2013 CMA Nominations

cma_awardThis year’s CMA nominees were just announced this morning by Sheryl Crow and Florida Georgia Line from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. This year’s crop features many of the usual suspects, as well as a few surprising inclusions and exclusions. The full list of nominees follows with some brief commentary. Musgraves, Shelton and Swift lead with five nominations each, followed by Florida Georgia Line with four. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Entertainer of the Year

  • Jason Aldean
  • Luke Bryan
  • Blake Shelton
  • George Strait
  • Taylor Swift

Dude, where’s Carrie Underwood?

Male Vocalist of the Year

  • Jason Aldean
  • Luke Bryan
  • Eric Church
  • Blake Shelton
  • Keith Urban

Female Vocalist of the Year

  • Kelly Clarkson
  • Miranda Lambert
  • Kacey Musgraves
  • Taylor Swift
  • Carrie Underwood

For the first time since 1997, the Female Vocalist race is Martina-less.

Vocal Group of the Year

  • The Band Perry
  • Eli Young Band
  • Lady Antebellum
  • Little Big Town
  • Zac Brown Band

No surprises here.

Vocal Duo of the Year

  • Big & Rich
  • The Civil Wars
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • Love and Theft
  • Sugarland
  • Thompson Square

No idea why they decided to nominated six duos this year when it’s usually all they can do to come up with five, especially considering that Sugarland was not active as a duo this year.

New Artist of the Year

  • Lee Brice
  • Brett Eldredge
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • Kacey Musgraves
  • Kip Moore

Album of the Year

  • Little Big Town, Tornado
    Produced by Jay Joyce
  • Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park
    Produced by Luke Laird, Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves
  • Blake Shelton, Based On a True Story…
    Produced by Scott Hendricks
  • Taylor Swift, Red
    Produced by Jeff Bhasker, Scott Borchetta, Nathan Chapman, Dann Huff, Jacknife Lee, Max Martin, Shellback, Taylor Swift, Butch Walker and Dan Wilson
  • Carrie Underwood, Blown Away
    Produced by Mark Bright

Yay, Kacey Musgraves!

Single of the Year

  • Florida Georgia Line, “Cruise”
    Produced by Joey Moi
  • Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
    Produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw
  • Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”
    Produced by Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf and Chuck Ainlay
  • Kacey Musgraves, “Merry Go ‘Round”
    Produced by Luke Laird, Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves
  • Darius Rucker, “Wagon Wheel”
    Produced by Frank Rogers

Dude, where’s Carrie Underwood?

Song of the Year

  • “I Drive Your Truck” (Lee Brice)
    Written by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington and Jimmy Yeary
  • “Mama’s Broken Heart” (Miranda Lambert)
    Written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves
  • “Merry Go ‘Round” (Kacey Musgraves)
    Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne
  • “Pontoon” (Little Big Town)
    Written by Barry Dean, Natalie Hemby and Luke Laird
  • “Wagon Wheel” (Darius Rucker)
    Written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor

“Pontoon” gets nominated – “Blown Away” doesn’t? I don’t get it.

Music Video of the Year

  • Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
    Directed by Randee St. Nicholas
  • Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies, “Boys ‘Round Here”
    Directed by Trey Fanjoy
  • Lady Antebellum, “Downtown”
    Directed by Peter Zavadil
  • Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
    Directed by Shane Drake
  • Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”
    Directed by Trey Fanjoy
  • Little Big Town, “Tornado”
    Directed by Shane Drake

Musical Event of the Year

  • Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies, “Boys ‘Round Here”
  • Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, “Cruise”
  • Kelly Clarkson featuring Vince Gill, “Don’t Rush”
  • Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
  • Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Eric Church, “The Only Way I Know”

Seriously? “Boys ‘Round Here” is what it takes for the Pistol Annies to finally get some CMA recognition?

Musician of the Year

  • Same Bush (Mandolin)
  • Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
  • Dann Huff (Guitar)
  • Brent Mason (Guitar)
  • Mac McAnally (Guitar)

92 Comments

  1. If they wanted to give George a “going away” present, they should’ve given him a lifetime achievement award — not an EOTY nomination that he has no chance of winning. That spot really did belong to Carrie.

    I’m no Carrie fan, but I have to give recognition where it’s due: the fact that she, the ONLY true ambassador for Country that goes out of her way to broaden the genre’s horizons, has never once received a nomination for Entertainer is astonishing. You couldn’t change a TV or radio channel this year without seeing her name plastered somewhere. I really do feel bad for the girl. She’s got the Album and Video nods, too, which are nice, but she even won the GRAMMY AWARDS for Country Song and Vocal for “Blown Away” and they didn’t nominate it. Didn’t “Pontoon” win Single of the Year LAST year? That’s just embarrassing.

    Brad Paisley is shut out entirely, and he has to go and co-host the ceremony. I feel terrible for him. Not even Male Vocalist — what has Eric Church done this past year that was bigger than Brad? Not two #1s, a new #1 album, or a sold-out world tour.
    Also, no recognition for Hunter Hayes. Kind of shocking there since “I Want Crazy” is still getting recurrent airplay up the wazoo.

    Yay for Kacey love! She deserves it.

    …Sugarland? And why does duo have six nods? That’s the most obscure category here. Lordy, Entertainer should have a sixth nod for Carrie if Duo can get six nods.

    This really is a lot of confusion and oddities all just thrown together. I’m praying that the association shows more love for Kacey come November 6. The less time we have to see Florida Georgia Line on stage, the better.

  2. Taylor Swift is a pop singer who loves to do what she is doing. Why are the country award shows trying to drag her to a place she doesn’t even show interest in. How embarassing for them. And Carrie Underwood has another of the biggest years of her career and in country music, but the industry still doesn’t think she deserves it? I don’t understand what they want her to do? How can someone who uses her celebrity to sell the industry so strongly be ignored for someone who doesn’t even care if country radio drops dead tomorrow? What is wrong with these people? Happy for Kacey, I am tired of Miranda taking all her good material.

  3. I’m am perpetually disappointed with their “Single” and “Song” of the year choices. My lists will always look different from the “best” songs that they nominate.

    My Song/Single of the Year…
    “Neon” Chris Young
    “Beer With Jesus” Rhett Atkins Jr.
    “The Wind” Zac Brown Band
    “Merry Go Round” Kacey Musgraves
    “Like Jesus Does” Eric Church
    “Drinkin’ Man” George Strait (If if qualifies)

    Seeeeeee, doesn’t that look much better? To me, those are all well written, well sung songs that deserve to be counted amongst the best. “Cruise” certainly does not belong on this list of best anything, but sadly I think it will end up the victor.

  4. In all fairness, Taylor has THREE SOLD OUT SHOWS coming up in NASHVILLE, TN. She goes to the CMT’s, CMA’s, ACM’s, did Tim McGraws special had a #1 with Begin Again, etc. So she does want to be associated with Country it’s just that she is also a global superstar and I think that’s why some of her haters don’t get it. Just skip it and stop complaining!

    Why is Kelly Clarkson getting a free pass with her having TWO NOMINATIONS? Is it because she’s not successful like Taylor Swift thus you aren’t jealous of Kelly Clarkson?

  5. “Dude, where’s Carrie Underwood?”
    I think you can keep repeating that for many years, Ben.

    I just can’t believe there’s a nomination for Sugarland. No Hunter Hayes or Band Perry as well. These voters really don’t vote according to eligibility period, do they?

    I accept that Taylor’s tour numbers can’t be ignored hence she will always have a EOTY nominee spot, but her album nomination is undeserving, IMO, no matter how big her first week sales were. The whole album was practically entirely represented and promoted on Pop radio, with the country singles hardly doing much. I enjoyed “Red” album very much, but it really went way too far over the country-pop line.

    The best part about the nominations though is the recognition for Kacey’s excellent album. Thank God they got it right with Kacey.

  6. And Kelly Clarkson doesn’t deserve to be nominated for Female Vocalist yet. I agree with the nomination for “Don’t Rush” though. Like that song. So much better than the “country” singles nonsense she has attempted so far.

  7. “Why is Kelly Clarkson getting a free pass with her having TWO NOMINATIONS? Is it because she’s not successful like Taylor Swift thus you aren’t jealous of Kelly Clarkson?”

    Sweetheart, do you even know Kelly’s statistics at Pop radio? Or any statistics about her career in general? She’s had plenty of success herself.

    It seems like Swift fans get a great ticket to ride since they can utilize her massive touring revenue for her subpar representation in the Country music format. Seems like such a cheap shot. It’s so aggravating to see her fans use Taylor’s stats as a way if looking down on other artists.

  8. Kelly Clarkson isn’t successful like Taylor Swift. If she was, she’d be the one with the EOTY nom and she’d be the one who won 8 BILLBOARD AWARDS. Kelly Clarkson was successful back in 2004 she’s struggling to sell platinum these days. Not looking down on her just giving the obvious of a person who’s not successful as someone else getting a FREE pass to two nominations because of that.

  9. Well Carrie hasn’t found a cure for cancer nor has she solved the Middle East crisis … I don’t think she’ll get an EOTY nomination until she does.

  10. Really surprised that carrie wasn’t in EOTY. What’s up with sugarland being in duo of the year? what have they done this year. I love that The Civil Wars is nominated. The One That got Away is an awesome song. Unfortunately FGL is probably going to win it. I love eric church, but what has he done this year to be nominated for Male vocalist. I personally thought tim mcgraw or brad paisley should have been there instead. also highway don’t care, every storm (runs out of rain), or blown away should have been nominated for song of the year instead of pontoon. I would have loved to see set you free get album of year nod but that’s just wishful thinking. it was pretty awesome to see kacey musgraves lead the nominations.

  11. I feel bad for Brad and Hunter!

    And what about The Band Perry!?

    Why in hell Carrie isnt nominated for Entertainer!????????

    This is so wrong! A new singer (Kacey) with poor sells and a pop singer are the two artists with more nominations!?

    and this is the so called Country Music biggest night!? This is more like Country Music shamed night or something! lol

    Cant wait for Taylor to perform the mega Country hit I know You Where Trouble! :P

  12. Well these voters are funny!

    Eric Church for Male!?? he do almost nothing this past year! I think Hunter deserves more that nomination.

    Pontoon for Song of the Year!??? lol I think Pontoon is the new “Over You”, will be nominated for ever!! hahaha

    George for Entertainer is because is his last tour! so obvious!

    Taylor for Entertainer for her succses in POP music! #Ridiculous :P

    Sugarland take a year off and gets a nomination! whats!??

    Blake is nominated again for make jokes on the voice and sing mediocre songs!

    Carrie snubbed again for Entertainer! I feel so bad for her!

    Congrats to all the “awesome” nominees!!! hahaha

  13. This is so wrong! A new singer (Kacey) with poor sells and a pop singer are the two artists with more nominations!?

    Kacey Musgraves’ sales are nothing to sneeze at. The Same Trailer Different Park album has sold over 200,000 copies, and “Merry Go ‘Round” is a gold single.

  14. This whole CMA nominations is just bullshit.

    -Taylor Swift is POP. Not supposed to be in any of these category at all. pls just let her live her dreams in her pop fantasy tennage girls world.
    -Carrie Underwood got snubbed for EOTY. again.
    -Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church are just 80s wannabe rock and roll singers. NOT country.
    -Sugarland, Big and Rich and Civil Wars shouldn’t even be in the Duo Category. Their songs are not even played on country radio nowadays. except maybe a little sugarland. but they have basically broke up.
    -Pontoon is such an old song. why is it even nominated?

  15. Something is rotten in Nashville- and I can smell the stink all the way here in NY. The Snub of Carrie Underwood for Entertainer is a joke and a huge slap in her face after her massive Tour, successful album and 4 number ones off Blown Away. Carrie toured over 120 cities in 6 countries and 98% were sellouts. She got great reviews from her tour and album- and her Tour DVD has been number 1 for 4 weeks now. What more do these biased voters want from Carrie:Blood?? Yet they hand Poptart Taylor Eoty like candy- whether she tours or not and whether she is even remotely country or not- and despite the fact that Taylor cannot even sing on key live. Her album is Pop with Dubstep- and it still gets nominated. Do people not see the big fat elephant in the room here? Are the blind? Or too well compensated from Scott Bullsh***a to care? The way they treat Carrie is a disgrace. Blake does the Voice and doesn’t tour- yet wins Eoty. And gets nominated again this year. Opening acts get nominated. But Carrie? Oh no. We will snub her to accomodate the Pop Princess and King George. I can understand the sentimentality of King George’s last tour- and I love and respect him- but what they did was Wrong on so many levels. What is their issue with Carrie?? She is nice to all and deserved this. She waited 7 years and still not a single nomination. Something stinks for sure.

  16. Given how wretched the CMAs have often been in the last several years, this actually feels like a better pool than we’ve seen in a while. The ongoing Underwood snub feels especially unjustified in a year when she made her most interesting career moves and still sold as well as the guys, but I’m exremely impressed that Musgraves and “Mama’s Broken Heart” got as many nominations as they did. And “Wagon Wheel,” though that’s less of a surprise. There seems to be a contingent of CMA voters who still have functioning taste and will grasp at anything remotely good. God bless ’em.

  17. The noms for Sugarland, “Pontoon,” and Eric Church show that many in the industry don’t pay attention to things like eligibility. The CMAs really need some sort of a screening process like the Grammys so that eligibility is ensured. Maybe “Pontoon” and Sugarland will be ruled ineligible ex post facto like Alison Krauss was for Album back in the 90s.

    The snub of Carrie in Entertainer is a combination of sexism (can’t reward too many females!) and label politics (her label simply doesn’t have the industry heft of some other labels).

  18. I can’t exactly believe that Arista doesn’t have enough heft. Brad won in 2010 — a year that included the EOTY-nominated breakthroughs of Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum (“The House That Built Me” and “Need You Now” year), and he’s on Arista Nashville.

    There really isn’t any valid excuse to Carrie’s snubs anymore. I agree with Taylor in the very first post on this article — if they wanted to honor the King for his final tour, they should’ve given him a Lifetime Achievement Award. He had one Top 5 hit this year and half of a tour. Carrie had 3 #1s, sold nearly 5 million digital downloads and tons of albums, had a full 112-date international tour that played to over 1 million fans and grossed over $55 million in total, etc., and she got butted out because George needed a nod? Kind of sickening.

  19. Even accounting for George Strait thing, why was it Carrie that was snubbed? I’d argue she deserved to win over everyone, anyway. Between her huge tour, album sales, digital sales, successful videos, and announcements of Sound of Music and NFL theme (i.e. things that bring attention to country music through Carrie) she is an obvious pick for EOTY.

    Swift’s accomplishments are mostly outside of the country industry. Blake Shelton has some hits and The Voice, but he’s already been rewarded for that. Will he keep getting recognized for the same show over and over? I realize Luke Bryant is on a good run, but isn’t he an opening act? Jason Aldean has good sales, a tour, and some hits, but his year hasn’t been as big as previous ones whereas Carrie’s tour and critical acclaim are a new peak for her.

  20. Cam – But you have to keep in mind that Brad Paisley is a male artist and it’s easier for him to get acknowledged (though look how long it took him to get major recognition). Carrie is fighting the sexism that runs in the country industry, so she needs a label with heft more than Brad does.

  21. What makes everyone so sure Underwood lost her EOTY nomination to King George? I have a feeling she was further down their list than that. The CMAs have made it clear, based on several years’ results, that Carrie is not what they are looking for in that category. They have not given her the Female Vocalist award in years, even when her fellow nominees expected her to win it, so why expect her to get a shot at the CMA’s biggest prize? She is far too classy to say anything publicly, but after the year she had, and the work she put in, and the growth as an artist she has shown, this has to sting.

  22. I realize Luke Bryant is on a good run, but isn’t he an opening act?

    No, he’s currently headlining the Dirt Road Diaries Tour. I admit his jump to superstar headliner status has caught me rather by surprise (as Jason Aldean’s did a few short years ago).

  23. Matt makes sense: “The snub of Carrie in Entertainer is a combination of sexism (can’t reward too many females!) and label politics (her label simply doesn’t have the industry heft of some other labels).” Think about? Scott Borchetta and Big Machine Records has contracted many big stars over the last 3 years and SONY has lost their “King of the Hill” status. Remember Carrie and Brad winning all the time? SONY ruled then. Now it’s Big Machine and Reba who is associated with Blake who is married to Miranda… I believe Carrie and Brad knew not to expect anything. CMA’s use to be the prestigious country award show..and now it’s almost dropped to the level of the ACM’s. But I do applaud greatly the nod to Kacey Musgraves. But hmmm, Reba is friends with Kelly and also friends with Miranda who wrote with Kacey who was also on Nashville Now. Well..all makes perfect sense.

  24. Brad Paisley was completely shut out. That’s just heinous, especially after the year he’s had. He’s co-hosting the show, too. His tweet about it seemed pretty telling of his feelings towards everything. He deserved, at the very least, a Male Vocalist of the Year nod, especially over Eric Church.

  25. This new “Music Mafia” Power Couple thing is sickening. I am a fan of Miranda and Blake- but this has gone TOO far. If Blake’s label has all the power due to Narvel- Reba’s husband- no wonders the Blake/Miranda/Kelly train keeps rolling along and getting nominations they have not necessarily earned. I love Kelly as a pop star- but this is ridiculous. Leann Rimes or Kellie Pickler deserved that last Female Vocalist slot over a Pop artist. And what is it with some Country Blog sites calling Kelly a “country artist” now? she has been Pop for 10 years. Now she is suddenly country when she doesn’t even have an album out, and she is touring with Maroon 5? Makes no sense. And I love Kelly. But this is wrong.

    My bigger beef is the Taylor Swift façade. It is like everyone knows she is Pop- but no one has the power to stop Big Machine. They ruled today along with Blake’s label. Poor Keith and Hunter were snubbed, Sony was snubbed except for Miranda due to Blake and Narvel.

    This chummy little crew of Narvel and Big Machine ruling the roost and dominating award shows has gotten real old, real fast. How many back room dealings and $$$ passed hands for this to keep happening is beyond me. Maybe I don’t want to know. But I do know it is tainting the integrity of the CMAs and country music in general. Enough already. So much for the best man/woman winning. Not in this world.

  26. Though Carrie probably deserved it, I’m not complaining about Strait getting an EOTY nom.

    Does anyone else think Lee Brice shouldn’t even qualify as a new artist? I probably would have given that to an actualy newcomer (Tyler Farr for example).

    Why, for the last years, does Sugarland get DOTY nominations for doing nothing? Better yet, why does that category still exist?

    Nice to see some Musgraves love.

  27. I guess if Carrie gave $4 million dollars to the Country Music Hall of Fame like Taylor Swift did, maybe she would buy some more votes. Ugh. It makes me sick. I am glad Carrie and Brad and others do not play this corrupt game. Even Zac Brown Band publicly stated that the CMAs are riddled by Back room dealing, label block voting, and vote trading– and it is nothing they want a part of. No wonders the Grammys give all the love to ZacBB, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, and even Hunter Hayes– because they are more pure and not as affected by CMA label power. As far as I am concerned — the CMAs are completely tainted. I have lost all respect for them.

  28. I am disgusted with the CMAs. Politics have no business in anything but the political world. There are obviously politics in the world of country music too. I guess if you’re associated with either Big Machine or Borchetta you can count on getting rewarded for mediocre work over someone who has put their heart and soul into doing the best job they can in all aspects of their career. For Carrie to get snubbed again is ridiculous. Someone said she should find a cure for cancer and bring peace to the Middle East and then she might have a chance. I think they would even snub her then. They have lost all credibility in my book. I’m through with them.

  29. Why was the criteria for Female Vocalist changed? From the CMAs website:

    Category 5 – FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

    This Award is based on individual musical performance on a solo album release. Award to artist.

    …this used to have an inclusion of “achievement in live and recorded music”, “achievement in live performances”, etc. Why is it altered to…a musical performance on an album? If that’s the case, then Miranda’s out because FTR was an effort for last year’s show, and it’s a race between Carrie, Kacey, and Taylor.

  30. Does it really matter if the criteria have changed? Aren’t voters going to vote the same way they’ve always been voting? If criteria meant anything, Carrie Underwood would have been sitting on an EoTY right now.

  31. I’m not a big Carrie fan but I find her omission puzzling. I think Paisely got hosed, as well.

    Beyond that I don’t really care

  32. Am I the only person who thinks Kacey Musgraves is overrated? I LOVED Merry Go’ Round and am happy to see it nominated but most of the songs on her album were only okay. She definitely is interesting and has potential and I’m happy she’s finding an audience but I think 6 nominations for that album is a huge stretch considering the material on it and really only is a statement of how weak the material everyone else is putting out. I definitely like her, but I think she’s being vastly over-rewarded and over-praised at this point in her career.

  33. Cam – That is interesting about the criteria change, but as has been said, it obviously doesn’t matter since Miranda got in anyway. She had singles from her album release in the time period, so maybe that counts.

    I wonder if that was a way to prevent someone like Kelly Clarkson from getting in off duets on other people’s albums?

  34. Just so Sad.

    I am not a Carrie fan but agree she should have had a couple more nominatins.

    Why would Taylor get so many noms when she had little radio play. Yes, as someone mentioned she does show up at all the awards, but let’s just be honest. It has all to do with selling records, not couuntry loyalty. With all of the special guests she brings out at her shows, does she ever bring out a county artist?

    I have nothing against her and I wish her success. I just wish her music wasn’t hurting the country genre so much. Just so sad to anyone who really loves country music. I do feel bad for Taylor as she isn’t the only country artist using the the country market to sell but she has become the poster for that.

  35. “Why would Taylor get so many noms when she had little radio play.”

    YOu try selling 1 million plus albums in a week then comeback and tell me she doesn’t deserve her noms, then land in the genus book of world records. Radio is not the only aspect of success in music. There is CRITICAL acclaim, record SALES, concert SALES, single SALES, radio is just a small piece of the entire package. Kacey Musgarves was even less successful then Taylor at radio plus country radio is hard for women to get lots of hits so the women have to rely on their music and critical acclaim. Obviously CMA knows that country radio is filled with men.

    All the women who get hits at country radio have to be pushed by their label to do so and I don’t care who they are. Those that aren’t pushed don’t get hits.

  36. oh I have to add:

    again all of the Taylor complaints just prove that people are jealous of her success since Kelly Clarkson is still getting a FREE PASS with noms and she hasn’t had one hit on her own and has NEVER EVER released a country album, not ever and isn’t even on a country label. but because she’s a flop in comparison it’s okay to nominate her!

    First you claim she does nothing for nashville then you complain that she gave millions of dollars to nashville. LOL jealous much!

  37. How old are you, Googlegirl? 12? Here’s a news flash for you … not liking something or someone does not automatically equate to ‘jealousy’. Complaining about why she is nominated in the country genre when she’s obviously pandered to the pop market is NOT jealousy … it’s called an ‘observation’ or an ‘opinion’. Go ahead, be a Taylor fan all you want, but learn to respond in a more mature, thoughtful way to her detractors beyond phrases like ‘oh, Taylor is SUPER KEWL’.

    Does she sell records? Yes. Does she sell out performances? Yes. Is she country? She seemed to start out that way but I don’t think she even paused for a second to look over her shoulder when she waved goodbye. Taylor ceased being country a LONG time ago, and that is why TRUE country fans are upset that she’s being nominated in country categories. Let her go over to the pop genre and be nominated against Britney and Katy and all the other pop princesses. Then you can accuse all the pop fans of ‘jealousy’ when they don’t like her, ok?

  38. My take on this whole Carrie thing. Her stats are good, in fact, she earned more this past year then she has ever earned before. Her tour was really successful, album sales okay, she doesn’t really get the critical acclaim for her music and she does get the hits. So she’s got many of the components locked up. The problem is even though she had a great year, they still do feel the need to exaggerate how successful she actually was like claiming she played to one million fans with the “Blown Away” tour when it’s easy to check and see that is not true (same was done for the “Play On” tour). Also claiming to be the top-touring FEMALE in country music. While that may have been true for 2012, that isn’t really something they should be claiming since there really aren’t many women touring in country music. That would only be impressive if they had many active touring women in country music. When they can make claims that are actually something to brag about without the need to embellish, I think then she’ll finally get her nomination. Obviously she and her team do not feel she did enough when they have to make claims that are really “fishy”. Just say the “Blown Away” tour was successful (HER MOST SUCCESSGUL) etc. Without the need to inflate numbers that can easily be checked out.

    Say what you will about Taylor Swift but her team doesn’t have to lie to make her stats look good, her stats speak for themselves. She would never had to claim to be the top touring country FEMALE artist when she can claim to be the TOP TOURING artist. She doesn’t need to claim she played to 1 million fans when she routinely sells out football stadiums, she doesn’t have to scream “I PLAYED to 1 million fans”, everyone already knows she plays to many more fans then that without the need to brag about it.

    IMO, Carrie and her team need to go back to the drawing board. Stop being so obsessed with numbers that aren’t there and just be REAL. When they do that, perhaps then they can get that nomination that they so desperately crave.

    I honestly think Carrie would have gotten a nomination if they had been honest with the numbers and stats. It was her biggest tour, the second half was sold out. They didn’t need to make any other claims because it made them look desperate. Also, while Carrie might not release straight up pop songs to pop radio, you can tell that she would love to. Every chance Carrie gets she’s doing some pop or rock song but I think she’s afraid that she’d flop on pop radio which holds her back for actually releasing real pop music so she just performs pop and rock music every chance she gets without taking the risk of failing at pop radio. I think the CMA’s know that she is a closet pop music wanna be and don’t like that about her. Just be straight forward like Taylor Swift and do what you love, take chances. Stop hiding in that closet Carrie. Opening up the CMA’s with Paradise City, yeah that’s pretty country. Going to the ACM’s singing a rock song with Steven Tyler, she’s a wanna be afraid to take the risk to REALLY go for it.

    Oh my I wish I was 12, I’m over 30, way over!

  39. Most of Swift’s nominations make sense. She’s still one of the most successful acts in country so Female and Entertainer make sense. I can’t agree with the Album nod because the album isn’t country.

    Kelly Clarkson’s nod in Female is also puzzling, but with females being so closed out in country right now, I wouldn’t say there’s an obvious replacement. Nominating Pickler or Monroe to give them exposure would have been nice, but have they been more successful in country lately than Clarkson?

    To me the worse things about these nominations was Shelton and Swift in Album and Underwood not getting in Entertainer. In terms of inclusion/exclusion, that is. The nods for “Pontoon” and Sugarland are worse, but for a different reason.

  40. I’m not sure how to respond to Googlegirl’s comment. Let’s look at the facts first
    1. Carrie has had very good critical success with this album and its singles
    2. She’s the most played woman on country radio. Might I add that Taylor’s presence in country radio has greatly diminished.
    3. The 4 singles from ‘Blown Away’ have reached #1 on mediabase. Making 19 #1 singles for Carrie in 8 years.
    4. I assume you did your tour stats research on Wikipedia. Please notice that there are a few venues that don’t have stats posted plus if you count other shows she has done big and small, I’m sure 1 million is a pretty reasonable claim.

    Even if the tour statistics are exaggerated, you are delusional to believe that it is the reason why she can’t get the nomination. Why not call herself the top touring female when it’s true? Taylor is so deep in the pop format that she does not deserve any credentials as a touring country artist.

    The rest of your post about how Carrie is afraid of making pop songs because she’s afraid of it failing in pop radio is absolutely ridiculous. That argument is utter garbage. I don’t even feel the need to defend Carrie against that.

    If Taylor is so sure about her love for the pop format why not admit that she’s a pop singer when she’s obviously making pop songs? Why submit herself for Country awards? Don’t you think that is hypocrisy? Carrie Underwood is one of country music’s biggest ambassadors in ways that Taylor can never be and she absolutely deserved that nomination.

  41. I also just found out about the connection between Scott Borchetta’s wife and Reba McEntire. Wow. That pulls in Big Machine to the Narvel/Reba/Kelly/Blake/Miranda bloc. That really is a conglomerate.

  42. lol Taylor can sell out a stadium for 10 million people if she want, but she can do that with POP songs in POP radio and POP albums!!! If she does a COUNTRY album, then she will do just fine in everything! POP market is way bigger than country! That is something that Taylors fans will NEVER understand or dont want understand! Period.

  43. “All the women who get hits at country radio have to be pushed by their label to do so and I don’t care who they are. Those that aren’t pushed don’t get hits.”

    Carrie Underwood’s pushes have never begun before she hit Top 5. She is the ONLY reliable radio hit-maker left in Nashville. I would’ve put Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean in there with her, but Shelton had his slow period throughout the first half of the 00s and Jason Aldean seems to be fizzling at the moment. To this very day, Underwood remains the only artist on radio with the ability to push every release to #1, or at the very least, #2 (“Mama’s Song” being the only one that missed out on the top spot), and pushes have never begun up until she already naturally hit the Top 5. Not only is that incredible in its own right, but it’s even more admirable because she’s a solo female artist.

    Anyways, keeping everything from going full-on “CARRIE VS. TAYLOR!!!!!!”, I have to say that I’m pretty stunned with the lack of The Band Perry love.

  44. So what are the chances of Carrie winning anything? At least Female &/or Album? Can they really ignore her in those? I don’t know why I’m surprised by the lack of nominations but I am. I feel bad for Brad too, he deserved a couple nomanations as well. I’m also happy for King George. I saw the Cowboy Rides Away tour and it was amazing. People in their 60’s to young teens enjoyed the pure country show and sang along to the music. I’ve never seen anything like it.

  45. Cam,

    While I agree that Carrie was snubbed multiple times, I don’t think Aldean is fizzling out.

    “TOWIK” and “TALR” went #1 and “Night Train” has been flying up the charts and is destined for #1.

  46. Markus Meyer,

    I guess I should’ve used a better term than “fizzling out”. “Night Train” is performing well, but it barely hides the sizable flop of “1994” — the release really busted his stride.

    Underwood remains the only artist in Nashville that has had success with everything she’s released from the start of her career to finish.

  47. It is a no brainer as to what has been going on the past few years with nominations and winners. It is the same artists with the same backing from Reba. Blackstock, his son. Scott B who rules Nashville. It is obvious why Underwood does not get nominations or wins as those same corrupt rulers are jealous and want Swift, Miranda and Kelly C. to be bigger stars than Underwood. Any one who lives in Nashville is aware of what has been happening. Kelly C. is a pop artist (but she has the backing of her family-the Blackstocks) and the spot should have gone to Kellie Pickler, Ashley Monroe or even Sheryl Crow as they do have country albums and have been more active in country music. Swift bills herself as a pop artist overseas because country music is not that popular. Washington politics and dirty dealings have nothing over Nashville politics, dirty dealings and corruption. The voting bodies and procedures has to be changed or the same injustices will happen year after year.

  48. I will say this. At least Taylor Swift doesn’t have to be a fraud with her numbers. She didn’t sell 800K copies of Speak Now and Red and then Claim to sell one million copies one week. She actually SOLD those amounts.

    When I say critical acclaim I am talking about ALBUMS.

    Blown Away has 12 reviews on metacritic with a 70% rating, while that is good for her that still is mediocre and is less then her best but better then her last album.

    By comparison

    Red has 23 reviews with a metacritic score of 77%. She has DOUBLE the reviews as Carrie yet was able to keep a much higher precentage. If Carrie were to be reviewed by that many I’m sure her score would be far less.

    All I will say is I am so glad that Carrie didn’t get nominated, her fans suck and are delusional haters!

    Even if Taylor wasn’t in the country genre you haters would still be hating. Carrie won Grammy’s and you still complained about Taylor not giving her a standing ovation. Y’all are some jealous bitter hateful group of people. And in all honesty I think that is what hurts Carrie most. Good job fans. With fans like y’all she doesn’t need enemies.

  49. Taylor isn’t in the country genre. She’s in the genre reserved for those in severe need of vocal coaching with songs containing generic lyrical content about her trashy, well documented sexual escapades. This “music” is primarily consumed by prepubescent 10 year old children with access to Daddy’s credit card, much to his dismay. Googlegirl is an accurate representation of this fan-base.

  50. Thank you, Googlegirl, for morphing this thread from a mature, intelligent discussion about the nominations (or lack thereof) into a rant against Carrie Underwood and yet another promotional spew about Taylor Swift. Your use of the words ‘hate’, ‘hater’, ‘jealousy’, ‘fraud’, etc., speaks to your level of maturity. If you are indeed over the age of 30, maybe you’ve been hanging around the tweenies on the Taylor boards too much and have picked up their lingo. It’s a fact, so you need to face it. Your girl Taylor is NOT country … she is POP. She has shown little growth over the years (IMHO), continuing to sing about glitter and unicorns and he didn’t take me to the prom stories. The level of vindictiveness in her personal life applied to her ‘art’ surpasses anything I’ve seen in some time. She surrounds herself with a circus (literally and figuratively) and passes it off as entertainment. But if you like her, ok by me. Just don’t sit there and spout numbers and say she’s a better COUNTRY female vocalist than half a dozen other female artists out there (Carrie, Miranda, Faith, Martina, Kacey, Kellie P included). Because she’s NOT.

  51. I have to laugh at those Taylor fans saying she is the best only because she sell a million copys in the first week! hahaha!!! She has no dignity, probably she bought half of her album, I mean she date like 10 guys in one year so…! :p .

    Anyway, she cant sing on key so you are right, she is the best singer in the world, congrats! lol

  52. …the more the reviews the more inflated her MetaCritic score would be. Why assume it would drop? Besides the fact that you don’t like Underwood.

    It’s funny how you boast te craziness that the Underwood fans possess but fail to comment on how much worse the Swift fans are.

    Also, Underwood played to over 1 million fans. You simply claiming that she didnt because you can’t find the written statistic on Wikipedia doesn’t mean Underwood & her team gloat about fraudulent numbers.

    If you’re over 30, that’s absolutely pathetic that you’re acting in such a form. The conversation here really was going just fine until you and your immaturity came into play.

  53. On a separate track from most of what is above, this is what I find most depressing:
    Musical Event of the Year

    •Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies, “Boys ‘Round Here”
    •Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, “Cruise”
    •Kelly Clarkson featuring Vince Gill, “Don’t Rush”
    •Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
    •Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Eric Church, “The Only Way I Know”

    In the past I’ve always found this category to have good stuff in it, even when the rest of the nominations are not of interest. This year, this list – yuck. All of it. Vince Gill can’t even save that 70s pop remake.

  54. The scary thing about the Musical Event of the Year category is that IMO only the Cruise remix was a good song. Huge Eric Church fan but “The Only Way I Know” was an embarrassment to hear his voice in. The rest of forgettable to me except for “Boys ‘Round Here” and that’s only because every noon where I lived its the first song requested every lunch break :(

    Just more proof, when a singer is the shining star in Nashville, any piece of drivel is automatically number one

  55. the song “1994” made me regret I was born that year.

    Josh Turner and Chris Young MIA. What a surprise who needs traditional country music at the CMA? The mainstreamers might get confused by the correct sound.

  56. I wish I had $. I would buy the CMAs (if they were for sale) and change the rules so no more block voting or BS is allowed. I would launch a full investigation into what is going on with the voting, who is bribing who, and who is in cohoots with who. If anyone was caught doing anything unethtical- they would be sanctioned and lose the right to vote for 10 years. I would conduct a full investigation to see if Taylor’s team is paying off professional voters for some of the fan voted award shows like the AMAS, PCAs, Teen choice, etc. If so, criminal charges would be filed. I would spend millions to find the truth of what is going on– and heads would roll. I would change the rules of the CMAS so that no opening acts or Pop acts like TS would be eligible for EOTY, and no pop acts in general allowed to be nominated. Sorry Taylor and Kelly. I would hire PIs on the inside to wear a wire and tape the secret meetings where the Music Mafia get together to plan who is going to win what awards this year. I would make everything public to embarrass the crap out of anyone guilty. I would hire a PI to investigate radio stations to see why Carrie and others cannot get Billboard number 1s anymore, and why radio is still playing Taylor’s pop songs. If any $ changed hands, people will be arrested and fired. I would buy Billboard Magazine, fire Bill Werde immediately, and reinstate the old Hot Country Songs chart rule- not counting Pop airplay or downloads. I would make it go back retroactively so BA was not screwed out of number 1. Then I would buy Rolling Stone Mag, fire the people that write about 24/7, and launch a full investigation as to whether Taylor or her team own interest in RS and Billboard Magaziines. I swear they own controlling stock because never in my life have I seen a respectable magazine like RS succumb to giving Teen poptarts so much press. Their readers are rock fans, not Teen fans. The readers complain all the time about the TS overload. Something is fishy there.

  57. To all the Underwood fans: She is doing just fine on her own. She does not need the trophies, etc. to define who she is and she is coming out ahead with her dignity, respect and respect of others. Some of the winners actually need those awards to define who they are and bragging rights. It does not make them a better artist. However, I understand why you are upset as she has had the biggest year of any of the artists and she continues to grow year after year. Swift has more sales and people going to her concerts but most of that comes from the pop genre not country. Fans of Underwood should feel good because the voters know Underwood should have been nominated and should win Entertainer of the year but those same voters will have to look at her and hear her all night hosting the show.

  58. …actually, not nominating carrie underwood in the eoty-category is not completely out of line. all the other nominees deserve their nods to a large degree, whether as a kind of newcomers to the major league or in george strait’s case, as one of the biggest overall entertainers the genre has ever produced making his last big round of his outstanding career. on a different note, carrie underwood cannot be compared to taylor swift – one is a global superstar and the other “merely” a us-superstar. believe it or not, but that is a huge difference in the music Business and must be reflected, when it comes to award ceremonies.

    somewhat irritating, i find the omission of the pistol annies not only in the vocal group category, but mostly in the best album selection. having said that, the actual nominees there – vocal group – also merit their nomination. at the end of the day, tight races mostly reflect stiff competition, which is not a bad thing at all. in general, one could argue that the cma has moved closer lately to reward outstanding achievements during the eligibility period rather than putting more weight behind the overall star status of the artists that could be considered for the finals. again, that is not a bad development.

  59. Tom, I respectfully disagree with you about Underwood. The girl has the most impressive all around stats this year and should have been nominated. Underwood also is a world wide artist as she made her first venture overseas this year and sold out venues in minutes and was well received. Swift’s fan base is mostly children and their parents/grandparents and that explains her large numbers. I am disabled and in a wheel chair now and study the young and upcoming artists and their backgrounds. Before that I went to Nashville after college and was in, around and wrote articles on the artists going way back to Ernest T., The Skaggs, Hank Sr, Patsy and I can go on and on. I was never a big fan of George S. because his songs all sounded the same but I am not taking anything away from his vocals and achievements. As for Underwood—I do not think I have seen an all around artist since Elvis. That young man was an excellent performer and sing anything and sing it well–just as Underwood can. The difference I see is that Elvis was billed as a pop/rock artist and he loved jazz, blues and gospel–Underwood loves country (and shouts it from the rooftops) and is billed as a country/pop/rock/contemporary artist and she loves all kinds of music and can sing all genres very well. Quite frankly I believe Underwood has the best vocals of anyone I have ever heard. I have never attended any of her concerts but I know others that have and they say her live vocals are amazing and she sounds better than her studio recordings. I believe George should be honored but he is still on tour—honor him next year and give him a lifetime award. Replace the boys of the prep boy songs with Underwood—who rightly deserves the entertainer nomination. The Pistol Annies were sorely lacking in my opinion. Both in harmonies and song content. They did not deserve any nominations. They were clearly not standouts. I firmly believe in giving credit where credit is due and Underwood is clearly deserving this year.

  60. Couldn’t agree more with Tony. Giving credit where its due is what these awards should be about, but Music City Row is too busy making payouts to the CMAs to give awards to certain artists as full-blown promo. Ridiculous.

    I really am hoping Underwood can pull out SOME sort of win.

  61. Tom: To say that all the nominee’s deserved it over Carrie Underwood just seems crazy to me. You said the others artists are more deserving than her. Is Blake Shelton? No. Is Jason Aldean? No. Is Luke Bryan? Pre CMP and his new album which weren’t even considered, no he was not. Is Taylor Swift? In country music, no she was not. I am a Taylor fan and most of her success this era came from her pop singles end of story. I do love the fact that George is nominated and hope he wins.

  62. Taylor is global superstar!?? lol Carrie is more well known in Latin America than Taylor! We know most things about taylor thanks to all her boyfriends, sadly!

  63. …, well tony, it would not bug me for a second, if carrie underwood, instead of one of the slightly too numerous male nominees, had been listed for eoty. as you pointed out – it would not at all be difficult to make a case for that. it just looks, as if the cma had something different in mind. what exactly, remains their secret.

    acutally, mike, the world is a little more than just the americas. here in europe, taylor swift is almost a household name by now, when it comes to showbiz stars. carrie would be a “carrie who?” outside the limited confines of country music aficionados. like it or not, but ms. swift has a universal appeal not seen since shania or garth.

    the thing that really appears to be almost inexplicably odd is: why ist miranda lambert not nominated for eoty? she scores with cma-nominations in: female vocalist of the year, song of the year, music video of the year and musical event of the year as part of blake sheltons “boys round here”. altogether, that sounds like a lot of entertainment to me and is obviously in terms of both – quantity and quality – not matched by any of the other country stars nominated. furthermore, that is not even properly taking into account her most delightful contribution to the genre efforts as part of the outstanding pistol annies. so much for objectivity and wisdom among the cma-electorate.

  64. Mike, where are you from? Here, in Argentina (Latin America) NO ONE knows who Carrie is. I love her, but no one knows who she is. Everyone knows who Taylor is because of Love Story and Fifteen. (Sorry if my english is bad)

  65. After digesting the nominations for a few days, I think I am most surprised by the lack of recognition for “Blown Away” (the song/single). Seems like a concerted effort by CMA voters to say, “Grammys, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Which seems silly. I think the song was singular in sound/theme/execution.

  66. OMG, this taylor fans are blind or something! YES, taylor is knowm all around the world but not for be a country singer!!! She is well known for her pop songs and her 20 famous boyfriends and Kanye West!!!!!! hahaha! Yes, her “talent” is AMAZING! lol

  67. Tom: is that a joke righ!?? Miranda for EOTY!?? She is not nimnated for song of the year! the writers of the song are nominated, but not her! and BRH is not her song, and she is not in the song like a solo artist, she is there with the flop group pistol.. something! and she cant sell out a venue of 4000 people!!! great stats! lol

  68. Playing Devil’s Advocate, is Taylor Swift really a good person? Between all that glitter and press notices, does she really care about people for a none self-hyping reason? Frankly, I doubt it. Look at the song “Mean”. It is definitely about a critic. She’s not shy about using specific elements from her relationships to craft songs. The “artistic license” excuse doesn’t fly with me, a good songwriter can write songs about events and cover up the real life details.

    I always laugh when teenage girls tell me how Taylor Swift is soooooooooooo relatable to them. Please, she earns about $70 million a year and dates Kennedys. She is as relatable as a Mary Sue.

    Personally, I think beneath all that make-up and fantasy lies a devious, smart young woman who knows how to play the world like a “harp from hell” by ironically playing the role of the harp player (angel).

    She’s a master of lyrics for teenage girls no doubt and her music has more pop than cola but her career shows no sign of fizzling out.

  69. Quote by MotownMike:

    “Cruise” certainly does not belong on this list of best anything, but sadly I think it will end up the victor.

    I have an uneasy feeling you’re right about this, given that it broke the 63-year stranglehold that a true country and western standard (“I’m Movin’ On” by Hank Snow) had in the title of longest-running #1 hit on Billboard’s Country Singles Chart. But in all good honesty, I still believe that “I’m Movin’ On” will be remembered long after “Cruise” fades from the radio.

    With respect to Taylor Swift, I have to confess that I do find her voice to be fairly irritating, in comparison to a lot of the other female singers I and a lot of others have heard over the years, country or otherwise. Still, I get where Taylor’s fans are coming from, tired as they are of having to defend their favorite against what they believe to be gratuitous attacks on her.

    My suggestion to Taylor would be to ditch the studio gimmickry, especially the Autotune, and learn how to project your voice with more power and focus, and try to write songs with more depth and maturity, now that you’re nearing 24, than you have done thus far. Doing those things will, in my opinion, slow down (if not necessarily STOP) the criticisms/attacks.

  70. @ Erik North

    I’d like to think that a well constructed, classic song, that has withstood the test of time thus far, will be remembered far longer than a cheap radio friendly wrote in five minutes during a breakfast at “Shoney’s” diner. Then again, given my taste and personal bias, I’m a bad judge for what will and will not be remembered. I’ll remember a Robert Ellis Orall album cut longer than I’ll remember “Cruise”.

  71. Look, I’m not here to slam Taylor at all, but judging by her attitude and overall presence with this “Red” era, she’s become quite a princess. Her dramatic and shady acceptance speeches (Billboard Awards, VMAs), her attitude in audiences during awards shows (VMAs, Grammys — literally, the only person in the front 20 rows or so that didn’t stand for Carrie Underwood’s performance, Billboards), and her latest ventures into getting extremely wrapped up in relationship drama (how many exaggerated statements are we going to hear about Harry Styles or Justin Bieber [in defense of her BFF Selena Gomez]) have all collectively given a very poor and sour tone. Between the twirling of her ponytail when she’s done performing a song on stage, her body language in an audience, or the drama queen remarks she tends to make more often than not nowadays during interviews about certain artists, it’s become quite a comical effort to view. It doesn’t bode well for her image, either, to be honest.

    I like Taylor’s music; I really do. She’s a great performer. To say she’s still a great role model for people, though, is stretching it. She’s demonstrated some pretty irresponsible high school behavior through this entire era, and she’s really starting to leave a sour taste in my mouth. But, alas, until Scott Borschetta loses whatever pull he seems to own in Nashville, she’ll still be on the ballots for these shows year after year — Country or not.

  72. Heh. These attitudes from Carrie Underwood fans in this comment section, as expected. Always feel the need to address how superior Carrie and themselves are to Taylor & her fans.

    Those saying Taylor billed herself as a Pop star on international market. What are you on? She bristled when one interviewer calling her Pop artist. She calls herself as Country artist, even tho I hope she would just retire this. Why would she keep associating with this shite called as Mainstream Country, is beyond me.

    To people who think Taylor fans are kiddies, step out of that little world you live in. While it might have been true when she first debuted, do NOT forget that they are people too. They grow up too. Funny tho, that people who accuse Taylor & her fans as people with rose-colored view on life, are actually a crop from that stereotype themselves. Yes, maybe it’s true for some fans. But there are also the ‘disturbed’ and less-than-happy ones, to put it nicely.

    We relate to her fucked-up-ness. As if you can’t see it already, she’s an emotional trainwreck. She’s a dweller. Misunderstood, quirky loner. Some people just love the crazy ones like her. We love her because of her flaws. We love her because she acknowledges those flaws and actually not afraid being who she is and chasing what she wants.

    And the music, well, we don’t really care much of genres, as long as it’s good. Music is music. Good music is far more important that which genre it belongs to.

    Which brings me back to whether the nominations deserving or not. The stats speak for themselves. She has the #1 hit(s?) on Country radio(ugh), the touring numbers, the critical acclaims, what else?

    IMO, I hope she stops associating herself with mainstream Country and just keep doing it her own way. She’s not exactly pop, not exactly Country either. She’s better off being a traditional Pop/Alternative artist than being a mainstream fraud.

    Oh, and Carrie Underwood was unfairly snubbed. This CMAs nominations list only shows me one thing, sexism reigns supreme in Country system. Jason Aldean’s EOTY nod should have gone to Carrie.

  73. “Heh. These attitudes from Carrie Underwood fans in this comment section, as expected. Always feel the need to address how superior Carrie and themselves are to Taylor & her fans.”

    Where in the world has that even been exhibited on here? To be honest, you were the one that just marched in here and joined GoogleGirl in the same footing of those who feel the need to flex their superiority on here. There isn’t a single point on here where Carrie fans demean Taylor and her fans.

    Lord. You and your post just summarized exactly why so many can’t freaking stand either of the two fanbases — they’re rabid and competitive because they pit Carrie and Taylor against each other. Taylor’s sold more albums and sells out stadiums. Carrie’s got more #1s and a better voice. We know the basics. Why do these 2 fanbases continuously try to outdo one another? You can sit here and claim that you’re over the “holier-than-thou” attitude of the Carrie fans, but until you step off of your high horse and realize that you and your fanbase aren’t any better (and in this thread, have acted far worse), you have no room to make such petty comments.

  74. I don’t anyone is putting Taylor down. Most of the complaints are geared towards country radion and the industry for using the country marked to help sell more records of Taylor. Every singer, including Taylor, has the right to record whatever they want. The problem is if I tune to country radio wanting to hear country music and then you hear Taylor, you are hearing pure POP music. Nothing wrong with pop at all, I just want to hear country when I turn to a country station. A record company putting the word “country” as the genre when they market it doesn’t mean its country music. Otherwise, Lada Gaga, Katy Perry, etc coud also be ountry if they SIMPLY put the word “country” in when the market it. If Taylor’s management would market her to just pop radio I would cheer her on. Why is this so difficult for poeple to understand?

  75. Nicholas, are you for real? I’ve read the whole comments, and that’s the sentiments I got. That Carrie is more “Country” and “can sing,” therefore she’s superior to Taylor. And some saying that EOTY nod for Taylor is undeserving. If we go with the stats, she deserves it. “Begin Again” and “Red” are not any less Country than the other tunes by other acts nominated. And quality wise, those are among the better ones. “Begin Again” is the better one, even if it’s closer to Ryan Adams’ ‘GOLD’ “Country.” – As much as I hate mainstream Country, I keep trying to be objective and actually streamed some of them.

    And hey, I’m just reacting to the some of those comments made about Taylor here, as a Taylor fan. ;)

    I call it like it is. Carrie is snubbed, big time. Period. I just find it funny that Carrie fans can’t see what’s actually happening there. Sexism reigns supreme. Taylor is just too big to ignore, that’s why they keep dragging her to this travesty. Jason Aldean’s spot should have gone to Carrie, like I said on my previous comment.

    You can call Taylor “POP” (by today’s standards) if have only listened to the 3 POP singles. She promoted them to Pop. She sent them to Pop. Clear Channel stations were the ones who played her clearly Pop singles. Why is it so hard to figure?

    And let’s continue with today’s standard of POP, other than 3 Pop singles, the rest of the album is actually more of an Alternative/Traditional Pop album than anything. What people call (mainstream) Country these days are just ’80s Rock with Banjo & Mandolin, or Traditional Pop with Banjo & Mandolin. What makes her any different then? Why singling her out? Just keeping it real.

  76. Entertainer of the Year : George Strait
    Male Vocalist of the Year : Blake Shelton [Luke Bryan]
    Female Vocalist of the Year : Miranda Lambert
    Vocal Group of the Year : Little Big Town
    Vocal Duo of the Year : Florida Georgia Line
    New Artist of the Year : Florida Georgia Line
    Album of the Year : Blake Shelton, ‘Based on A True Story’ [Kacey Musgraves, ‘Same Trailer, Different Park’ – Carrie Underwood, ‘Blown Away’ – Little Big Town, ‘Tornado’]
    Single of the Year : Florida Georgia Line, “Cruise”
    Song of the Year : “Mama’s Broken Heart” (Miranda Lambert) – [“Merry Go ‘Round” – “Pontoon”]
    Music Video of the Year : Blake’s “Boys ‘Round Here”
    Musical Event of the Year : Florida Georgia Line feat. Nelly, “Cruise” – [Blake Shelton feat. Pistol Annies, “Boys ‘Round Here”]
    Musician of the Year : Dann Huff (Guitar)

    Book it. Won’t waste too much money, but 20 Franc? This is fun!

  77. ^ those predictions are too depressing. It’s Blake-Miranda lovefest all over again. And yes, also for Florida Georgia Line since they have greatest country chart hit of all time with “Cruise”. sigh.

  78. Predictions…
    Entertainer – George Strait
    Male – Luke Bryan (barf)
    Female – Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert (I really don’t know. Either they’ll throw Carrie a bone or they’ll give Miranda her record-setting fourth…female vocalist…award…[barf again])
    Duo – Florida Georgia Line (barf)
    Group – Little Big Town (but I’d love to see The Band Perry take it)
    Album – “Same Trailer, Different Park”, Kacey Musgraves
    Single – “Highway Don’t Care”, Tim McGraw feat. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban
    Song – “Mama’s Broken Heart”, Miranda Lambert
    New Artist – Kacey Musgraves (she’s the leader of the nominations; she obviously has the association’s interest and will overtake Florida Georgia Losers)
    Video – “Boys ‘Round Here”, Blake Shelton feat. Pistol Annies & Friends (because they have to give Blake something, duh)
    Event – “Highway Don’t Care”, Tim McGraw feat. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban (…I’m praying for either this one or “Don’t Rush”, because the other 3 are as trashy as they come)

    Wow…this awards show could truly be horrendous. Praise whoever it need be that Carrie & Brad are back for year six. And can we please get a Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton performance of “You Can’t Make Old Friends”? I’d die and float to heaven if that happened.

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