Country Music

[mahogany soul]

William Morris Endeavor seems to hold a lot of power in Nashville. Still seems like an awful lot for so little. These are ACMs, not Grammys. Why is Miranda's star on the decline? Lack of good material or people just losing interest?

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(04-05-2016 02:39 AM)mahogany soul Wrote:  William Morris Endeavor seems to hold a lot of power in Nashville. Still seems like an awful lot for so little. These are ACMs, not Grammys.

The country industry is still pretty faithful when it comes to sales; the streaming figures for country music are terrible, but there is still money to be made from physical product in country music. And of course touring is huge in country music. Most country acts are basically touring non-stop. Things like the ACMs help country acts sell, especially someone like Miranda (versus a Carrie doesn't need awards to sell product or tickets).

The ACMs actually drew better ratings (including the key demo) last year than the American Music Awards.

Quote:Why is Miranda's star on the decline? Lack of good material or people just losing interest?

Miranda was never hugely popular to begin with if you look at her album sales and digital sales. Her clout has been more artistic than commercial, though she probably combined those two aspects more than just about anyone else in country. I think her last album was done in by poor singles choices. It was actually one of her better albums, but the lead single "Automatic" was too generic, and the other singles were all too divisive for country audiences (I love "Little Red Wagon," but that was never going to be a big country hit).

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Overall the CMT Awards were a disappointment, but damn if Carrie Underwood didn't kill it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl...wupvdFqEsQ
She has grown so much as a live performer.

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Miranda Lambert dropped a new single called "Vice." I'm not sure she's ever sounded better. I like the concept of the song, too. The melody comes across as random to me, though.

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Nominations for the 50th CMA Awards were announced yesterday. Here are the nominees in some of the major categories:

Entertainer of the Year
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood (incredibly just her first nom here)
Keith Urban

Album of the Year
Dierks Bentley, Black
Eric Church, Mr. Misunderstood
Maren Morris, Hero
Carrie Underwood, Storyteller
Keith Urban, Ripcord

Single of the Year
Eric Church, “Record Year”
Tim McGraw, “Humble and Kind”
Maren Morris, “My Church”
Thomas Rhett, “Die a Happy Man”
Chris Stapleton, “Nobody to Blame”

Song of the Year
“Burning House” (Cam)
“Die a Happy Man” (Thomas Rhett)
“Humble and Kind” (Tim McGraw)
“My Church” (Maren Morris)
“Record Year” (Eric Church)

Male Vocalist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Tim McGraw
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban

Female Vocalist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood

I'm happy Underwood finally got an Entertainer nomination as it's long overdue. I think she can win, too. It's also cool to see Maren Morris get so many nods just because the country industry is usually sexist, but Morris isn't all that 'country' so it's a catch-22. Eric Church should perhaps be in Entertainer as well, but hopefully he will win Album and/or Male Vocalist. I expect "Humble and Kind" to win Song and possibly Single.

[seinfeld13]

I don't get all the love for Chris Stapleton, especially in the EOTY category. Eric Church and Dierks Bentley both should also be in EOTY, but I too am glad Carrie got in. Hopefully she will win Female Vocalist again, although perhaps Maren is the Chris Stapleton of this year, which is just so out of left field to me. She has had two underwhelming singles.

I guess I would say the winners will be:

Luke Bryan (gross)
Chris Stapleton (blah)
Carrie Underwood
Eric Church, "Mr. Misunderstood"
"Humble and Kind" (Song)
"Nobody to Blame" (Single)

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(09-03-2016 12:37 AM)seinfeld13 Wrote:  I don't get all the love for Chris Stapleton, especially in the EOTY category.

Have you seen him live? I saw him in January, and he was incredible. I can hardly think of a better singer in country music right now. Plus, things like his CMA Awards performance last year and his Grammys performance this year fall under this eligibility. In general it's mostly about his momentum as he really has energized country music over the past year. It's actually his album I find the most underwhelming (it's a handful of great tracks surrounded by filler), so I support the Male Vocalist and even Entertainer wins/noms more than all of the Album wins.

Quote:Hopefully she will win Female Vocalist again, although perhaps Maren is the Chris Stapleton of this year, which is just so out of left field to me. She has had two underwhelming singles.

Morris could be, for sure, but she isn't nearly as 'country' as Stapleton so that may hurt her. "My Church" is pretty much the only remotely country song on her album. It will be interesting, though, especially with Lambert (who has done nothing the past year) going for a record seventh win.

Quote:I guess I would say the winners will be:

Your winners do seem likely. I think Entertainer is the most up for grabs as I can see Luke, Garth (as a sort of career award), or Carrie winning.

[pvdk]

I wonder if Thomas Rhett's genre bending is what limits his nods.

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(09-03-2016 10:16 PM)pvdk Wrote:  I wonder if Thomas Rhett's genre bending is what limits his nods.

If by 'genre bending' you mean 'not really country,' then yes. I mean, he's even said he's trying to emulate Bruno Mars.

[emmygrammyoscartony]

Honestly, "The Weight of These Wings" is such a strong and amazing record. I would love for this brilliant piece of art to be nominated for AOTY at the Grammys. At the very least, I want "Tin Man" in for SOTY. This album is just...wow.