Kenny Chesney Dominates ACM Awards Nominations
- Kenny Chesney leads the 2008 ACM Awards nominations with 11 while Rodney Atkins pulled in six. Here’s a list.
- Ricky Skaggs will be awarded a Berklee honorary doctorate of music on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
Skaggs’ virtuosity, his rich musicality, and his commitment to the deep roots of American music make him a deserving recipient of a Berklee Honorary Doctorate. Berklee has also bestowed this honor upon country music legends Loretta Lynn and Earl Scruggs.
- For the first time in a decade Faith Hill is scheduled to play the CMA Music Festival. Other performers include Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Dwight Yoakam, Rodney Atkins, Josh Turner, Miranda Lambert, Jewel and Kellie Pickler.
- Kris Kristofferson talked to John Patterson about songwriting, heroes and movies.
- Kathleen Edwards is on the receiving end of a lot of love for her new album, Asking for Flowers.
- Here’s the video for the Point of Grace song “How You Live (Turn Up The Music),” which has been nominated for Country Recorded Song of the Year at the GMA Awards.
- Vanessa Franko says Ryan Bingham is headed back into the studio this month to record as many songs as he can.
Bingham has been writing while on the road, dreaming up melodies on a kids’ guitar he bought for $50 so he could play while riding in the van. He tries to record them in hotel rooms when he can, squeezing them in around interviews and sound checks.
- A musical about the life of Conway Twitty, It’s Only Make Believe, has been announced.
- Blake Shelton has a new Collector’s Edition CD available exclusively at Wal-Mart. The CD features his new single “Home” along with “Austin,” “Ol’ Red,” “Nobody But Me” and “Some Beach.” If you check out his YouTube channel, you can find Blake ribbing on Craig Morgan’s hair.
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Forgotten Artists: Bradley Kincaid In a manner similar to Alan Lomax, William Bradley “The Kentucky Mountain Boy” Kincaid was one of the great American musicologists and collectors of American folk, country and parlor songs.
Forgotten Artists: Goldie Hill Had Carl Smith and Goldie Hill been born 30 or 40 years later, they might have been like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw–the dominant married couple in country music.
Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.Tagged In This Article
ACM Awards // Blake Shelton // CMA Music Festival // Conway Twitty // Craig Morgan // Faith Hill // Grand Ole Opry // Kathleen Edwards // Kenny Chesney // Kris Kristofferson // Ricky Skaggs // Rodney Atkins // Ryan Bingham
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18 Comments
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March 4, 2008 at 12:31 pm Permalink
The big surprises this year were the nominations for Miranda Lambert in the Album and Single categories and LeAnn Rimes in the Female Vocalist. Rodney Atkins was a big surprise too in the Male Vocalist Category. I think Josh Turner or Dierks Bentley were a bit more deserving of that spot, though.
March 4, 2008 at 12:38 pm Permalink
I know the ACM’s definition of a “new artist” isnt exactly “new”, but it’s funny to see Jack Ingram on a “new artist” list since I have seen him rocking full houses for the last 10 years….
Also, Kathleen Edwards rules, and this album is as great as everyone says it is!!!
March 4, 2008 at 1:26 pm Permalink
good acm list overall. at least keith urban was nominated for entertaineer this year. and i love seeing rodney atkins nominated, he’s one of my favorites. although i am a fan of taylor swift i don’t think she is deserving of a female vocalist nomination. and it was also great to see gary allan nominated for song of the year. he’s usually underrepereseted.
March 4, 2008 at 1:52 pm Permalink
I find it amusing that one of the Top New Duo or Vocal Group nominees hasn’t put a record out yet, and another has already broken up.
March 4, 2008 at 2:27 pm Permalink
A lot of the nominations are kind of sketchy to me I think it was done by a few people who really don’t listen to or know about country music. I think Taylor is a great entertainer overall from her marketing to look but Vocalist…no, she is not good in that category. Also like Chris said one of the nominees hasn’t put a record out and the other isn’t even in existence anymore.
March 4, 2008 at 2:33 pm Permalink
The ACM nominations are appalling.
Also, Lee Brice should have been in for New Male.
March 4, 2008 at 3:03 pm Permalink
Jim, I agree with you about the noms being apalling. I feel that way because I detest most of pop/mainstream country. I am curious as to why you are apalled, seeing as you have more tolerance for mainstream country than I do.
March 4, 2008 at 3:37 pm Permalink
I’ve lost my ability to be appalled.
March 4, 2008 at 3:49 pm Permalink
All I can say is “Shiftwork” for Vocal Performance….I think I’m going to scream!! I vote for Keith Urban for Entertainer! He is absolutely the best Entertainer!
March 4, 2008 at 5:41 pm Permalink
Dave S,
Why shouldn’t Rodney Atkins be nominated for vocalist. If these awards are for purely mainstream reasons, he’s had four consecutive #1 hits. It’s pretty obvious to me. He deserves to be there just as his album deserves to be nominated for “Album.” Eventhough that being nominated seems odd since the record was released in 2006.
March 4, 2008 at 9:50 pm Permalink
Unlike Rodney Atkins, Dierks Bentley has headlined a tour… several times. Based on performances that I have seen (and in Dierks’ case, live shows), I would say Dierks Bentley deserved the nomination over him. I would also say that after three artistically-sound albums that all sold well, Dierks is the proven vocalist/entertainer. Don’t forget; Dierks also hit #1 in the eligibilty period.
March 4, 2008 at 10:32 pm Permalink
What was the eligibility period?
March 5, 2008 at 1:05 am Permalink
Its nice to see the nominations for Jake Owen, Sarah Buxton, and Carolina Rain mixed in with the ultra popular, totally commercial, country crap-meisters that dominate Top 40 country radio. Sarah B. and Carolina Rain don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, but Jake doesn’t have such stiff competition so there’s hope! Yee-Haw! The fact The Wreckers are kaput obviously doesn’t matter to the folks making the nominations. Does one have to undergo a frontal lobotomy to vote on this?
The fact Kenny Cheesy would dominate the nominations is solid proof that shallow and mediocre music rules the mainstream country roost these days. Pathetic…
As for the cool Blake Shelton EP, they blew it on one minor point. I have a CDX CD that has Blake performing a solo acoustic version of “Austin” that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. It is far superior to the fully instrumented bombastic version included on the EP. Oh well……..
March 5, 2008 at 4:09 am Permalink
I like mainstream country, for the most part (and as a whole), but I am appalled because these nominations seem to be based on little more than casual observation.
It’s a tough sell to say that these nominations represent the “best” or mainstream country, OR the most popular.
Did they pick names out of a hat?
These nominations show zero sophistication of thought, even within the framework of a format that often shows little sophistication of thought.
March 5, 2008 at 4:42 am Permalink
Dave, I like Dierks alot and don’t think touring/headlining has ANYTHING to do with a vocalist nomination. It’s what has done well on radio. And since this is the ‘elegibilty period’ I would think Rodney Atkins trumps Dierks. That being said, Dierks is an awesome artist and one of my favorite mainstream artists.
March 5, 2008 at 4:44 am Permalink
Rick, I have acoustic versions of “Austin” and “Playboys of the Southwestern World” and “Ol’ Red” that blow the studio versions out of the water. there’s no contest.
March 5, 2008 at 8:44 am Permalink
Jim, thanks. I felt the same way regarding the seemingly “xeroxed” list of nominations. It’s as boring as the emmys, where friggin “Frasier” can win 8 or 9 times in a row, and generally the same shows get the same nominations every year…..
March 16, 2008 at 7:25 pm Permalink
Kenny Chesney has somehow had the biggest career with the smallest amount of talent since Ernest Tubb. How does he do it? Hypnotism?
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