2008 ACM Awards Live Blog

The ACM Awards are set to air tonight at 8PM ET/PT on CBS. We’ll find out who the fans voted for Entertainer of the Year, which is apparently still open for voting. I gotta question the legitimacy of this award because without requiring registration, there’s no way to limit online voting to one per person.

Word is that Kellie Pickler and Sugarland will be debuting new singles, Keith Urban is bringing along Sarah Buxton for his performance, and Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will be doing a tribute to Eddy Arnold. At the same time, I’m sure we’ll be getting an overdose of lackluster performances. Are “She’s A Hottie,” “Last Name,” “Every Day“, “Back When I Knew It All,” “Put A Girl In It,” and “Shiftwork” the best that country music can come up with for national TV?

We hope you’ll point your browser to www.The9513.com and join our live blog in a few hours for a head bobbin’ good time. — Brady

7:54 - Brody: We’re fixin’ to get this party started, but beforehand, check out the number of TV viewers for the ACM Awards every year since 1979.

8:01 - Brody: Carrie Underwood is kicking things off with “Last Name.”

8:02 - Matt C: If people heard more performances like this, I don’t think there would be so much clamoring for Carrie to perform “loud” songs. There’s more than a little strain in her voice. That last long note was very ugly.

8:03 - Matt C: I sincerely regret that Carrie chose to wear pants on the one night that I’m watching on a move theater screen.

8:07 - Matt C: Voting information…is entertainer of the year voting still open?

8:06 - Brody: Crowd doesn’t like the Roger Clemens joke that Reba just pulled, but she “Larry the Cable Guy-ed” them with a “I don’t care who you are, that’s funny.”

8:08 - Brody: Happy 56th Birthday George Strait. Coincidentally he just hit his 56th No. 1.

8:10 - Brody: Wooo! Toby Keith is performing everybody’s favorite song, “She’s a Hottie.” Unfortunately it’s off to a rough start.

8:10 - Matt C: The best thing about the ACMs is that they’ve stuck with Reba as host even now that she’s past her commercial peak. She just gave a stellar performance that doesn’t even compare to the Brooks and Dunn debacles at the CMAs.

8:11 - Brody: I don’t think the digital dancer has a bra on.

8:12 - Matt C: I don’t think the backup singer does either.

8:13 - Matt C: Is “Last Name” the show’s theme song this year?

8:14 - Brody: I thought this was a country music award show? Who are these announcers?

8:14 - Matt C: The Chris Angel guy just doesn’t look like a country fan.

8:15 - Brody: Sugarland takes the first award for “Single of the Year.” Well deserved.

8:15 - Matt C: And Kristian Bush is now officially the most-lauded guitar strummer in history.

8:17 - Matt C: I think that Sugarland’s win in single pretty much guarantees that “Stay” will win song; single was Kenny Chesney’s best chance of stealing one for “Don’t Blink.”

8:18 - Brody: By the way, if anyone wants to sponsor our next live blog, you can contact me at “brody [at] the9513.com.” Just sayin’.

8:21 - Matt C: Funny trumps moving as “Online” wins music video.

8:21 - Brody: At least Jason Alexander actually starred in a country video.

8:24 - Matt C: That’s the oldest and ugliest mosh pit that I have ever seen. Whatever happened to the year when the ACMs hired 100 bikini models to decorate Kenny Chesney’s outdoor performance?

8:24 - Brody: I’ll second the opinion left by KathyP in the comments, “there is such a lack of suspense in this year’s ACMs…” Everything is too scripted and mostly politically correct, we need more spontaneity.

8:25 - Matt C: “Copped a feel” got censored…

8:26 - Brody: Brad Paisley just wrapped up “I’m Still a Guy,” and in the process dissed half the audience with his line about facials and botox.

8:27 - Brody: Taylor Swift takes “Top New Female Vocalist.” Surprise.

8:27 - Matt C: In response to the comments: I don’t think the mixing is bad this year. It shouldn’t be, given that most of the instrumental tracks are recorded beforehand. For the most part, I think we’re just hearing what these guys sound like outside of the studio.

8:29 - Brody: Is it just me or are they flying through everything this year? I can barely catch my breath before they’re on to the next thing and what’s up with no previews for the nominated songs? Methinks that might keep some of the nominees from getting a bump in sales in the coming days.

8:32 - Matt C: A medley of Garth’s greatest hits is coming up. I remember being so excited for Garth’s NYC performance on the CMAs but after about two dozen “one night only” performances, it just doesn’t seem special anymore.

8:34 - Brody: Blake Shelton got a nice subliminal album name drop from Reba, Pure BS, before he introduced Miranda Lambert as Miranda Lamberrrrrta!

8:36 - Matt C: I’m a huge Miranda fan, but the way she’s performing “Gunpowder and Lead” makes me think that she hasn’t quite decided if this song is about abuse or kicking ass. Note the contrast between the (forced) and deliberate introduction and the rest of the song, complete with Kerosene-esque fireworks.

8:38 - Brody: Hey we finally get some song/video snippets for New Duo/Vocal Group, and the winner is Lady Antebellum.

8:43 - Brody: As it stands now Matt is 3/3 on predictions, leaving the rest of us at a still respectable 2 for 3…but the night is still young.

8:46 - Brody: Didn’t Rodney Atkins wear the same thing to the last awards show?

8:47 - Matt C: As I watch this, I can’t help but wonder in Rodney Atkins is going to be the next Gretchen Wilson/Clint Black one album smash, without, you know, the classic songs.

8:49 - Brody: New Male Vocalist goes to Jack Ingram.

8:51 - Matt C: This is not the acceptance speech of a “new” male vocalist. Ingram’s award is well deserved (at least among those nominated), even if almost all of his mainstream country material has been horrible.

8:58 - Brody: From the comments:

Brad: Jack winning is sweet vindication for 15 years of dues paying in Texas honky-tonks and a catalog better than just about everyone he’s sitting in that audience with. Classy speech too. Makes me proud to have supported him all this time…good job Jack.

9:00 - Brody: I’m almost ashamed to say that Kenny Chesney doesn’t sound half bad tonight.

9:00 - Matt C: I’ve more or less given up on Kenny Chesney’s singles, but this is his best one since “Who You’d be Today.” Still, it just doesn’t have the intangible quality that his earlier, country-sounding singles had.

9:03 - Brody: I like how George Strait hasn’t touched the strings on his guitar yet.

9:03 - Brody: Anybody else see the dude in the audience flub the lyrics when he had his chance to shine?

9:04 - Matt C: Seriously, how many crown royale shots did some of these forty-somethings have to take before they climbed into the mosh pit?

9:07 - Brody: Two of the “greatest” country music entertainers of all time deserve more entertaining song than “Shiftwork.”

9:08 - Matt C: This just isn’t fun. It should be this really groovy tune, but Chesney and Strait are good enough that if they have to work to make something fun, it’s not a fun song.

9:12 - Matt C: Kenny Chesney + Corona…a match made in heaven.

9:15 - Matt C: Jennifer Nettles’ legs have to be about eight feet tall.

9:17 - Matt C: This is really stupid. Sugarland deserves to flop on this one.

9:18 - Matt C: For all it’s stupidity, that performance was exceptionally well choreographed.

9:19 - Brody: John Rich and Jewel on stage together and they didn’t even pimp the upcoming Nashville Star.

9:20 - Matt C: Miranda’s win shocked me, but it made my night.

9:22 - Matt C: Gary LeVox has got a hitch in his swing.

9:21 - Brody: Miranda Lambert’s Crazy-Ex Girlfriend for album of the year. That’s really a shocker, but would have been my pick.

9:25 - Matt C: Reflections on Miranda’s win: I think it’s interesting that country and cross-genre critics agreed here. I was mildly disappointed by Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and didn’t think that it deserved so much cross-genre praise, but it certainly deserved to win among this field. At this point, I think it’s fair to call Miranda an “album artist” who may never be an automatic radio add but will have a more substantial and memorable career than many artists who fall into that group.

9:30 - Matt C: Reba is the class among the trash.

9:31 - Matt C: I have to say that B&D’s performance was the best-sounding of the night, both from a vocal and instrumental standpoint. “Put a Girl in It” really sounds like a B&D record, but I just don’t think the theme and arrangement work well together.

9:32 - Brody: Song of the Year goes to “Stay.” I suspect Sugarland can expect a minor sales boost after the show.

9:33 - Matt C: Julianne Hough is so classy and beautiful, it makes me wish that her music was better.

9:34 - Matt C: Jennifer is onto something. I think that almost every country radio single would be improved without the percussion loop.

9:39 - Matt C: I can’t believe that Taylor’s label allowed her to put on the chastity garmet after pimping her out at the CMAs.

9:40 - Matt C: Should’ve known that wouldn’t last long.

9:40 - Brody: I blanked out for a second, what was the point of the hoodie again?

9:41 - Brody: The girlfriend says, “I think I know what Nicole Kidman looked like when she was 16.”

9:42 - Matt C: Ah, and now let’s get her soaking wet. After all, we have to make up for the 30 seconds where the 18 year old’s boobs weren’t visible.

9:43 - Matt C: Taylor’s performance was, as usual, just a disgrace. First, I think that Taylor was lip-synching, because she sounds much worse than that when I hear her on the Opry.

Second, did that look like anything better than a rap (or at best, a Beyonce) performance?

9:46 - Matt C: Is that Dr. Phil?

9:46 - Matt C: Say what you will about RF, but they deserve the humanitarian award. I’ve personally witnessed the good work they do at the Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

9:47 - Brody: Top Vocal Duo goes to Suga…Brooks & Dunn?!?

9:47 - Matt C: THIS IS AN OUTRAGE.

9:48 - Matt C: I’m left pretty much speechless by the duo award. B&D have never ruled the ACMs like the CMAs, and once Sugarland won at the CMAs, I assumed that the B&D infatuation was over. It goes without saying that they didn’t deserve it, and I just can’t believe that it happened.

9:49 - Brody: Everybody’s favorite Celebrity Apprentice is performing his latest single, “You’re Gonna Miss This.”

9:55 - Brody: If my count is right Matt is leading the predictions so far with 6/8, I’m following with 5/8, Brady breaks even at 4/8, and Jim is currently under 500 at 3/8. Ouch.

9:57 - Matt C: Apparently Garth Brooks has 128 million hits.

9:58 - Matt C: Garth’s looking a little rusty.

9:59 - Matt C: This an exceptionally poorly constructed medley. It’s tough when you’re only allotting 15 seconds to each song.

9:58 - Brody: From the comments:

Chris N.: Good grief, a guy wants to say a couple of words about the fact that his hometown was just completely destroyed by a tornado and they still try to play him off. That ain’t right.

10:01 - Matt C: Maybe it’s just me, but the 10 year old daughter that Garth “retired” for must be feeling more and more betrayed with each day that goes by.

10:01 - Brody: I’m not a fan of these 15-second snippet medleys. I think it’s atrocious.

10:03 - Brody: That was nice of Trisha Yearwood to make an appearance.

10:04 - Brody: Did anyone get an official count of how many songs he just did?

10:09 - Brody: I wish there were better commercials.

10:11 - Brody: Top Vocal Group goes to Rascal Flatts.

10:11 - Matt C: What’s the over-under for percent of audience members who even know who Diamond Rio is?

10:13 - Matt C: Sarah Buxton has to be pleased with the way that her career has developed. Doesn’t every girl dream of doing the “chi-chi-chi-kakas?”

10:15 - Matt C: I wish that Keith would abandon country and just shoot for Top 40 radio. The guy’s crazy-talented, but his talents just don’t lie within the country genre.

10:16 - Brody: Comparing Keith Urban’s current performance to Kenny Chesney’s earlier performances answers any questions of who is the better entertainer.

10:18 - Matt C: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon ought to look something like that.

10:20 - Matt C: Yeah, I’d swallow my manhood for four minutes and sing “Everyday” if I could go home to Tiffany Fallon.

10:22 - Matt C: Compare this performance to “Last Name” and understand why I think it’s so criminal that Carrie is recording the kind of material she is. Her voice sounds absolutely gorgeous on this song.

10:23 - Brody: Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley singing Eddy Arnold’s “Make the World Go Away” is the performance of the night.

10:24 - Matt C: The first country performance of the night earns a standing ovation. That was brilliant. Country music is truly the best music on the face of the earth.

10:26 - Matt C: Carrie Underwood has blown me away with three live performances: “Stand By Your Man” on the Opry, “San Antonio Rose” on the Grammys, and now “Make the World Go Away” on the ACMs. Carrie is an outstanding country singer, and if she does ever decide to make a country (as opposed to pop-country) album, it has the potential to be a masterpiece.

Seriously Carrie, call me…I’d be happy to produce.

10:32 - Matt C: I’ll have to hear the studio version of Kellie’s new single before passing judgment. I did think that Pickler’s performance looked much more energetic thna it sounded.

10:34 - Matt C: Where’s Kimberely Williams-Paisley tonight?

10:32 - Brody: Man, it must be tough following the Eddy Arnold tribute, but Kellie Pickler is doing her best, even if it looks like she just came from a day by the pool…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

10:34 - Brody: This year’s Top Male vocalist is Brad Paisley.

10:34 - Matt C: I expect that Brad will go on a male vocalist run at both awards shows now that he’s deposed Kenny.

10:36 - Brody: Prediction update: Matt - 8/10, Me - 7/10, Brady - 6/10, Jim - 4/10.

10:39 - Brody: From the comments:

Chris N.: Fun fact: according to Billboard, Eddy Arnold remains the most successful country singles artist of all time.

Brady Vercher: He’s also the only artist to chart singles from the 40s through the double-aughts. Hank Thompson came close, but he missed the 90s and 2000s.

10:44 - Matt C: One thing that I don’t like about Rimes’ new musical direction is that her vocals are very hard to understand. I don’t think most people listening to that performance actually realized what she was singing about.

10:45 - Brody: Dwight Yoakam and a super model whose name escaped me are announcing Top Female Vocalist. And the winner is Carrie Underwood.

10:51 - Matt C: You think the producers knew that Yoakam was going to make a penis joke?

10:53 - Matt C: FYI, I’ve seen John Michael Montgomery live and he’s just as annoying with the microphone stand as brother Eddie is.

10:53 - Brody: Are all the gratuitous shots of Troy Gentry’s pooper really necessary?

10:55 - Brody: Entertainer of the Year goes to Kenny Chesney…again.

10:57 - Brody: He just thanked his mom and dad for having sex.

10:55 - Matt C: It’s hard to assess fan infrastructure when predicting a vote like this. I maintain the Rascal Flatts has a larger fan base than Kenny Chesney, but I imagine that RF has fans who only listen to their songs that make the Top 40 and aren’t really invested in country music awards shows. Kenny’s fanbase is still country-centric, and I suspect that explains this result (though I still expected it to turn out the other way).

11:04 - Brody: And that’s a wrap. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, read what we had to say and left a comment. It’s been real, it’s been fun, but it ain’t been real fun. Ok, that’s a lie, it was fun. If it strikes your fancy, let us know what the highlight was for you and please let us know what we can do to help make our next live blog a better experience for you, our loyal readers.