Trace Adkins
Grammy 2010 Staff Picks & Predictions
Even in Grammy’s darkest hours, CU brings its picking powers!
– Superhero television show about our blog from the 50’s.
Share your own picks and predictions in the comments, and be sure to check back for our live blog! The awards telecast starts at 8 pm Eastern, and I imagine there will be some red carpet action in the hour prior.
Record of the Year
Picks
- Beyonce, “Halo” – Kevin
- Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
- Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody” – Tara
- Lady GaGa, “Poker Face” – Dan
- Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”
Predictions
- Beyonce, “Halo”
- Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
- Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody” – Kevin, Dan, Tara
- Lady GaGa, “Poker Face”
- Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”
Kevin: Am I wrong for preferring Eric Cartman’s rendition of “Poker Face” over the original? This is a pretty lightweight slate of contenders. I really like “Halo”, but I suspect Kings of Leon will win, simply because it’s the only rock song in a lineup of pop hits.
Dan: “Poker Face” just feels very representative of popular music in 2009. I wouldn’t whine if it got passed over so that “Bad Romance” could take this award next year, though.
Tara: I would’ve pulled for “Single Ladies” in a heartbeat had it been submitted, but “Use Somebody” is just as deserving of this award. It’s a fantastic song even outside the context of its moment in pop culture, and it’s the kind of larger-than-life song that the voters have picked to win in the past.
My Grammy Wish List: 2010 Edition
Since this was a solo blog, doing a Grammy Wish List has been an annual tradition. I’m not too excited about this year’s Grammys, to be honest. 2009 was a weak year in my opinion, and the shortened 11-month eligibility period didn’t help matters. But a tradition is a tradition, so here are my picks in the eleven categories that I care about this year:
* denotes my personal wish:
Record of the Year
- Beyoncé, “Halo” *
- The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
- Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody”
- Lady Gaga, “Poker Face”
- Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
It’s always nice to see a country radio hit in there, but I honestly can’t stand “You Belong With Me.” I dig the Kings of Leon song, but the record that I enjoy the most here is “Halo.” Some pundits have suggested that Beyoncé threw her chances at this trophy by submitting “Halo” instead of “Single Ladies”, but I like that song even less than “You Belong With Me.” Love “Halo”, though.
Song of the Year
- Lady Gaga & RedOne, “Poker Face”
- Hod David & Musze, “Pretty Wings”
- Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
- Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, “Use Somebody” *
- Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”
Great to see Liz Rose in there, too, but I still can’t stand the song. I think “Use Somebody” is a great composition that could easily be a hit in other formats if the right artist covered it. Are you listening, Sugarland?
Best Country Singles of 2009, Part 1: #40-#21
Here’s hoping you haven’t gotten completely burned out on countdowns yet. 2009 was hardly a favorite musical year for many of us, but amid each year’s glut of throwaway items, there’s always a good’un or two (or forty). The following is the first installment of our Best Singles of 2009 list, which will conclude tomorrow morning. Best Albums will follow next week.
As with the Singles of the Decade feature, this countdown has been compiled through combination of four equally weighed Top 20 lists by Kevin, Leeann, Tara and myself. An inverted point system was applied to the individual rankings (#1 on a list meant 20 points, while #20 on the list meant 1 point). The songs were then ranked together by number of total points, greatest to least. The final result is another rather stylistically diverse set.
As always, we hope you enjoy the countdown, and welcome all the feedback you can muster. Happy New Year!
#40
Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
The trio puts a country spin on an old school pop sound, but without forsaking raw emotion. The highlight of the song is Hillary Scott’s smoky performance, which draws out all the anguish and regret you’d expect from a desperate, 1 AM lover’s call. – Tara Seetharam
Bargain Hunter: Avetts, Adkins, Swift & More
It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, distracted as we’ve been by decade-end madness, but now seems like an appropriate day to jump back in, with a diverse bevy of MP3 albums being offered at Amazon for 5 bucks or better. As always, click on the box to listen to clips or to reach the album’s download page.
First up is the Daily Deal, the Avett Brothers’ excellent 2007 set Emotionalism, going today for $1.99. This group kind of defies genre classification, but they have enough of an earthy quality to their music to appeal to the Americana set. They’re building quite a following, too.
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 6: #100-81
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 6: #100-81
#100
“Restless”
Alison Krauss & Union Station
2004
Peak: #36
A shimmering moment of infatuation. Krauss is entangled in thoughts of her beloved, torn between the exhilaration of liking someone so intensely and the ache of not actually having the person. – Dan Milliken
#99
I’m Holdin’ On to Love (To Save My Life)
Shania Twain
2000
Peak: #4
A terribly catchy slice of country-pop that, true to Twain, doesn’t sacrifice authenticity for appeal – Twain simply embodies the snappy energy that pulses through the song. – Tara Seetharam
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 3: #160-#141
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 3: #160-#141
#160
“Last Call”
Lee Ann Womack
2008
Peak: #14
Womack’s second-best Aughts song about late-night temptations is still better than a lot of people’s first-best songs about anything. Even in avoiding her drunken ex’s advances, she sounds positively heartbroken, suggesting she’d gladly make the other decision if she didn’t know better. – Dan Milliken
#159
“She’s Not Just a Pretty Face”
Shania Twain
2003
Peak: #9
Her motivation for her music has always been escapism, but I love the personal touch she slips into this one. Her late mother is the one who she’s referring to when she sings “at night, she pumps gasoline.” – Kevin Coyne
The Worst Singles of the Decade, Part 4: #20-#11
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?
Review: Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins, “Hillbilly Bone”
Evidently, country artists in Nashville are damn proud to be from the country – so proud that they each feel the need to record a song proclaiming just this and, no less, release it to country radio. I’ve lost track of the number of these singles put out in the past year, a handful of which I’ve found to be borderline offensive. As a city girl with a heck of a lot of love for the spirit of country music, I’d rather not be made to feel like I’m being excluded from a members-only club.
Anthony Smith, “Bringing Back the Sunshine”
Anthony Smith is likely better known as a songwriter than a recording artist. As a well established songwriter, he’s written songs for Trace Adkins”I’m Tryin’”, “Chrome”), George Strait (“Run”), Tim McGraw (“Kristofferson”), Montgomery Gentry (“What Do You Think About That”), Trisha Yearwood (“Who Reinvented the Wheel”), and countless other big name stars. As a recording artist he has struggled, releasing his 2002 If That Ain’t Country to some positive critical reception, but ultimately met with limited commercial success. In an attempt to revive the singing part of his career, Smith has recently signed with Stroudavarious Records, which has released the offbeat rocker, “Bringing Back the Sunshine”, as the upcoming album’s lead single.
