Today Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack announced the nominees for the 43rd Country Music Association Awards show, which will take place on November 11, 2009. Leading the pack this year is, once again, Brad Paisley with seven nominations. Following Paisley are Keith Urban with five and Zac Brown, George Strait, Taylor Swift and Jamey Johnson with four nominations each. The Zac Brown Band scored three nominations.
The list of nominations is the ‘usual’ suspects include a couple of surprise changes to the categories. While the entertainer of the year list contains Chesney, Paisley, Strait and Urban again, out are Sugarland; and in is the young and talented superstar Taylor Swift. In the male vocalist category, Darius Rucker - with 3 consecutive #1 hits to start his country career – replaces Alan Jackson (who had a good year himself) while in the female vocalist category, Reba returns to the fold by replacing Alison Krauss (who had a quiet year).
The Vocal Group of the Year category features a surprise nomination this year in the Eagles who, despite not having a hit this year, are in while other groups like the Lost Trailers and Eli Young Band (who both had Top 10 hits this year) are out. Actually, one could make a case for both bands being on this list replacing the Eagles and Little Big Town, who only had marginal success this year, despite being wholly worthy of a slot. Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts round out this category.
In the Top Duo category the past winners of Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry and Sugarland are joined by Joey + Rory (YEAH!) and Big & Rich. While I can see B&R being nominated, there were other, more ‘active’ duos for the year like Caitlin & Will that could’ve gotten nominated. There’s no way B&D or Sugarland don’t take this award anyway so why not nominate a new duo like they did with Joey + Rory.
This year’s New Artist of the Year award, it was previously the Horizon Award, contains not one of last year’s nominees (unusual given that this category has nominated folks on their second or third albums before) and as such, it really feels like a “new artist” category, even if Jamey Johnson and Jake Owen both are on their 2nd major label albums. Johnson’s place here was a given after his traditionalist music broke through. The Zac Brown Band’s presence here was also a shoo-in given the group’s majorly successful album and singles “Chicken Fried” and “Whatever It Is.” Jamey Johnson’s close friend Randy Houser scores his first CMA Nomination in this category as well.
Rounding out the Best New Artist category is the one artist I thought was ineligible given his past success in the Rock arena, Darius Rucker. This is a sort of shock for him to be considered a “new” artist but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t wrestle this award away from Jamey Johnson given his platinum success and those 3 #1 singles. He has a good shot at the Male Vocalist award too.
The only real surprise on the Single of the Year nominee list is Billy Currington’s “People Are Crazy.” Then again, people are quoting this song almost everywhere these days. Lady Antebellum score their 2nd nomination this year with their great #1 hit “I Run To You” while Jamey Johnson’s “In Color,” Brad Paisley’s sentimental “Then” and Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” (one of 2009’s few multi-week #1s) round out the category.
The only change in the Song of the Year category (from the Single of the Year list) is Randy Travis’ classic song (recorded by Carrie Underwood and him as a duet) getting nominated again. This award, which is given to songwriters and not the artists, unless they are credited writers, allows Zac Brown’s friend Wyatt Durrette to be nominated and the same goes for Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto for co-writing “In Color” with Jamey Johnson. Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones co-wrote the nominated “People Are Crazy” and Brad Paisley co-wrote “Then” with Ashley Gorley and Chris Dubois.
The Album of the Year list of nominees always is an interesting set but if ‘the usual suspects’ released an album in the eligibility period, the artists are typically found on the list of nominees. So on this list is Taylor Swift’s Fearless, – still the best-selling album of the last 2 years – Sugarland’s Love on the Inside, Brad Paisley’s Welcome To The Future, Keith Urban’s Defying Gravity, and the one album that all these are likely fighting to beat, Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song.
Randy Houser’s fun “Boots On” has an even more fun video that features a cute four-year-old boy lip syncing the song in the backseat of a car. The video has won lots of folks over so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it beat out fellow nominees “Love Story” (Taylor Swift), “People Are Crazy” (Billy Currington), “Troubadour” (George Strait), or Brad Paisley and Keith Urban’s “Start A Band” in the Video of the Year category.
Surprisingly, “Band” isn’t one of the nominees for “Vocal Event of the Year.” That category features the Underwood/Travis duet “I Told You So;” Lee Ann Womack’s duet with George Strait, (a Call Me Crazy album cut called “Everything But Quits,”); Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally’s great duet “Down The Road;” Brooks & Dunn’s collaboration with Reba McEntire called “Cowgirls Don’t Cry.” Perhaps the biggest surprise nomination of the whole 43rd CMA Awards Nomination list is “Old Enough” from The Raconteurs and Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe. That one is likely to be the song that kicked “Start A Band” out of a nomination this year.
To help you visually see what was written above we have the complete list of nominations below. As always we welcome your comments. Do you think that the CMA voting pool got this nomination process correct?
Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban
Male Vocalist of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban
Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Vocal Group of the Year
Eagles
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
Vocal Duo of the Year
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
New Artist of the Year
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
Darius Rucker
Zac Brown Band
Musician of the Year
Eddie Bayers – Drums
Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Dann Huff – Guitar
Brent Mason – Guitar
Mac McAnally – Guitar
Album of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
American Saturday Night, Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois
Defying Gravity, Keith Urban
Produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban
Fearless, Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift
Love On The Inside, Sugarland
Produced by Byron Gallimore, Kristian Bush, and Jennifer Nettles
That Lonesome Song, Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys
Single of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)
“Chicken Fried” – Zac Brown Band
Produced by Keith Stegall
“I Run To You” – Lady Antebellum
Produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley
“In Color” – Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys
“People Are Crazy” – Billy Currington
Produced by Carson Chamberlain and Billy Currington
“Then” – Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois
Song of the Year
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown/Wyatt Durrette
“I Told You So”
Randy Travis
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto
“People Are Crazy”
Bobby Braddock/Troy Jones
“Then”
Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Ashley Gorley
Musical Event of the Year
(Award goes to Artists)
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry” – Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire
“Down The Road” – Kenny Chesney (with Mac McAnally)
“Everything But Quits” – Lee Ann Womack (duet with George Strait)
“I Told You So” – Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis
“Old Enough” – The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe
"Start A Band" - Brad Paisley & Keith Urban
Music Video of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Boots On” – Randy Houser
Directed by Eric Welch
“Love Story” – Taylor Swift
Directed by Trey Fanjoy
“People Are Crazy” – Billy Currington
Directed by The Brads
“Start A Band” – Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)
Directed by Jim Shea
“Troubadour” – George Strait
Directed by Trey Fanjoy
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