Little Rebellion Music

Last night’s CMA Awards held few surprises. CMA voters recognized commercial success and stayed loyal to the artists who have enjoyed the most industry support in recent years. The winner in each category is bolded.

Full list of 2013 CMA Awards winners:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Taylor Swift

Someone said today that “it’s hard to argue with George Strait winning this award.” Well, actually, I find it pretty easy. This category considers who has been the biggest ambassador for country music in the past year, and, though his career is impressive and deserves the utmost respect and recognition, that wasn’t Strait. CMA voters handed him this honor as a farewell present, but I feel that is what lifetime achievement awards are for. The current ruling triumvirate of country, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Blake Shelton, were last year’s most visible country artists, and any one of those winning this would have made more sense.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
‘Cruise’ – Florida Georgia Line – Produced by Joey Moi – Republic Nashville
‘Highway Don’t Care’ – Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban
‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ – Miranda Lambert
‘Merry Go ‘Round’ – Kacey Musgraves
‘Wagon Wheel’ – Darius Rucker

This award shouldn’t have gone to any other single than the absolute biggest song on country radio (and beyond) during the eligibility period. Whatever you may think of the song itself, this is a totally deserved winner.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

Based on a True Story – Blake Shelton – Produced by Scott Hendricks – Warner Bros. Records
Blown Away – Carrie Underwood
Red – Taylor Swift
Same Trailer Different Park – Kacey Musgraves
Tornado – Little Big Town

I can only hope that undecided voters were swayed by the PR campaign for the Blake Shelton record, complete with a “virtual record player” being sent out during the voting process. Because if they genuinely consider Based on a True Story to be the best country album on a list which also includes Tornado, and especially Same Trailer Different Park, that would just be depressing, seeing as it consists of a bunch of overused ideas lacking any distinguishing feature that makes it stand out.

SONG OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Songwriter(s))
‘I Drive Your Truck’ – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, and Jimmy Yeary
‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ – Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, and Kacey Musgraves
‘Merry Go ‘Round’ – Kacey Musgraves, Josh Osborne, and Shane McAnally
‘Pontoon’ – Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird, and Barry Dean
‘Wagon Wheel’ – Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor

Oh yes! If this award had gone to any other song on this list, I think I may have actually lapsed into catatonia. ‘I Drive Your Truck’ is such an astonishing piece of songwriting and I am super thrilled for the songwriters to see that being acknowledged. Next stop: the Grammy awards!

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelly Clarkson
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

For me, this was a race between Lambert and Underwood, and there was enough of a case to be made for either of them. My personal preference would have been to see this title return to Carrie, after a truly impressive year for her. But, for whatever reason, her industry support has diminished somewhat the last few years, and her label, Arista, is struggling to turn that around. But, um, what was up with Kacey Musgraves’ reaction to Lambert’s win. I really hope I misread this facial expression:

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

As with the Entertainer category, this was a three-person race and Shelton was just that little bit more visible this year. No objections here.

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

And rightly so! Little Big Town were denied award recognition for many years so I hope their reign will last a while now. The work they did with producer Jay Joyce on the Tornado record is impressive, and their live performances were cranked up a notch too over the last year. Very well deserved!

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Florida Georgia Line
Love and Theft
Sugarland
The Civil Wars
Thompson Square

Well…yeah. Given that according to the CMA voting criteria this award “is based on the musical performance of the duo as a unit on an album,” awarding this to Thompson Square, or especially The Civil Wars, would have recognized a higher level of artistic depth, but Florida Georgia Line was just too big to be denied this first win.

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR (Award goes to each artist)
‘Boys ‘Round Here’ – Blake Shelton (featuring Pistol Annies) – Warner Bros. Records
‘Cruise’ – Florida Georgia Line (with Nelly) – Republic Nashville
‘Don’t Rush’ – Kelly Clarkson (featuring Vince Gill) – 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville
‘Highway Don’t Care’ – Tim McGraw (with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban) – Big Machine Records
‘The Only Way I Know’ – Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Eric Church – Broken Bow Records

Whatever. I could not get excited about any of these nominees this year.

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Sam Bush (Mandolin)
Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
Dann Huff (Guitar)
Brent Mason (Guitar)
Mac McAnally (Guitar)

McAnally is an extremely talented musician, obviously, but I am seriously starting to wonder just what exactly Paul Franklin has to do to be recognized here. Does the majority of voters just look at who won last year because they don’t really care, or don’t really know the nominees?

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
‘Blown Away’ – Carrie Underwood – Directed by Randee St. Nicholas
‘Boys ‘Round Here’ – Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies – Directed by Trey Fanjoy
‘Downtown’ – Lady Antebellum – Directed by Peter Zavadil
‘Highway Don’t Care’ – Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban – Directed by Shane Drake
‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ – Miranda Lambert – Directed by Trey Fanjoy
‘Tornado’ – Little Big Town – Directed by Shane Drake

While I am all for campaigns that drill in the message that texting and driving don’t mix, the music videos for ‘Blown Away’ and ‘Tornado’ did a better job at visually representing the song they were accompanying.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lee Brice
Brett Eldredge
Florida Georgia Line
Kip Moore
Kacey Musgraves

Fantastic! Even though FGL obviously achieved far more commercial success in their first year in the big leagues, Musgraves was responsible for bringing a much-needed fresh approach to country music. She and her producers demonstrated that you can indeed still release material of a high artistic level, and it doesn’t have to be all trucks, tailgates, and cold beers.

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Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.

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