Brad Paisley – Page 14 – Country Universe

Review: Brad Paisley, "American Saturday Night"

November 22, 2009 Tara Seetharam 21

Paisley2 It’s no secret that in country music, some expressions of patriotism are more prevalent, and arguably more acceptable, than others. It’s refreshing, then, to see Paisley offer a solid albeit frivolous departure from the conventional with “American Saturday Night,” a proud depiction of America as a nation whose identity is molded by not one, but numerous cultures:

You know everywhere has something they’re known for
Ah, but usually it washes up on our shores.

CMA Awards: Predictions and Personal Picks

November 8, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 83

The CMA Awards are upon us again, and I must say that this is the most underwhelming lineup I’ve ever seen, and I started watching the show back in 1991. We’ll be back to live blog the festivities on Wednesday night. In the meantime, enjoy our personal picks in each category, along with who we think will actually win.

Entertainer of the Year

Should Win:

Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley – Leeann, Tara
George Strait
Taylor Swift – Kevin, Dan
Keith Urban

Will Win:

Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley – Kevin, Leeann, Tara
George Strait
Taylor Swift – Dan
Keith Urban

Kevin: Much like the field finally cleared for him in the Male Vocalist race two years ago, I expect that this is Paisley’s year to win with his sixth nomination. I think Taylor Swift deserves to win, though. There’s no getting around the fact that she’s the biggest thing out there right now.

Leeann: I won’t be shocked (or really even disappointed) if Taylor Swift picks it up, but I really feel it’s finally Brad’s year.

Dan: Swift is the face of the genre right now, and she’s putting out better-written material than many of the veterans in this category. It looks like a race between her and Paisley, and I think she may actually get it.

Tara: It wouldn’t be inappropriate for Swift to take this award, and I would much (understatement) prefer her to win this over the vocalist award. But to me, Paisley is the all-around entertainer, and I think it’s his year to be recognized.

The Worst Singles of the Decade, Part 4: #20-#11

October 31, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 60

homer_the_scream Time’s running short. If your personal least favorite wasn’t in Part 1, Part 2 , or Part 3, perhaps it will turn up now.

The Worst Singles of the Decade, Part 4: #20-#11

#20
The Lost Trailers, “Holler Back”

If your response to hearing “Holler Back” is to brag that you’ve got a holler back in the woods, I suggest that you and your music stay there.

#19
Trailer Choir, “Rockin’ the Beer Gut”

I appreciate the sincerity, but it can’t overcome the fact that he’s rockin’ the Autotune and singin’ the most ridiculous lyric of the year.

#18
Bucky Covington, “A Different World”

Bucky and I are roughly the same age, and I know for a fact that we grew up with seat belts, video games, and remote controls. What’s next, Taylor Swift singing about growing up without the internet?

CMA Noms ’09

September 9, 2009 Dan Milliken 78

cma_award

It’s that time of year again! For each category, we’ll look at who’s broken in since last year, who’s been booted out, plus some initial thoughts. As always, we invite you to share your own opinions in the comments. Without further ado:

Grammy Wish List

September 1, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 14

brad-paisley Yesterday marked the end of the eligibility period for the 2010 Grammy Awards, which will be presented in January. To accommodate the earlier award ceremony, this year’s period lasted one month shy of a year: October 1, 2008 – August 31, 2009.

It’s been something of an underwhelming year musically from my perspective, but I have a few nominations that I’d like to see:

George Strait

Best Male Country Vocal Performance: “El Rey”
Best Country Album: Twang

Strait’s been on a roll since It Just Comes Natural, releasing his most consistent string of albums since the mid-nineties trifecta of Easy Come Easy Go, Lead On and Blue Clear Sky. It’s often been said that Strait could sing the phone book and make it sound great, and “El Rey” proved that he’d do just as well with la guía telefónica.

Todd Snider

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: The Excitement Plan

This category has been great at acknowledging artists who essentially make acoustic music that isn’t particularly commercial, with previous winners including Nickel Creek and Emmylou Harris. Snider put out one of his strongest albums this year, and he’s long overdue for some Grammy love.

Brad Paisley

Best Country Album: American Saturday Night
Best Male Country Vocal Performance: “Welcome to the Future”
Best Country Instrumental Performance: “Back to the Future”

Paisley has reaffirmed himself as a creative force to be reckoned with and deserves to be amply rewarded with multiple Grammy nominations this year. The rock edge to his token instrumental track is a refreshing new take on his guitar-playing virtuosity.

A Conversation with Katie Cook

August 21, 2009 Tara Seetharam 7

Katie Cook has been a staple on Country Music Television since 2002, hosting various series and specials such as CMT Most Wanted Live, the MWL concert series, MWL Star, MWL Stacked and the popular weekly entertainment magazine show, CMT Insider.

But her experience with country music is actually three-fold: along with being embedded in the industry as a television host and interviewer, she’s also the daughter of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Roger Cook, and she’s both a singer and songwriter herself – she released an album in 2000 as part of a band called Reno and continues to hone her songwriting skills. Cook took some time to share with Country Universe her opinions on the state of country music, the evolution of CMT and her recent White House visit, among other topics.

Picking the CMA Nominees: Album of the Year

July 31, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 31

This year’s eligibility period runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. In those twelve months, there have been some solid albums released, and while there isn’t a wealth of treasures to choose from, there are enough good albums to round out this category.

Here are the five albums that I would nominate for Album of the Year:

Joey + Rory, The Life of a Song

The past twenty years have brought several excellent breakthrough albums by groups, especially those by Sugarland, Little Big Town, Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, and Big & Rich. This set by Joey + Rory is better than all of them, and is selling quite well despite limited airplay.

Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song

It’s been nominated for ACM’s trophy and for the Best Country Album Grammy, but Johnson’s best shot at winning has always been with the traditional-leaning CMA voter membership. If both Sugarland and Taylor Swift secure a nod, he’s a shoo-in.

Picking the CMA Nominees: Male Vocalist of the Year

July 26, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 21

The past two decades have only brought eight winners in the CMA Male Vocalist race, with only two of them – Toby Keith and Clint Black – winning only once. Compare this to the Female Vocalist race, which has brought twelve winners during the same time frame, though even that race has become more streaky of late, with Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood combining for seven victories in the past eleven years.

Is it time for an overhaul in the Male Vocalist race? Yes and no. There’s no denying that some of the multiple nominees/winners over the past nineteen years remain the genre’s strongest male voices. Still, there’s room for some others at the table. The problem is that there are so very few of the genre’s male artists that are genuinely at the top of their game. Even most of the men listed below have had weak singles this year.

Still, if I picked the five nominees for the 2009 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, they would be:

Jamey Johnson

If Johnson earns fewer less than five nominations at this year’s CMA Awards, I’ll be shocked. In fact, I think he’ll earn six, with the surprise nomination being in this category. These aren’t predictions, though, so I’ll state that while I’m not particularly a fan of Johnson, his success at retail with a traditional project that has only received airplay for one single is darn impressive. Along with Brad Paisley, he’s one of only two artists I’ve listed that were determined by genuine merit, not process of elimination.

Blaine Larsen, “It Did”

July 24, 2009 Leeann Ward 3

You may already recognize this song from Brad Paisley’s 5th Gear album. But then again, you may not, since it’s not especially memorable, anyway. Much like Paisley’s “Then”, “It Did” sentimentalizes that life just keeps getting better and better with each progressing milestone (courtship, wedding, baby).

Paisley’s version is superior in production quality while Larsen’s warm voice outshine’s Paisley’s vocals. However, in either case, the melody and lyrics are particularly bland with Larsen’s unimaginative pop infused production managing to turn an already unengaging song into something next to insufferable. Furthermore, this song just wasn’t worth recycling in the first place.

Picking the CMA Nominees: Entertainer of the Year

July 23, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 80

Just last week, the second ballot for the 2009 CMA Awards was sent to voters. Now, they are charged with the task of picking five nominees for each category.

How about we help them out? I’ve listed the five artists that I believe are most deserving of an Entertainer of the Year nomination. Share your own top five and your reasoning in the comments.

Over the course of the next two weeks, we’ll do the same with all of the other major categories.

Entertainer of the Year:

The nominees should be:

Brad Paisley

Much like George Strait before him, Paisley has carved out a career that is defined by its consistent success. He’s an increasingly large draw on the road, and his latest album shows that his creative juices are flowing again.

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