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Did Blake and Miranda maintain their reign as the king and queen of country? Did Taylor Swift take home a third Entertainer of the Year trophy? And did newly engaged Best New Artist nominees Jana Kramer and Brantley Gilbert beat out Florida Georgia Line? Check out all the country stars taking home trophies at tonight’s 48th Annual ACM Awards: READ FULL STORY »
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The real winners were announced last night at the 46th Annual Country Music Association Awards. But here are a few more honors from the telecast you should feel free to weigh in on:
Best Hosts: There really aren’t enough superlatives to describe the effervescent duo of Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood — they’re simply the best. If you were to look through the last five years of Oscar/Grammy/Tony/Emmy telecasts, you’d be hard pressed to find one joke that could compete with Paisleywood’s opening monologue. Their goofy (and increasingly saucy) hosting style always brings the laughs, and they keep the show moving briskly. On top of that, they both performed their own singles, delivered heartfelt tributes to Andy Griffith and Connie Smith, and demonstrated impressive “Gangnam Style” technique. Do better than that, Seth MacFarlane.
Best performance: I’m a sucker for the CMA Awards’ tribute performances (I still get a little teary thinking about last year’s Glen Campbell effort), and this year’s Willie Nelson-centered medley was no exception. Charles Kelly and Hillary Scott (of Lady Antebellum) sounded terrific on “Always on My Mind,” as did Blake Shelton and Keith Urban on “Whiskey River” and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw on “Good Hearted Woman.” The whole thing felt so warm that when Nelson himself took the stage and sang ”The life I love is making music with my friends,” (from “On the Road Again”), you really believed it was happening in that moment. Watch below. READ FULL STORY »
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Tonight is country music’s biggest night. The 46th annual Country Music Association Awards will air at 8:00 p.m. on ABC, and it’s already shaping up to be a great show.
Why? Well, because the CMA Awards are always a great show. In an overcrowded field of country awards (ACAs, I still haven’t warmed up to you), the CMA Awards remain the most prestigious — and most entertaining — of the bunch.
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, who have become quite the formidable comic duo, are returning for a fifth year as hosts (check out their interview about the show here), and performances from stars like Kelly Clarkson and The Band Perry, both of whom will perform new singles, as well as Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean will keep the night rocking.
But at the center of the awards are still, believe it or not, the actual awards! We’ve already given you our thoughts on all the nominations (as well as all the snubs and surprises), but now let’s handicap who might win in the major categories. READ FULL STORY »
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Nominations for the 46th Annual CMA Awards (airing live on Nov. 1 on ABC) were announced this morning on Good Morning America. Eric Church led the way with five nods, including Male Vocalist and Album of the Year, along with Song, Single, and Video of the Year for his hit “Springsteen.” (Not a country music fan? Give that one listen and get back to us.)
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert scored four noms a piece while Taylor Swift, who earned three noms, was the lone female to make the Entertainer of the Year category. Kelly Clarkson’s nom for Female Vocalist of the Year is slightly less of a surprise than Snoop Dogg popping up in Musical Event of the Year (listen to Willie Nelson’s ”Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” featuring Snoop, Kris Kristofferson, and Jamey Johnson). The full nominees list: READ FULL STORY »
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Following Frank Ocean’s very personal admission on his Tumblr and a high-profile performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last week, Def Jam released his major-label debut Channel Orange a week early on July 10 as an iTunes exclusive.
While that move may have angered Target, which is protesting the early digital release by not carrying the physical album (discs officially hit retailers yesterday), Ocean probably isn’t too worried about it. Channel Orange sold an impressive 131,000 copies (3,000 of which were actually CDs) in its first week. As Billboard notes, his sales are in line with recent R&B/hip-hop debuts from Usher (Looking 4 Myself, 128,000) and Chris Brown (Fortune, 135,000).
Some of the initial interest undoubtedly comes from Ocean’s recent revelation that his first love was a man, but reviews — including EW’s — have largely been enthusiastic, and have little to do with his expressed sexuality.
Still, Channel was no sales match for Georgia’s Zac Brown Band, whose third studio album Uncaged topped the Billboard 200 with 234,000 copies. READ FULL STORY »
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The actual winners were announced last night at the CMT Music Awards. But here are a few more honors from the telecast that you should feel free to weigh in on:
Best Overall Performance Willie Nelson assembled an all-star crew to help him sing the hilarious “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.” The ponytailed veteran was joined by Darius Rucker, Toby Keith, Zac Brown, and Jamey Johnson, all of whom looked delighted to be sharing the stage with the legendary toker.
(Honorable Mention Little Big Town, who always sound fantastic, delivered a fun rendition of their summer single “Pontoon.” On a night when A-listers like Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band, and Luke Bryan delivered competent but forgettable performances, theirs might legitimately have earned the quartet a few new listeners. Also, props to Kellie Pickler for her “Motorboatin’” introduction.) READ FULL STORY »
After releasing five singles from their blockbuster sophomore album You Get What You Give, the Zac Brown Band is gearing up for their third major-label release, Uncaged, due July 10.
Today, the bearded-n-beanied Georgia natives released the lead single off their next set, an old school, true-blue country tune — we’re talking wire-brush drum beats, three-part harmonies, ample guitar noodling, and lots of fiddle riffs — with a refreshingly modern melody called “The Wind.”
“My love will find you anywhere, anywhere my love,” Zac sings on the lighthearted romantic ditty, which seems likely to continue the band’s chart streak (remarkably, of their ten official singles, eight have reached number one, while two peaked in second place).
Give “The Wind,” which premiered on The Boot earlier today, a spin below: READ FULL STORY »
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Nominations for June 6′s CMT Music Awards were announced this morning, with Carrie Underwood leading the pack with five nods, followed by Miranda Lambert, who received four.
See the full list below, which also includes three nominations a piece for Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Thompson Square.
If there’s one category we feel strongly about, it’s CMT Performance of the Year, which honors the best live performance that aired on a CMT show, series, or special. Little Big Town has to win for their cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” on the Music Builds: CMT Disaster Relief Concert. It starts at 2:40 in the clip below; you’re guaranteed to get chills. READ FULL STORY »
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The real winners were announced last night at the 47th Academy of Country Music Awards. But here are a few more honors from the telecast that you should feel free to weigh in on:
Best hosts: They’re no Brad and Carrie, but Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire (or is it just Reba these days?) maintained a playful rapport and charming competitiveness throughout the telecast. During the opening bit, Blake nailed Taylor Swift’s trademark suprised face while joking about her upcoming perfume. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I smell this good!” he imitated as he put his hands to his cheeks. Reba roasted Blake a bit for his old mullet (never forget!), and in return, Blake offered a few barbs about her age — although she’s looking mighty fine at 57! Blake’s humor just ever so slightly delved into the mean territory (I could have done without the Randy Travis and Tim Tebow jokes), but he still garnered big laughs throughout the night. Why is it that country music award shows seem to be the only type that prove hosts can actually be funny? My guess is that they don’t take themselves so dang seriously! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images Below, check out the winners of the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards:
Song of the Year: “Crazy Girl” by Eli Young Band
Album of the Year: Four the Record by Miranda Lambert
Vocal Group of the Year: Lady Antebellum
Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square
Video of the Year: “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith
Vocal Event of the Year: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson
Single Record of the Year: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson
New Artist of the Year: Scotty McCreery
Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton
Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift
To see the entire list, including industry, radio, and instrumentalist awards, check out the complete winners list at the official ACM website.
