About Time To Talk Awards

The e-mail is out alerting media about the upcoming CMA Awards nomination reveal. It is still very much Summer but the honors business gets little rest.

While sunburning in Idaho and sunburning that in L.A., I thought about the names we will hear on that morning just ahead.

Dierks had a great year and could get the most nominations. It is time that he gets the recognition he has earned! Think back ... he had a great new album kick-off, a few big songs, tour , even the ACM cohosting gig. Very much the year of Dierks.

Tim McGraw still going strong with "Humble and Kind" having a huge impact.

I'm not sure where Chris Stapleton fits with no new music, but probably Male Vocalist?

This game gets harder as you go ... Garth was huge touring and so was Aldean and Bryan and Underwood. So Entertainer of the Year noms for them.

Urban had new music pushing the pop side with his tour style hard to label Country. But maybe that's the point.

The blurred Country label is stamped on 80 or more percent of everything charting in last 52 weeks. Corporate radio likes the sound and the demo it attracts. The 2015 CMA awards shocked folks with the Stapleton wins. What will the shock be in 2016?

Carrie wins Female, right! Miranda was in writing mode. The fight is on for the three other slots...

Male is quite competitive, but I wouldn't fall over if Thomas Rhett wins.

FGL the duo. Now the label fight for Best New Artist or whatever the Horizon Award has become without looking it up.

No idea. No shortage of new faces for sure, but the "new" artist label sometimes catches someone who has been around a bit.

Song of the Year sets up Grammy attention. If "Humble and Kind," is eligible wouldn't that be strong?

Try this ... Tell me who won what last year without looking it up? It's okay ... few can. You remember the Stapleton event and that's pretty much it.

Awards are career markers. Pecking order kind of thing. Attention getters. Industry awards like these often confuse fans but that's part of the game.

The format has not begun the lean back to a more traditional style. The males are very dominant and the Georges, Rebas, Alans, Randys' kind of Country is missing.

Saw a list somewhere about who would artist X like to collaborate with? The answers were Phish, Petty, but few to no traditional stars.

The Phish wish is interesting and I wish George Jones was around to ask him what he thinks!

Happy Labor Day week and the start of college football!