McFly's 45th Annual CMA Awards Recap

The CMA Awards show was held last night (11/9) in country’s hometown, Nashville. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood were the hosts again (and suspect they will be for a long time) and did not disappoint. Witty humor, parody songs and friendly jabs on Hank Williams Jr, Kim Kardashian divorce, the Oscars (Eddie Murphy pulling out and Brad offering to take his place)... oh, there was Miss Piggy and the Tim McGraw / Faith Hill dolls that filled the venue with many laughs. Brad and Carrie also performed their duet “Remind Me.” 

Highlights….

Carrie Underwood had 11 wardrobe changes during the 3-hour telecast.

Blake Shelton and Kenny Loggins kicked of the performance part of the night with “Footloose.”

Faith Hill made a return to the CMA Awards stage for the first time in 5 years. Faith sang her new song “Come Home” from her next album, which will come out in early 2012.

Lionel Richie made his country debut by teaming up with Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town and Darius Rucker.

Other non-country singers took part in country’s biggest night.. Natasha Bedingfield w/ Rascal Flatts (Easy), Matt Nathanson with Sugarland (Run) and Grace Potter with Kenny Chesney (You and Tequila). I’d like to hear more “country” type songs from Natasha and Grace.. they are very talented.

There was a great tribute to a country legend, Glen Campbell, by Keith Urban, Vince Gill and Brad Paisley.  Glen even came up on stage and received a standing ovation.

Another standing ovation was given to a “casually dressed” Taylor Swift. Taylor’s on stage props included a comfy couch, a lamp and a guitar. It’s all she needed to sing her new song “Ours.”

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert took home their respective vocalist of the year award. During Miranda’s acceptance speech she said "it's gonna be a good night tonight baby!"

The Band Perry stole the show with their performance of “All Your Life” and by winning three awards.

And the winners are….

Entertainer of the Year
Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist of the Year
Blake Shelton

Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert

Album of the Year
My Kinda Party - Jason Aldean

Musical Event of the Year
"Don't You Wanna Stay" - Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson

New Artist of the Year
The Band Perry

Music Video of the Year
"You and Tequila" - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter

Single of the Year
"If I Die Young" - The Band Perry

Song of the Year (songwriters award)
"If I Die Young" - Kimberly Perry (The Band Perry)

Vocal Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum

Vocal Duo of the Year
Sugarland

Musician of the Year
Mac McAnally (guitar)

Post your comments on the show..

And that is the Nashville Minute.

Keep it Real and Keep it Country!

George McFly
Email: george@wqmx.com

New Country Albums & CMA Awards

Album Stuff

Toby Keith's Clancy's Tavern is the nation's top-selling country album. Scott McCreery's Clear as Day falls to number-two after a three week run at number-one. Lady Antebellum's Own the Night is at number-three. Vince Gill’s Guitar Slinger and Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party round out the Top 5.

Rascal Flatts will release their first live album on November 8^th titled The Best of Rascal Flatts Live.

Josh Gracin’s new album, Redemption, also comes out on November 8^th.

David Nail has a new album coming out too. Look for The Sound of Million Dreams in stores on November 15^th.

Miranda Said What?
Miranda Lambert is both sympathetic and realistic about Kim Kardashian's divorce news. She tells CMT.com, "I just kind of feel sorry for her in a way. In another way, I don't, because you get what you asked for. Living that kind of a lifestyle, you know that you're gonna have backlash. I think that it's stressful enough to get married for regular people, like Blake and I, and I can't imagine all that pressure on her."

With the CMA Awards coming up next week, Miranda Lambert needs to think about where she and husband Blake Shelton can display any awards they win. That's because they've combined their winnings into one trophy case, and there's not much room left. She jokes with Us Weekly, "I was like, 'Look, Blake, we're awesome! We have all these awards!'" Miranda is nominated for Female Vocalist and Vocal Event, and Blake is up for Entertainer, Single, Album and Video.

Marriage certainly agrees with Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton after five months. The new bride tells Us Weekly, "We learned to grow up and settle down... We still have a blast, but in a different way. I mean, we lie there watching the Weather Channel."

CMA Scoop - LIVE from Nashville on Wednesday, November 9th on ABC; starts at 8pm

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will host the CMA Awards show. They’ll also perform their duet “Remind Me.”

Blake Shelton and Kenny Loggins have the honors of being the first performers. They’ll sing "Footloose," which Kenny originally sang and Blake re-made for the movie remake.

Other performers include Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, Sugarland, the Zac Brown Band, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry, Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift.

Faith Hill will perform at the awards show for the first time in five years. She will debut the first single “Come Home” from her next album, which will come out in early 2012.

Thompson Square will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! immediately following the awards show on ABC.

Here are the nominees for the 45th Annual CMA Awards:

Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

Female Vocalist of the Year
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Album of the Year
All About Tonight - Blake Shelton
My Kinda Party - Jason Aldean
Speak Now - Taylor Swift
This Is Country Music - Brad Paisley
You Get What You Give - Zac Brown Band

Musical Event of the Year
As She's Walking Away - Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson
Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert
Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
Old Alabama - Brad Paisley featuring Alabama
You and Tequila - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter

New Artist of the Year
The Band Perry
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Thompson Square
Chris Young

Music Video of the Year
Honey Bee - Blake Shelton
If I Die Young - The Band Perry
Mean - Taylor Swift
Old Alabama - Brad Paisley featuring Alabama
You and Tequila - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter

Single of the Year
A Little Bit Stronger - Sara Evans
Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band
Honey Bee - Blake Shelton
If I Die Young - The Band Perry
Don't Want to Stay - Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson

Song of the Year (songwriters award)
Dirt Road Anthem - Brantley Gilbert and Colt Ford (Jason Aldean)
If I Die Young - Kimberly Perry (The Band Perry)
Mean - Taylor Swift
You and Tequila - Matraca Berg and Tina Carter (Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter)
Colder Weather - Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrett, Levi Lowrey and Coy Bowles (Zac Brown Band)

Vocal Group of the Year
The Band Perry
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year
The Civil Wars
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
Steel Magnolia
Thompson Square

Musician of the Year
Sam Bush - mandolin
Jerry Douglas - dobro
Paul Franklin - steel guitar
Dann Huff - guitar
Mac McAnally - guitar

And that is the Nashville Minute.

Keep it Real and Keep it Country!

George McFly
comments: george@wqmx.com

CMA Nominees & Country Star TV Appearances

Nominees for the Country Music Association Awards have been announced. Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift got five nominations each, including one each for the Entertainer of the Year award. The Band Perry and Zac Brown Band each picked up four nominations.Kenny Chesney grabbed three. Miranda Lambert has two nominations, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Carrie Underwood was also nominated for the same award. Sara Evans picked up two nominations -- Female Vocalist and Single of the Year for a "A Little Bit Stronger." The 45th annual CMA Awards, hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, will air live from Nashville on ABC on November 9th.

Chris Young will be performing live CBS’ The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson this Monday, September 12th. The show kicks off at 12:35am.

Lady Antebellum's new album, Own The Night, comes out on Tuesday, September 13th. They'll be hitting the early morning and late night show circuit.. first stop, Tuesday, September 13th, on NBC’s TODAY show, followed by an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on FRIDAY, September 16th. The group will also be featured on CBS' Sunday Morning show on Sunday, September 25th.

Ashton Shepherd announced the birth of her baby girl, Raden Delilah, on Twitter on Friday, 9/9. She writes, "Hey fans, friends and family. Baby Raden is here! I'm hurting pretty bad, but I'm so happy. She is beautiful. God is truly great."

Carrie Underwood says her fabulous, shapely legs are mostly a result of genetics -- and exercise. She tells Us Weekly, "I do lunges, I do squats, I run. I generally try to take an all-around approach to good health." Carrie also spills the beans about her celebrity fashion crush saying "Reese Witherspoon is one of my favorites because she just seems so normal. She's my fashion icon."

And finally,

Along with Lady Antebellum's new album, Own the Night, coming out this Tuesday, September 13th.. look for Brantley Gilbert's Halfway to Heaven: Deluxe and Steve Holy's Love Don't Run.

And that is the Nashville Minute.

Keep it Real & Keep it Country!

George McFly 

email: george@wqmx.com