King George, because he is a country music legend and always will be, but I can’t help but think that this win may have been for sentimental reasons rather than deservedness. It is hard to believe that a 61 year old could beat out some of the hardest-rocking, stadium-filling artists to ever be in country music. The fact that Strait announced his imminent retirement once his Cowboy Rides Away Tour is over, definitely swayed some votes his way. King George most definitely deserves our respect and admiration, and if that means giving him “Entertainer of the Year” one last time, then so be it. But there is no question that his win left some viewers scratching their heads.

Say what you will about Taylor Swift, but there is no denying that she is a bona fide superstar. Last night Swift was honored with the Pinnacle Award. This is an award that is given to artists who have brought country music to a global audience and has only ever had one other recipient (Garth Brooks in 2005). Despite the fact that Taylor may have deviated from country music and gone down the pop path in her latest album Red, there is no denying that she has put country music on the global stage. In case you were on the fence about Ms. Swift’s worthiness of this award, Tim McGraw and company put any rolling eyes to rest. While listening to McGraw give tribute to Swift and watching the amazing video package that was put together, you can’t help but admire the person that Swift has grown into at such a young age. During the package she received congratulations from celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Ellen DeGeneres and Ethel Kennedy. It was heartwarming to see Taylor being embraced by such an eclectic group, and it speaks to the superstar that she has become. Now, I know that we have all grown tired of Taylor’s aw-shucks disbelief as she wins award after award but last night her surprise and gratitude were complete genuine. The look on her face as she watched the video was one of sincerest shock that made you remember why she became America’s sweetheart in the first place. Swift closed her acceptance speech in an incredibly humble way saying, “You’ve made me feel so special right now, thank you”. Well Taylor, after all you’ve given to your fans and the lives that you have changed, you deserve to feel “so special”, because you are.

Swift accepts her Pinnacle Award with sincere gratitude

photo courtesy of CBS News

If you are one of those people who simply “doesn’t get country music” watch clips of this award show online. The CMAs are a great representation of why country music is so special. It’s the people, it’s the atmosphere, it’s the music…. It’s everything!