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

 

Win a Copy of Zac Brown Band’s Uncaged

Congratulations to winners dustind01 and Quinn Grady!

I don’t know about you all, but I am just thrilled about the new Zac Brown Band album Uncaged, which drops this Tuesday, July 10.

I am even more excited to announce that, courtesy of Southern Ground Artists, The 1-to-10 Country Music Review has two copies of the new album to give away to two readers.

To enter:  Leave a comment below, and tell me why you’re a fan of the Zac Brown Band, or tell about your favorite Zac Brown Band songs.  The contest will close on Friday, July 13 at 11:59 p.m. CST.  Two winners will be chosen via random number generator.

Eligible comments must include a valid email address so that you can be contacted if you win.  Your email address will not be shared or spammed.  Only one entry is allowed per IP address.

Happy commenting, y’all!

 

Zac Brown Band – “The Wind”

In an ever-conscious effort to appeal to all, and offend none, the country music industry seem thoroughly convinced that the way to achieve mass appeal is to slather everything in watery, tasteless pop sludge, and to avoid at all costs offending listeners’ tastes through anything twangy or overtly country-sounding.  In such a market, singles such as the excellent new Zac Brown Band offering are becoming more and more of a rarity.

“The Wind” – our first taste of the Zac Brown Band’s upcoming album Uncaged, due out July 10 – is crisp, clean, and attention-grabbing right from the opening chords as the band picks away furiously at high speed.  The record soars with the sounds of Jimmy De Martini’s fiddling, Clay Cook’s mandolin picking, as well as Brown’s breezy yet focused lead vocal, all of which imbue a strong sense of urgency to the song.  It sounds more like a skilled jam session than a calculated product of a recording studio session.

It’s tempting to give the record a free pass on its sound alone, but the lyrics rise to the occasion, offering colorful imagery and figurative language to portray a narrator who will never stop loving his estranged significant other, mixing strong tones of heartbreak with an undercurrent of hope.  The fact that the song even exists is cool enough, but the fact that it’s coming from an act with an unbroken string of Top 2 hit singles – an act who stands the best possible chance of putting the song into heavy radio rotation – is almost unbelievable.

It’s hard not to compare “The Wind” to the offerings from country music’s other leading vocal group, Lady Antebellum, who often seem to remain one step ahead of the Zac Brown Band at the award circuit.  Yet, if one compares “The Wind” side by side with the absolute train wreck that it is Lady Antebellum’s current single, the stark difference in quality is so obvious that it should be embarrassing.

Is there any space left on country radio for music that just plain sounds good?  And cool?  And that actually goes so far as to arrest the attention of the listener?

Maybe.  Maybe not.  The Zac Brown Band’s high commercial profile may very well make this song a hit – we shall see.  Even if it that doesn’t happen, “The Wind” is still perhaps the most enticing preview of the band’s new album that we could hope to get.

ZAC BROWN BAND’S SCORE:  9
(Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10)