A pleasant surprise was the nomination for Marty Stuart and Connie Smith.

Headscratchers include David Nail’s name and “The Breath You Take” and I do consider the absence of “Bad Romance” in the Record of the Year category to be a serious snub.

And I agree with Jonathan up on top — Katy Perry for AOTY? Can you say “commercial”, Grammys?

Country Album – Revolution
Female Country Vocal – Temporary Home
-Even though it’s been a big Miranda year, she hasn’t been able to beat Carrie in this category for 2 years, and both she & Carrie lost to Taylor last year. I’m still putting my money on Mrs. Underwood to take her 6th Grammy home this year.
Male Country Vocal – ‘Til Summer Comes Around
Group/Duo Vocal – Little White Church
-They’ll give it to ZBB which I think would be pretty crappy, but one can always dream.
Song – First off, has there always been 6 nominees in this category? Second off, GRETCHEN? Third off, “Free”? Fourth off, “The Breath You Take?” Fifth and finally, “If I Die Young” actually got a nod!
Anyways, Song – The House That Built Me

I think the only reason Reba’s had staying power is because of her tv show, imho. She’s an excellent singer, and picks a number of great songs, but for some reason country dumps their female stars once they hit 40. Really, they dump their male stars of a certain age too. Can’t tell you the last time I heard a Johnny Cash/Merle Haggard song on the radio.

Sugarland and the Dixie Chicks are severely disappointing me, lol. First, Sugarland’s latest cd, and then we have the “break” the Chicks are on. Martie and Emily have been doing those live chats, and from their answers to a few questions, I get the impression they have no plans to record any Chicks music anytime soon. My only hope is that after all the feedback about adding more instrumentals to their music, we might get a few songs akin to “Lil’ Jack Slade” on the next Court Yard Hounds album. Those are the only ones I won’t notice Natalie’s absence and can close my eyes and pretend, if just for one brief song, that we have the Chicks back.

Mama’s Song sort of killed Carrie’s buzz in this ear, and she needs to immediately release a strong song as soon as MS peaks to get back some momentum. I realize she just got married, so maybe Mama’s song was a sentimental choice, but it was the wrong choice.

Also, I agree that releasing the Itunes songs as singles was not smart as it left you with no surprises or anticipation. I feel that they should not have used MS as an itunes single choice as it was not the right choice to sell the album.

I think it is rather unfair to say she should not write just because you may not like a few of her cowrites. There are many songs that Miranda and Taylor have penned that I cannot stand, though I would agree that they are both talented songwriters in general, with Miranda vastly superior to Taylor in that area. Carrie’s Last Name won a Grammy, and it is a kick butt song, which also tells a great story.

I agree that Carrie’s problem in this Album’s era, is that she has not released the best songs at all, and she is not showcasing songwriting talent properly in the songs she has released. Had she released What Can I Say instead of Mama’s Song, then I think we would be having a different conversation right now. I don’t understand what her team was thinking in releasing Mama’s Song to radio. It is a pretty, sweet album track, but not meant to be a radio single. It lacks a catchy hook and the lyrics are very simplistic, perhaps intentionally so. But it doesn’t work for radio.

“All American Girl” was actually a pretty big hit for Carrie, and that was a co-write. It is one of my favorite songs from the Carnival Ride era, and it became a female anthem for that time, especially at her live shows. It was a BIG hit with the young girls that Carrie would bring on stage with her to sing with her. It spent 2 weeks at number 1, and it a platinum selling single.

So Carrie’s main problem is not songwriting. She has the talent and potential to pen great songs someday as she is improving with each album.

Her problem, is picking the wrong singles lately. Mama’s Song was a terrible choice, especially right before awards season when she needed buzz and a huge hit to secure more nominations.

Zach, as far as Underwood’s team releasing “What Can I Say” or “Someday When I Stop Loving You” (especially the latter), I hope that Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” serves as an indication that something other than the typical hook-driven, overproduced songs that clog country radio can be just as commercially and critically successful–if not more–as its described counterparts. Or at least we can hope, right?

Moreover, if the Dixie Chicks were ever to return to the country format I’d be positively thrilled. I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to purchase an album as I was 2002′s Home. Even at age 11, I knew what excellent music was!