And The Winner Is !!!

Jimmy Carter in his homebase Nashville.

The CMA Awards and The Grammys are the biggest award shows in the music business. The rest don't have the prestige and the history. These awards were the first and have a lot in common. The politics and the styles are similar.

Both are industry-voted with no fan input. Many of the voters look at the nominees as label mates or co-writers. Many vote with their billfolds. It's just how it is and fans often don't understand.

Times change and so do the shows. The performance is the focus more than ever. The award presentations are the purpose of the show but these days it's about singing on the show.

Singing sells units. Awards get concert bookings.

This year, how do you pick winners? Will voters truly think and vote for the person with the best year ... best song? Or will they vote for the most glitter and give someone a big award prematurely?

Winning is about legacy. Your title forever changes: CMA Award winner ______ _______. You will always have it in your title. It's a personal big deal whether the artist admits it or not. If you later win a Grammy, then the title changes to Grammy winner ... that trumps a CMA victory. It just does ... Hall of Famer or Oscar winner would trump those ... Now you know.

Florida/Georgia Line will win one or two ... that's easy. What about Taylor Swift? Video, you would think ... but does she win Entertainer of the Year? You have to look at the stats and say someone did better. In fact, she sent the 700-plus voters a tour book. Who could say they did better than Taylor? No one with a straight face.

Male Vocals ... toss up ... I'd say Luke and he wins the EOY next year.

Female vocals: Carrie had a bigger year than Miranda, but Miranda had "Mama's Broken Heart" that should win! Will voters fall in love with Kacey Musgraves and make the whole process go crazy?

Vocal group is real crowded. Little Big Town had a great year but so did most of the others.

Not sure how Jason Aldean can win this year. He's huge and had a great touring year. But Brad Paisley and many others didn't get any nominations. But that's how it goes sometime. If you listened, Brad Paisley's album was his WHITE ALBUM. Radio records and great concept ideas.

The non-nominees chap you, but that's the nature of the business.

Blake and Luke ran great award campaigns. The hard work should pay off. Taylor is in a strange place. Huge on a worldwide basis.

I can"t find many who feel the way I do, but the best performance and the best year: Taylor Swift.

It's just an award show. Crazy thangs happen on awards shows and the best moments are non-scripted ... Light the candle ... Here we go!