2012 CMA Nominations

They’re out!  What are your thoughts on this year’s CMA nominations?  Discuss in the comments section.

Entertainer of the Year 

Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

Female Vocalist of the Year

Kelly Clarkson
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year

Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

Vocal Group of the Year

The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year

Big & Rich
Love and Theft
Sugarland
The Civil Wars
Thompson Square

New Artist of the Year

Lee Brice
Brantley Gilbert
Hunter Hayes
Love and Theft
Thompson Square

Album of the Year (Awarded to artist and producer)

Luke Bryan, Tailgates and Tanlines – Produced by Jeff Stevens and Mark Bright

Eric Church, Chief – Produced by Jay Joyce

Miranda Lambert, Four the Record – Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf

Dierks Bentley, Home – Produced by Brett Beavers, Luke Wooten, and Jon Randall Stewart

Lady Antebellum, Own the Night  – Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

Song of the Year (Awarded to songwriters)

Eli Young Band, “Even if It Breaks Your Heart” – Will Hoge and Eric Paslay

Blake Shelton, “God Gave Me You” – Dave Barnes

Dierks Bentley, “Home” – Dierks Bentley, Dan Wilson and Brett Beavers

Miranda Lambert, “Over You” – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton

Eric Church, “Springsteen” – Eric Church, Jeff Hyde and Ryan Tyndell

Single of the Year (Awarded to artist and producer)

Jason Aldean, “Dirt Road Anthem” – Produced by Michael Knox

Blake Shelton, “God Gave Me You” – Produced by Scott Hendricks

Dierks Bentley, “Home” – Produced by Brett Beavers and Luke Wooten

Little Big Town, “Pontoon” – Produced by Jay Joyce

Eric Church, “Springsteen” – Produced by Jay Joyce

Musical Event of the Year

“Dixie Highway,” Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band

“Feel Like a Rock Star,” Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw

“Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” Willie Nelson featuring Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson

“Safe and Sound,” Taylor Swift featuring the Civil Wars

“Stuck on You,” Lionel Richie and Darius Rucker

Music Video of the Year (Awarded to artist and director)

Eric Church, “Springsteen” – Directed by Peter Zavadil

Kenny Chesney, “Come Over” – Directed by Shaun Silva

Miranda Lambert, “Over You” – Directed by Trey Fanjoy

Little Big Town, “Pontoon” – Directed by Declan Whitebloom

Toby Keith, “Red Solo Cup” – Directed by Michael Salomon

Musician of the Year

Sam Bush
Paul Franklin
Dann Huff
Brent Mason
Mac McAnally

 

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw – “Feel Like a Rock Star”

Songwriters:  Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson

The music critic who negatively reviews a Kenny Chesney-Tim McGraw duet basically finds himself in a similar position as the film critics who have bashed the Twilight franchise.  You’re discussing something that’s primarily designed for mass consumption.  You can attempt to evaluate it by its actual artistic merits, but such remain secondary to its massive money-making power.

“Feel Like a Rock Star” is loud, over-the-top, unintelligent, loud, pointless, utterly forgettable, and yes… LOUD!

Is it too much too ask that these two superstar talents give us something to remember on some level other than it just being a duet between Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw that was a huge hit, and that gave them something to perform together on their Brothers of the Sun tour?  Perhaps a song that is reasonably – God forbid – well written?  Or something that at least earns points for being fun and catchy?  Or that does anything more than just banging out the chords and watching the cash pile up?

In summary, couldn’t this musical collaboration have been treated as a form of actual art?

My expectations were modest.  But honestly… they could have tried way harder than this.

KENNY and TIM’S SCORE:  3
(Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10)

 

Kenny Chesney – “Reality”

Songwriters:  Kenny Chesney, Brett James

If history repeats itself, as it often does where Kenny Chesney is concerned, his recent hit “You and Tequila” will remain one of several sporadic flashes of brilliance amidst an ongoing series of forgettable singles.

Right off the bat, opening lines “For me it’s a beach bar, or on a boat underneath the stars” immediately announce that Chesney’s new single has nothing to say that he hasn’t already said a thousand times over.  Instead, he delivers yet another factory-assembled piece of escapism, this time with a flavor of dime-store philosophy.  Vapid observations of how “sometimes life ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be, so let’s take a chance and live this fantasy” carry so little heft or impact that they would hardly seem worth constructing a three-and-a-half-minute song around.  A murky, watered down, fiercely un-country production leaves us with a single that is not only unoriginal, but that sounds like one big mess.

It will be a big hit, but that says nothing about a song’s quality or artistic credibility.  It’s the same old product with a brand-new label, which does little to conceal the fact that it reached its sell-by date a long time ago.  But as long radio continues to reward Chesney for shameless mediocre rehashes such as this, there will be little incentive for him to recharge his creative batteries.

Wake me up when the next “You and Tequila” comes out.

KENNY’S SCORE:  3
(Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10)

HEAR IT