Maybe “breakthrough” wasn’t the right word; I think they’ve made some excellent music, and I’d like to seem them win Vocal Group against Lady Antebellum.

That said, I don’t see them as big stars just because they’ve had some success. It takes much more than two platinum albums and a few singles on country radio for artists to actually become superstars, in my opinion. It album sales, radio play, touring numbers, and maybe having a huge hit that causes a breakthrough to the general public.

ZBB has not had a huge hit outside of country music, and I would best most people who don’t listen to country music have no idea who they are. When they become a staple outside of country music, headline their own tour, have a massive hit, and continue to sell multi-platinum albums, I’ll be happy to back them.

Until then, I’m out.

The point is. Singers who know they only know how to sing still try to write songs (granted with a GROUP of real songwriters, but you see them still trying to be songwriters). So if Taylor being a songwriter wants to sing the songs she crafts, she has every right to sing if she so chooses. Singers voices come and go. Whitney Houston (voice pretty much gone), Mirah Carey, etc. But a singer/SONGWRITER will also be working. Perhaps that why singers like a Carrie Underwood try to write songs (even though her best and most successful songs are those she never wrote) as you never know when the voice is going to go with all the screaming and shouting done over the years.

But I think some people should ONLY SING. You can get further in the industry and be much more consistently successful as a singer if you try not writing your own songs, if writing isn’t what you are blessed at. You’ll know if writing isn’t what you’re blessed with if the songs you write aren’t critically acclaimed or are never nominated for Grammy awards or CMA awards etc.

Usually if you are a good songwriter you’ll eventually get major nominations for songwriting or at least critical acclaim. If it doesn’t happen over time, move on and stop trying and just pick great songs to sing. That’s what I love about Jason Aldean with “My Kind of Party”. His success is huge right now and the songs he’s singing he didn’t write. Instead he chose to pick great songs and sing them, a bam his most successful era yet.

I’m sure if Taylor’s music wasn’t selling well and wasn’t critically acclaimed with her SINGING, she would just write. Since she’s a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter why shouldn’t she continue to do both? She’s a proven success at both. That’s all I’m saying. I think it’s dumb for people to use the excuse of her voice for not rewarding her when she is a critically acclaimed consistent success.

I’m confused. What will it take for them to break through?

@Jonathan I couldn’t disagree more with the idea that Mine+Back To December+Mean > Only Prettier+Heart Like Mine+Baggage Claim. Only Prettier is witty, something Taylor’s songs have never come close to being. Heart Like Mine was solid, Taylor’s never come up with anything close to a line like

My brother got the brains of the family
So I thought I’d learn to sing

Mean has amazing production but lyrically it’s a mess and unlikable. Baggage Claim at least tries to build a song around a metaphor even if it’s a little tortured. At least it sounds fresh and brings something new to country music while still having something about it that’s country.

Taylor doesn’t deserve Entertainer Of The Year. She made a pop album and her relevance to country music has declined a lot since Fearless. Just because she deigned to make 1 country song on a pop album and is exposed to the country market doesn’t mean she’s actually defined country music. If anything the fact that her label’s had to mount massive 1 week pushes to get her singles to #1 on a manipulated Mediabase country chart before they totally crash and burn is a sign the country world’s going to demand her label continue to pour tons of money into their industry if they’re going to keep supporting her.

Here’s another interesting fact: Country Aircheck had a list of the top 10 selling country albums from the 3rd quarter of 2011 and Taylor’s wasn’t 1 of them. But, Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band who did release albums around the same time were. That goes to show how Taylor’s sales were frontloaded but her relevance in 2011 isn’t actually all that great.

I agree with Kevin in that Jason’s defined the year in country music though that hasn’t been a great thing for country music. But, I can’t see Jason winning because of politics. I can see Taylor winning because they’ve done so much campaigning to remind people about the money she’s able to generate. The nominations are because of that aspect of things. The fact that Blake’s 6 pack can get nominated is also a sign of how important campaigns and politics are to this process. It’d be nice if these awards went back to meaning something but lately they’re just the product of labels and management trying to push a business platform.

@Karly Zac Brown Band hasn’t had their breakthrough yet? What do you call the double platinum selling Chicken Fried? What do you call the #1 streak they’re on where their singles have all gone to #1 and sold platinum with their album selling platinum too? They’ve actually had the biggest year in country music out of all the groups nominated and they’re making the best music out of all the groups nominated too. They’re headliners in their own right in addition to being the 2nd name on Kenny Chesney’s stadium tour.

I’m sick of the awards aspect to be honest. Sometimes the people I like or think deserve them win them but a lot of times they don’t. The awards aren’t what’s going to determine the legacy of these people who win. Like, they can give Kenny and Taylor all the awards they want but I don’t think they’ll mean all that much to country music history in the end, not as much as people like Brad, Miranda, Dierks, Carrie, and if things go like I think they could Eric Church.