All Hat ... Some Cattle

Jimmy Carter in his homebase Nashville.

Better get an extra notebook if you are outing together a yearbook for 2011. Already enough news for six months anyway.

Egypt and the weather upstaged the Super Bowl. The ACM Nominations got me between a rock and a hard place. Apparently, some folks in the consumer word actually thought award shows nominated and voted on people weighed on their success and worth. Of course they do ... as I choke, looking at all the politics involved with the Oscar voting and ACMs, just to name two.

Politics in Egypt have nothing on the biblical judgments that take place in Nashville and Hollywood deciding on who gets the studios/labels block support for an award.

Studios try not to run against themselves. I've had those discussions with studio publicists since I began covering

Movies in the early 1980s. Films are released, in many cases, just to qualify for an award or be positioned so that an award nomination or win can help or save the box office.

On the pop side, it's much like the Hollywood studios. Bosses pick artists to push and promote. Some are more award-worthy than others. Some are fan favorites and others are industry darlings. Birds and the bees kind of stuff.

The ACMs are six months away from the CMAs. Both are huge platforms for the labels. Prestige of a Grammy, sales push for a performance at the ACMs. All the awards are high-stakes bragging rights and resume material. An artist may not care, but his booking agent sure does. A win can mean bigger money. Can mean you get a chance when, pre-win, you were not on that person's radar. The Carrie Underwood omission from the ACM Entertainer of the Year slot is not something fans of Carrie wanted. But did others feel good not seeing Carrie in the competition? You bet! Enough said on that ... Birds and bees stuff. Some folks are very naïve and some don't like having the curtain pulled back in the Land of Oz!

How does Keith Urban not get an album nomination? Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts sell what 1.7 or 1.8 million tickets last year? No mention in ACM world. Toby in at ACM EOY, while at the CMA in any category: out. Politics? Oh yeah ... more than at an Egyptian "buy one get one free" camel sale.

The weather ... nuts ... worst Winter in a very long time. Need to level out pretty much this weekend. Spring break, Grammys, Daytona 500, Aldean, Paisley, Straight all out on the road. Bad roads and snow not in the plans!

The Idol show is rolling along. Ratings are about even to where they were. Fox doing a much better job at promotion. That 23-year-old cowboy was called out by TMZ for something already. He's too good to be true with the right: hair, hat, clothes, song, mama & daddy, horse and even a former record deal ... whoops, maybe he's not the rookie he seemed to be? Still, John Wayne Schultz. Didn't sing enough really to hear. I guess Hollywood week will see what he has. No way he survives ... or you wouldn't think. The blonde from Tennessee may have a chance, too. Both may get a deal despite Idol.

Grammy Week. Country will NOT break out on that show. Jagger will sing and so will sometimes Country singer Paltrow (duet with CeeLo Green) Miranda and Lady A will sing and Dierks/Blake present. Three hours on CBS.