You know the drill. For each of the categories, we’ll look at who’s broken in since last year, who’s been excused, and then make a totally judgy statement about what it all means.
Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band
Who’s In: Who isn’t?
Who’s Out: No one.
Snap Judgment: My best guess about the surprise expansion of this category is that ACM thinks the Oscars are onto something. They’re not. But while the Oscars risk having a Best Picture nomination lose some of its prestige, I don’t think the same quite holds true for ACM Entertainer, since an artist can already be nominated multiple times throughout a career anyway (and most are). So this could actually work, I guess. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.
Top Male Vocalist of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban
Who’s In: Darius Rucker
Who’s Out: Toby Keith
Snap Judgment: No surprises here; it’s the same pool the CMA picked this past fall.
Top Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack
Who’s In: Reba McEntire
Who’s Out: Martina McBride
Snap Judgment: Martina shaft! Drama drama!
Top Vocal Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Randy Rogers Band
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
Who’s In: Zac Brown Band
Who’s Out: The Lost Trailers
Snap Judgment: I imagine Love And Theft’s and Gloriana’s managers will be spending the morning trying to figure out who the hell Randy Rogers Band is. Seriously, I don’t know how RRB keeps squeezing into this race. Not complaining, though!
Top Vocal Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
Who’s In: Steel Magnolia
Who’s Out: Big & Rich
Snap Judgment: What’s this? Five duos who actually did something in the last year? Get outta here.
Top New Solo Vocalist of the Year
Luke Bryan
Jamey Johnson
Chris Young
Who’s In: Chris Young, Luke Bryan (both re-entries from previous years)
Who’s Out: Jake Owen (won last year), James Otto
Snap Judgment: I’m just pretending this is the Top New Male category, since ACM’s annual changing around of award names and criteria can be kind of silly. This is going to be an interesting race to watch, especially since all three of these guys are nominated their second time here. It’s the last chance any of them will have to win it.
Top New Vocal Duo of the Year
Bomshel
Joey + Rory
Steel Magnolia
Who’s In: This category was merged with New Vocal Group last year, so none of these duos (being duos) were there.
Snap Judgment: Seriously, doesn’t this whole “actually having semi-active vocal duos” thing kind of weird you out at this point? (P.S. Vote for Joey + Rory!)
Top New Vocal Group of the Year
Eli Young Band
Gloriana
The Lost Trailers
Who’s In: Gloriana
Who’s Out: Zac Brown Band (won last year)
Snap Judgment: Love And Theft HQ must be a grim, grim place today.
Album of the Year
Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night
Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert, Revolution
Carrie Underwood, Play On
Zac Brown Band, The Foundation
Snap Judgment: Not a bad lineup, but the ACM’s lenience in the Album category never ceases to amaze. Lady Antebellum came out two full years ago.
Single Record of the Year
Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
Billy Currington, “People Are Crazy”
David Nail, “Red Light”
Zac Brown Band, “Toes”
Miranda Lambert, “White Liar”
Snap Judgment: I’m used to scratching my head in this category. Whatever.
Song of the Year
“Cowboy Casanova” – Mike Elizondo, Brett James & Carrie Underwood
“Need You Now” – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott
“People Are Crazy” – Bobby Braddock & Troy Jones
“White Liar” – Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert
“You Belong With Me” – Liz Rose & Taylor Swift
Snap Judgment: …It’s like, do people even pay attention to lyrics anymore?
Video of the Year
Randy Houser, “Boots On”
Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
Brad Paisley, “Welcome to the Future”
Miranda Lambert, “White Liar”
Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
Snap Judgment: Actually not a bad pool. The Lady A video is pretty boring, though.
It’s often argued that Vocal Duo and Vocal Group should be combined into one category, but this is one of those rare years where the two categories have more than five worthy nominees between them.
My picks for Vocal Duo:
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
The only real filler in this category is Big & Rich, who have been largely dormant this past year.
As for Vocal Group, all five of my picks have been very active these past twelve months:
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
What are your picks for Vocal Duo and Vocal Group?
It’s time for an album sales update, our first since May 23. Brad Paisley is off to a strong start with American Saturday Night, selling 130k in its first week. That’s about 70k less than his previous two studio albums – Time Well Wasted and 5th Gear – opened with, but not a terrible drop-off, considering the state of the music market.
Meanwhile, the new studio albums by Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban are slowing down considerably, now being outpaced on a weekly basis by 2008 releases by Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Darius Rucker and Lady Antebellum.
Among younger acts with a new album in 2009, the most impressive sales are coming from Jason Aldean, while 2008 releases from Kellie Pickler, Billy Currington, and Randy Houser are showing new signs of life.
Biggest disappointments? It’s hard not to look in the direction of Martina McBride, who has barely cleared the 100k mark on her new studio set. Lee Ann Womack’s 2008 set just made it over that mark, too. Then again, one only needs to have sold 455 copies to make the chart this week, with the anchor position going to Wynonna with that total. Her covers album Sing – Chapter 1 has sold 41k to date.
Here are the latest totals for albums released over the past three years that are still charting:
2009
Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable – 842,000
Keith Urban, Defying Gravity – 452,000
Jason Aldean, Wide Open – 384,000
Kenny Chesney, Greatest Hits II – 281,000
Dierks Bentley, Feel That Fire – 219,000
Martina McBride, Shine – 104,000
John Rich, Son of a Preacher Man – 103,000
Eric Church, Carolina – 94,000
Rodney Atkins, It’s America – 88,000
Jake Owen, Easy Does It – 81,000
Randy Travis, I Told You So: Ultimate Hits – 78,000
Montgomery Gentry, For Our Heroes – 64,000
Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie & The Wheel – 56,000
Steve Earle, Townes – 47,000
Colt Ford, Ride Through the Country – 45,000
Jason Michael Carroll, Growing Up is Getting Old – 45,000
Wynonna, Sing – Chapter 1 – 41,000
Hank Williams Jr. – 127 Rose Avenue – 34,000
Ryan Bingham, Roadhouse Sun – 15,000
Tracy Lawrence, Rock – 11,000
Darryl Worley, Sounds Like Life – 8,000
Holly Williams, Here With Me – 5,000
Charlie Robison, Beautiful Day – 3,000
Tanya Tucker, My Turn – 3,000
2008
Taylor Swift, Fearless – 3,464,000
Sugarland, Love on the Inside – 1,683,000
George Strait, Troubadour – 914,000
Alan Jackson, Good Time – 869,000
Darius Rucker, Learn to Live – 754,000
Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun – 721,000
Zac Brown Band, Foundation – 681,000
Rascal Flatts, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 – 680,000
Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum – 674,000
Toby Keith, 35 Biggest Hits – 652,000
Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song – 509,000
Toby Keith, That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy – 403,000
James Otto, Sunset Man – 374,000
Julianne Hough, Julianne Hough – 314,000
Kellie Pickler, Kellie Pickler – 261,000
Dierks Bentley, Greatest Hits – 255,000
Brad Paisley, Play – 247,000
Dolly Parton, Backwoods Barbie – 208,000
Tim McGraw, Greatest Hits Vol. 3 – 206,000
Billy Currington, Little Bit of Everything – 191,000
Trace Adkins, X – 185,000
Montgomery Gentry, Back When I Knew it All – 184,000
Joey + Rory, Life of a Song – 167,000
Blake Shelton, Startin’ Fires – 165,000
Eli Young Band, Jet Black and Jealous – 108,000
Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy – 102,000
Craig Morgan, Greatest Hits – 81,000
Hank Williams III, Damn Right Rebel Proud – 80,000
Eli Young Band’s latest sounds like a hit from top to bottom, with crisp pop-rock production, likable vocals, and a brisk tempo that allows the song to breeze by pleasantly, even as the chorus just misses its intended melodic mark.
As I’ve said before, they’re basically just playing Rascal Flatts’ game with a little less drama, and the result here is pretty enjoyable, the kind of musical comfort food you expect from summer radio when it’s behaved.
If you enjoy the song, I have to recommend that you check out the Sugarland’s charming album cut “Tennessee”, which tells the same basic story with a similar beat and a little more personality. But “Radio Waves” will find a home where its title puts it, and it should.
I like Eli Young Band. These boys play catchy pop-rock tunes with a little bit of country flourish, and given the right songs, they do it very well. “When it Rains” is so good that it climbed into the Top 40 with hardly any promotion, and listening to numbers like “Get in the Car and Drive” and “Enough is Enough” is like hearing Rascal Flatts with a less polarizing lead vocalist and more subdued production style.
The group is fairly new on the mainstream country scene, but they’ve been building up a grassroots following in Texas for years, and it’s beginning to pay off, with single “Always the Love Songs” currently sitting at #14 on the charts.
Now, thanks to Amazon’s Daily Deal, you can own their major-label debut, containing all of the above songs, for only a buck. It’s a solid album – I gave it 3 stars myself – and at the price you’d normally pay for just one track, it’s hard to lose!
Buying instructions: click on the big “Play” symbol to play the clips. When they start playing, a little box with information about the track will appear at the bottom of the box. Click where it says the album’s name (Jet Black & Jealous) to reach the full album. Alternatively, you can click the yellow “Buy MP3″ button to go to the page of the individual song that’s playing, from which you can also reach the full album’s page.
I was glad to see such a nice turnout this week. It reminds me that I really ought to thank the boys at The 9513 here for continually linking to this feature, which seems especially appropriate since this was Texas week. Thanks, y’all!
Since this is the first week and there wasn’t much variation in scores, I’m just going to list the folks who scored perfectly:
pselby | Mike K | Brody | sarah | amu | Sam G | Kelly
The answers have been added, plus clips so you can sample the artists you’re unfamiliar with, and your comments should be visible now. See you next week – bring your bluegrass caps!
- – - – -
Country Quizzin’ is back for its fourth month, and this time, the whole month is going to be united around one overarching theme: sub-classifications or “relative” genres of country music. I’ve tended to ask a lot of questions about mainstream country over the past three months, but I think it’s important that any informed country music fan have a well-rounded understanding of the genre.
Therefore, I’m going to dedicate a quiz each week this month to one of the following: Texas country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and country rock (which I define to include a lot of what is now commonly called alt-country), all of which have ties to country music but are very much their own musical beasts. Because these subjects will be new to many readers, I encourage you all to study them beforehand to help you do better on the quizzes and for your own enrichment (but as always, please no cheating during the quizzes themselves).
This particular week we’re starting slow, so you’re just testing your knowledge of eight essential Texas country artists, both past and present.
You have until 10 EST (try not to be late!), and answers/rankings/comments will be revealed at 10:30.
Oh, and as always, there is a $20 Amazon gift certificate waiting at the end of the tunnel for this month’s lucky winner…which could be you!
Without further ado:
For each blurb, please name the artist described.
1. One of the bedrock artists of the Texas music scene, he ironically hails originally from Upstate New York. He is most widely-known as the composer of the now-legendary “Mr. Bojangles”; however, Texas fans regard cuts like “Gettin’ By” and “Sangria Wine” as classics, too.
Jerry Jeff Walker
2. Currently signed to a very successful Nashviille indie label, this fella had been going at it for about a decade down in Texas before mainstream success came his way. I won’t name any songs – that would make it too obvious – but I will mention that Todd Snider recently told Texas fans in an open letter that “y’all are spoiled rotten with talent, and it’s my opinion that [this artist] is your current flagship. So land ho [expletive]s.”
Jack Ingram
3. A country-rocker with too many credits to list here, but here’s one nice highlight: he helped found the Flatlanders. His first name has the same number of letters as his last, and the most recent album he appears on is called Live Cactus!
Joe Ely
4. This gal became a “Texas” artist somewhat involuntarily, as critical consensus holds that by all proper logic, she should have broken through in Nashville when she was signed to MCA. At least now, Texas fans have recognized her smart blend of country and other genre styles and embraced her. It helps that she’s married to another Texan celebrity. That probably gives it away.
Kelly Willis (husband is Bruce Robison)
5. Formed in Oregon and named after an infamous bank robber, this band produces hard-driving rock tunes with tasteful country flourishes. They just won the Austin Music Award for Best Country Band, plus a LoneStarMusic Award for Best Album Artwork.
Reckless Kelly
6. One of the artists who got the whole interest in Texas music started through his part in developing the Outlaw Movement there, and probably the most iconic figure in country music history who isn’t named Hank Williams.
I meant Willie Nelson, but wasn’t specific, so I also accepted Waylon Jennings.
7. Had the first nationally successful “Texan” country song, a little something you may have heard of called “Walking the Floor Over You.”
Ernest Tubb
8. Currently sitting at #1 on the Texas chart with their current single, this group was recently nominated for ACM Top New Vocal Group, although they lost out to Zac Brown Band. Their name is not actually a reflection of one person, as is typical, but of two.
The winners have been announced for three of the Top New Artist categories at this year’s ACM Awards:
Top New Male Vocalist: Jake Owen
Top New Female Vocalist: Julianne Hough
Top New Vocal Duo or Group: Zac Brown Band
Jake Owen’s victory is something of an upset, as he was nominated against James Otto and Jamey Johnson, two men who received multiple Grammy nominations. Johnson still has a shot at some ACM awards this year, as he’s nominated in three other categories: Single, Song and Album of the Year. Owen is nominated for Vocal Event for his part in Sugarland’s multi-artist “Life in a Northern Town.”
Julianne Hough was chosen over Sarah Buxton and Ashton Shepherd, while Zac Brown Band won over the Eli Young Band and the Lost Trailers.
Owen, Hough and Zac Brown Band will compete for the Top New Artist award during the three-hour telecast on Sunday, April 5. We’ll be live-blogging, of course. Look for our predictions and personal picks later this week.
In honor of FAIL Blog (the perfect workday distraction), here’s my take on the Academy of Country Music Awards nominations. Opinions expressed belong solely to the author, and do not represent the views of other contributors to Country Universe.
WIN- Carrie Underwood, Entertainer of the Year
A Grand Ole Opry induction, four No. 1 singles and best-seller status on the concert trail. Serious credentials for the reigning female vocalist, ensuring her a well-deserved Entertainer nod.
WIN- Miranda Lambert, Single of the Year (“Gunpowder and Lead”)
Lambert’s vengeful stand against domestic violence is amply rewarded with an appearance in the Single category. Her spicy snarl is an intimidating match for a clever, caustic lyric.
Eli Young Band’s latest sounds like a hit from top to bottom, with crisp pop-rock production, likable vocals, and a brisk tempo that allows the song to breeze by pleasantly, even as the chorus just misses its intended melodic mark.
The winners
on 
on 
on 
on 
on