CMA Awards '06

Forgot to record the CMA awards last night, so I didn’t see them. I’m sure they’ll rerun them on CMT at some point, and after reading about the winners on the ‘net, - Nominees here, Winners here - it doesn’t sound like I missed anything. None of the winners are anyone I would have voted for – the closest might have been Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. Let’s run it down: Entertainer – Kenny Chesney. Ok, but probably should have been Paisley or Urban. Male Vocalist – Keith Urban. Good pick, but I might have gone with Dierks Bentley. Female Vocalist – Carrie Underwood. What the?! CMA lost their minds. Should have been Faith Hill, and I'm not the only one who thought that. Underwood has only been around a year, and I haven’t heard one song from her yet that I’ve even half way liked. No way she’s female vocalist. Vocal Group – Rascal Flatts. Not much to pick from here, but should have gone to Alison Krauss & Union Station. Vocal Duo – Brooks and Dunn. No surprise here. Horizon Award – Carrie Underwood. She won two?! She’s not good enough yet to win the newcomer award and female vocalist. This should have gone to Josh Turner. Musical Event – Brad Paisley/Dolly Parton for “When I Get Where I’m Going.” Good song, good pick. Song of the Year – Believe, Brooks & Dunn. Ugh. Overwrought pop ballad that I couldn’t stand listening to. Poor selection of nominees, but probably should have gone to Brad Paisley for “When I Get Where I’m Going.” Single of the Year – Believe. Again. Ugh. Should have gone to Better Life by Keith Urban. Album of the Year – Time Well Wasted by Brad Paisley. A good pick, considering the rest of the nominees. This should have been Gary Allan for Tough All Over though. Video of the Year – Believe. Terrible pick, not a good crop of nominees. Should have gone to Faith and Tim for Like We Never Loved At All, but it wasn’t even nominated. If the song was nominated for Musical Event, why not video? A rather sad lot of nominees, leading to a repetitive and uninspired selection of winners, save for the Brad Paisley and Keith Urban wins. Also, it looks like after a couple years of ‘country’ picks, the CMA’s are again swinging back around towards pop. But the lack of quality nominees, when there were better ones available, surprised me. Where the hell was Gary Allan?! His album, “Tough All Over” was one of the best albums I’ve heard in the last while, let alone the past year, and he doesn’t get a nom for anything? The CMA’s have clearly lost their minds. And Faith Hill getting shutout? If her reaction was serious, and not joking like they're trying to spin it, she was certainly justified in thinking it, although you don't do that on national TV. Not when you're an experienced celebrity. Her reputation will probably take a dent from this. Should be interesting to see how this plays and if she lives it down, cause from where I'm sitting, that reaction was dead serious - not joking. Watch the eyes. Anyway, it sounds like the only thing they got right was inducting George Strait into the Hall of Fame. He’s certainly earned it, and he thanked his fans right off the bat. Well done.