Cowboy Hats and Paris Couture

With custom-designed gowns and Paris runway couture, the CMA Awards were as glamorous as any Grammy or Oscar show. Tacky, cheap, wrong clothes were out and stylist's choices were quite obvious. No Elvis Jungle room runway for this Country crop!

ABC's production flair produced beautiful high-def pictures and the sound was very good on my home system. Not perfect, but how could a LIVE show ever be?

Great clothes, stylish production and yes, even excellent #1 ratings. A 10 rating wins the night all three hours; 16 million or so viewers in any one hour. The other networks just went to sleep offering no competition. Booty Call on BET and Dog with Larry King were no match for Carrie, Taylor, Brad and the Flatts.

Great ratings. Pretty pictures. So off to the races we go. Expect more of what you saw next year. For better or worse. Why would you go in another direction with this kind of ratings report?

It seemed sort of like a second-year football coach (ABC) with its inherited team. The Coach sits tight year one, which ABC did. Then in year two says, "This year we are going with the freshman and sophpmores. A few juniors and a very few seniors will play. You fifth-year seniors ... good luck and good bye."

With a third of the performers baby acts, there was no time or room for folks like Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and Toby Keith. No time for Vince to sing or for Tracy Lawrence to win his first CMA in his 17-year career.

Still, the only thing that matters is the book. The ratings book. I guess the plan worked. Country music on this show pretty much began in 2004, or something like that.

George and Reba are Elvis ... evergreens.

We are in the age of Pop country. Carrie, Flatts and Taylor. Glam gals are in, just like on Sunset Blvd. The men with hats still reign -- for now, anyway. Kenny, Dwight, George, Jason Aldean, Kix, Mr Bush of Sugarland and Brad. That seems so opposite from the glam gals and Sunset Blvd Country of the biggest acts. I guess hats are still in -- just don't tell Josh Turner, who couldn't get any more country traditional, no matter what he sings and how much goo they put in his hair.

It's out with old and in with the new. The radio remotes this year saw more strangers than in someone's first AA meeting.

Sugarland over Kix and Ronnie is a first shot fired over the bow. Brad, George and Kenny's wins were traditional choices. Tracy, too. Brad's video was just plain funny. You know, when you think of it, the show was ultra-cutting edge and the award winners were very conservative. Bill Anderson's win was nice.

Maybe the mix on TV was a little too young Country. I hope they seek a better balance. The labels do run the show and they wanted to sell music. Remember, sales are the ONLY things that matter.

Rating should equal sales and we shall see. Performances for 16 million should make cash registers beep.

Glad the moms and dads got their due at the CMAs. Brad talking to his dad was very nice. Proud of Brad in everything he's doing. Maybe Entertainer of the Year in 2008!

Just get a host. Jamie Denton was actually good. Kate Walsh ... not so good. The Eagles were fantastic. You hate to see them there and just do a song. Ouch. You wanted to hear a few, but it wasn't the place. But I would have taken it. 711,000 sales in one week for the old guys. There goes the youth theory.

Good ratings ... and that is good for Country music. We needed a win in the ratings race. STILLLLLLLLL, the show felt like an infomercial and needed more balance. The writing was terrible.

As Taylor said, "This has to be the highlight of my senior year." Now get the student council to meet and let's raise the minimum age a little bit anyway -- despite the ratings. Maybe they can get a 15 rating or even 20 with some adults on the shown, too.