On Wednesday, November 4th, the 49th Annual CMA Awards will take place and will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC. Here’s what you need to know!
HOSTS:
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley return as co-hosts of the CMA Awards! They have been co-hosting together since 2008 and have been known to have some hilarious monologues at the beginning and throughout the show! Watch out for a Blake/Miranda joke somewhere in there, but don’t worry- Blake is expecting it!
VOTING:
So who exactly votes for the CMA Awards? Well, unlike many other awards shows, the CMA Awards are not voted on by the fans. Over 6,000 music-industry professionals, who are members of the Country Music Association, are the voters for the CMA Awards. How great is it that these professionals have the ability to honor their peers and colleagues!?
PERFORMANCES:
Right now, there is a whopping 25 performers scheduled for the awards show including from big names like Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and more!
But we’re most excited to see some collaborative performances including Keith Urban with John Mellencamp, Hank Williams Jr. with Eric Church, Brooks and Dunn with Reba, Thomas Rhett with Fall Out Boy and the highly anticipated performance of Chris Stapleton with Justin Timberlake.
Oh, and just wait until you see Lindsey Stirling and her electric violin! She will be performing with Dierks Bentley!
PREDICTIONS:
Entertainer of the Year
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan- WINNER
Kenny Chesney
Eric Church
Miranda Lambert
Who We Would Vote For: Kenny Chesney
Who Deserves To Win: Garth Brooks
Who Will Win: Garth Brooks
Our Take: We’ll be very upfront and say that we are HUGE Kenny Chesney fans! There are only a handful of artists that can do what Kenny does year-after-year, playing a stretch stadiums shows, often with multiple shows in several markets. However, when Garth announced his return to the road last year, the country community went into a frenzy. Garth has played several shows in each city, including a whopping 11 shows in Chicago! We would be hard pressed to look past Garth with all he has done on the tour. He deserves to be Entertainer of the Year and we think the CMA will agree as well. If he does win, it would be his 5th Entertainer of the Year award.
Male Vocalist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Chris Stapleton- WINNER
Who We Would Vote For: Dierks Bentley
Who Deserves To Win: Dierks Bentley
Who Will Win: Luke Bryan
Our Take: Dierks Bentley simply doesn’t get recognition that he deserves. His ‘RISER’ album was absolutely incredible and he coupled that with a massive tour that sold-out in mostly every market that it went through. But at the same time, he’s not quite at that level of Luke Bryan for one reason or another and truly isn’t recognized as he should. Luke will win something at the CMA Awards, and we think it will be Male Vocalist of the Year.
Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves- WINNER
Carrie Underwood
Leann Womack
Kelsea Ballerini
Who We Would Vote For: Miranda Lambert
Who Deserves To Win: Miranda Lambert
Who Will Win: Miranda Lambert
Our Take: It’s a tough field and soon enough, Kelsea Ballerini will be at the top of this field- just not yet! She has some tough competition with other leading ladies who have been doing this much longer and have the resume to back them up. Like always, Miranda Lambert will bring home a trophy and it should be for Female Vocalist of the Year. She has already won five Female Vocalist of the Year awards, so what’s another one?
Album of the Year
‘Old Boots, New Dirt‘ – Jason Aldean
‘Pageant Material‘ – Kacey Musgraves
‘Painkiller‘ – Little Big Town
‘The Big Revival‘ – Kenny Chesney
‘Traveller‘ – Chris Stapleton- WINNER
Who We Would Vote For: ‘The Big Revival‘ – Kenny Chesney
Who Deserves To Win: ‘The Big Revival‘ – Kenny Chesney
Who Will Win: ‘Traveller‘ – Chris Stapleton
Our Take: Kenny Chesney shocked the world and took 2014 off to focus on music and making a new album. And the time off truly paid off with an incredible output that became the Platinum-ceritifed ‘The Big Revival.‘ The record yielded four singles, and each one of them went number one on the charts! Without a doubt, in our opinion, Chesney deserves this award. On the other hand, the CMA may not agree with us and we think the voters will end up choosing Chris Stapleton’s ”Traveller.’ Nearly all of Stapleton’s colleagues in the genre were raving about the album from the minute that it dropped. And fans agree as the debut album skyrocketed to the top and debuted at number one on the charts.
New Artist of the Year
Sam Hunt
Maddie & Tae
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton- WINNER
Kelsea Ballerini
Who We Would Vote For: Sam Hunt
Who Deserves To Win: Sam Hunt
Who Will Win: Sam Hunt
Our Take: This is an incredibly difficult field with these nominees. But quite frankly, none of them has done as much as Sam Hunt has this year. His fanbase grows by thousands on the daily. His headlining tour sold out shows in every town. His album was certified-Gold and yielded three number one hits, with a fourth on the rise right now. And just last night, he was awarded the Songwriter-Artist of the Year by ASCAP. It seems to be Sam Hunt’s world, and we’re just living in it!
Vocal Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town- WINNER
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
Who We Would Vote For: Lady Antebellum
Who Deserves To Win: Zac Brown Band
Who Will Win: Little Big Town
Our Take: The trio of Lady Antebellum is something special, it truly is. With incredible vocals and musical talent, coupled with jaw-dropping production, they put together one of the biggest and best tours of 2015. If we’re voting, Lady A gets our nod. However, Zac Brown Band is one of the biggest names in music- not just the country genre. They released another number one album and had two number one hits, as well as selling out shows across the country including three shows right here at Boston’s Fenway Park. But Little Big Town has been at their top of their game this year and we think they will return to the CMA Awards Stage and claim their award. They are the reigning winners after all.
Vocal Duo of the Year
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line- WINNER
Maddie & Tae
Thompson Square
Who We Would Vote For: Maddie & Tae
Who Deserves To Win: Maddie & Tae
Who Will Win: Florida Georgia Line
Our Take: Country fans are very fortunate for how many super talented duos there are in the genre. And five of them are nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year and all deserve the nomination. We love what Maddie & Tae have done since they bursted onto the country scene. They have taken off with an EP, a full-length album and a headlining tour on top of joining Dierks on his Sounds of Summer tour. They show promise for females in the country music with strong vocals and superb songwriting. And they are great human beings and role models for the kids. But it seems like everything Florida Georgia Line touches turns to gold. Sold out shows, hit songs, number one album. There dominance of the category will continue at this year’s awards.
Song of the Year
‘American Kids’ – Kenny Chesney (Written by Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
‘Girl Crush’ – Little Big Town (Written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)- WINNER
‘Like a Cowboy’ – Randy Houser (Written by Randy Houser, Brice Long)
‘Like a Wrecking Ball’ – Eric Church (Written by Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
‘Take Your Time’ – Sam Hunt (Written by Sam Hunt, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally)
Who We Would Vote For: ‘American Kids’ – Kenny Chesney (Written by Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
Who Deserves To Win: ‘Girl Crush’ – Little Big Town (Written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)
Who Will Win: ‘Girl Crush’ – Little Big Town (Written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)
Our Take: By now you know that we’re big Kenny Chesney fans and ‘American Kids’ was one of the biggest songs of the year. It is one of the most upbeat, fun, and compelling songs to hit country radio in years and we would vote for it. And unless you live under a rock, you would also know that ‘Girl Crush’ was HUGE this year! Was some of it due to the controversy of some stations taking it off their airwaves? Maybe. Their colleagues behind them and made this song a massive success. But please know this- controversy or not, the lyrics to this sound are amazing. From a songwriting perspective, it is A+ material. ‘Girl Crush’ deserves to win and it will win.
Single of the Year
‘American Kids’ – Kenny Chesney
‘Girl Crush’ – Little Big Town- WINNER
‘I Don’t Dance’ – Lee Brice
‘Take Your Time’ – Sam Hunt
‘Talladega’ – Eric Church
Who We Would Vote For: ‘American Kids’ – Kenny Chesney
Who Deserves To Win: ‘I Don’t Dance’ – Lee Brice
Who Will Win: ‘Girl Crush’ – Little Big Town
Our Take: You must be getting sick of our Kenny love, but don’t think we’re biased to Kenny. We love what he has done since coming back, especially the music he created. So would we vote for Kenny’s ‘American Kids’ for Single of the Year? You bet your ass we would! It was a great song. And fans agree as they made the single yet another Platinum-ceritifed single for Chesney. However, while we think Little Big Town will take this award (see above), we think that Lee Brice deserves this award. ‘I Don’t Dance’ is the epitome of a country song. It was written for a purpose- for Lee Brice’s wife at their wedding. The success behind the was an accident as Lee never intended for it to be released until after it was done and he realized what he had on his hands. Furthermore, the song has become a staple in peoples’ lives. It means so much to so many.
Music Video of the Year
‘Biscuits’ – Kacey Musgraves
‘Girl Crush’ – Little Big Town
‘Girl In A Country Song’ – Maddie & Tae- WINNER
‘Little Red Wagon’ – Miranda Lambert
‘Something in the Water’ – Carrie Underwood
Who We Would Vote For: ‘Girl In A Country Song’ – Maddie & Tae
Who Deserves To Win: ‘Girl In A Country Song’ – Maddie & Tae
Who Will Win: ‘Girl In A Country Song’ – Maddie & Tae
Our Take: With any award for a music video, we must look at it’s viral-ness. And ‘Girl In A Country Song’ was just that with over 27 MILLION views. Yes, ‘Girl Crush’ had over 33 million views but we love the humor and playfulness of Maddie & Tae’s video. In the end, it will be tough to keep Carrie Underwood off the stage (away from her hosting capacities), but we think that Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye are up for the challenge!
Musical Event of the Year
‘Django and Jimmie’ – Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
‘Lonely Tonight’ – Blake Shelton (Feat. Ashley Monroe)
‘Raise ‘Em Up’ – Keith Urban (Feat. Eric Church)- WINNER
‘Smokin’ and Drinkin’ – Miranda Lambert (Feat. Little Big Town)
‘Wild Child’ – Kenny Chesney (Feat. Grace Potter)
Who We Would Vote For: ‘Raise ‘Em Up’ – Keith Urban (Feat. Eric Church)
Who Deserves To Win: ‘Raise ‘Em Up’ – Keith Urban (Feat. Eric Church)
Who Will Win: ‘Smokin’ and Drinkin’ – Miranda Lambert (Feat. Little Big Town)
Our Take: This collaborations are so much fun and really compelling! And surprisingly, we’re not voting for Kenny here. When The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston wrote ‘Raise ‘Em Up,’ there were only a few artists who could really give the song the justice that it deserves. And thankfully, two artists who wanted the song ended up on the song together. We’d love to see ‘Raise ‘Em Up’ take home the award, and the award would be well deserved. But Miranda is just so hard to beat and we do love this collaboration between her and Little Big Town. The harmonies on ‘Smokin’ and Drinkin’ are on point!