2014 – Page 11 – Country Universe

2014 ACM Awards: Staff Picks & Predictions

April 4, 2014 Tara Seetharam 24

And they’re back: The 2014 ACM Awards air live on Sunday at 7 p.m. CST, hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. They’re sure to be enraging or amusing, depending on your bro-country meter. In the meantime, we’ve picked and predicted the awards below – chime in with your thoughts!

Entertainer of the Year

Should Win

Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait – KJC, TS, BF
Taylor Swift

Will Win

Luke Bryan – KJC, TS, BF, JK
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Taylor Swift

Single Review: Luke Bryan, “Play it Again”

April 2, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 7

Trite an uninspired, “Play it Again” is a Luke Bryan record without any of the aw-shucks earnestness that can make even his mediocre songs somewhat enjoyable.

Single Review: Maggie Rose, “Looking Back Now”

March 18, 2014 Ben Foster 7

I want to like Maggie Rose’s music more than I do. She has a good voice. She sings good songs. And her music actually sounds country. Should be a simple enough recipe, right?

Book Giveaway: Gerry House’s Country Music Broke My Brain: A Behind-the-Microphone Peek at Nashville’s Famous & Fabulous Stars

March 10, 2014 Ben Foster 10

Country Music Broke My Brain

UPDATE: Contest closed. Congratulations to winner John!

Three of my all-time favorite things: books, country music, and books about country music. If you’re anything like me, we have the perfect giveaway for you.

Single Review: George Strait, “I Got a Car”

March 5, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 10

Have we reached the point yet where a solid George Strait single should bring on waves of deep gratitude?

Single Review: Eric Church, “Give Me Back My Hometown”

March 2, 2014 Sam Gazdziak 7

“The Outsiders,” the title track and lead single from Eric Church’s new album, may have strayed too much into the realm of metal for its own good, but it served as a strong mission statement. Like him or not, Church is one of the few male country singers today who are willing to stray from the country-party-dude template, and even his songs that don’t quite hit the mark are more interesting than most singles currently on the radio.

Win a Signed Copy of Dierks Bentley’s Riser

February 28, 2014 Ben Foster 26

UPDATE: Contest closed. Congratulations to winner Jonathan Pappalardo!

Country Universe favorite Dierks Bentley has just released his seventh Capitol studio set Riser, and we’re pleased to offer an autographed copy to give away to one of our readers.

Single Review: Miranda Lambert, “Automatic”

February 27, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 17

Have you heard about the Miranda Lambert third single rule?

It goes like this. The first single will be alright, the second will be better, but you won’t get a great one until the third time around.

Single Review: The Band Perry, “Chainsaw”

February 27, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 3

A cool sounding record that is ultimately undermined by a juvenile delivery.

Single Review: Mandy Barnett featuring Alison Krauss, “Blue Blue Day”

February 21, 2014 Ben Foster 9

The awesomeness of this release has a definite air of inevitability. If Don Gibson wrote it, and Mandy Barnett and Alison Krauss sing it, it’s pretty hard to imagine it not being great.