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Loving The Winners; Hating The Show And Faith's Whoops
November 7, 2006
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Jimmy Carter In CMA Recovery
The morning after the CMAs. I'll get to the Faith part in a minute.
Congratulations to all the winners! Everyone deserved the award they got, from Paisley and the Album award to Chesney as the Entertainer of the Year. Justice prevailed even in the Female Vocalist award. Carrie was the hottest girl singer of the year. Simple as that. Urban deserved the Male award regardless of his current medical status. "Believe" is the strongest performance of Ronnie Dunn's career.
With all that said, the 40th annual CMA show sucked! I've heard nothing but complaints post-show about the sound and the total lack of energy and enthusiasm in the music. (Except Miranda and Sugarland, in the first two hours it was a wake!) It is big and shiny and heartless, devoid of emotion at any level. I challenge you to find a magic moment for the highlight reel in the whole three hours! (Carrie's win for Female vocalist was real and great -- and that's where Faith comes in, but wait a little more.)
It was like ABC said to the producers, "We have a lot of new people tuning in this year, so let's don't do any real country. Let's keep it AC/middle of the road. Nothing too mud-on-the-tires, redneck stuff. Let's be big city and keep some decorum." BLAH! At one point you waited for an 800 number to get on screen so they could start asking for donations!
I went to more country shows than ever this year, including the CMA music festival. I heard great songs and performances from San Jose to Birmingham. I did not see that energy or hear those songs last night on that show. The winners, except for Carrie, seemed to be yawning at their win. Oh well, thanks to you all and at my label! Carrie was excited, Brad was excited.... Overall a shiny box that felt empty. One attendee called from the arena floor halfway through and said they were bored to death!
The last hour was not boring overall, but the first two, with all those commercials and promos, were just mind- and butt-numbing. The Hall Of Fame segments continue to be an embarrassment. I was waiting for the great Strait segment, and I got some CD covers and his current song. Outrageous!
What is wrong with these people? The ACMs and CMT kick the CMA show all over the road and down the block. They have fun and capture the spirit of the format. This show needs new leadership really bad. But at the end of the day it's about ratings.
A quote from the website Countrynation.com: "Yeah, whatever... Country Music Awards? When are we going to stop pretending? These days, the ceremony is about as country as the MTV Awards. Halfway through the show, I was ready for a room next to Urban in rehab."
The fans had the email going early. These are all typical:
I just listened to your comments on 106.9 out of Jackson, and I totally agree with you. I usually look forward to watching the show. It is my night to sit, relax and enjoy. My husband got up not even halfway through the program and went to bed. Before he left the room he had a couple of comments to make about the few acts that he had seen. I did finish watching, anticipating that it would get better. Was disappointed when they didn't show more of George Strait's songs. And couldn't stand Faith's song that she sang. Anyway, just passing on how I felt. First time ever to send such an email, but when you were raised on country music and enjoy watching the entertainers, I just felt cheated!-- Disappointed in Tennessee
Another just like the other:
Not only were the songs bland and uninspiring last night (as you said), but the sound being broadcast was terrible. I'm not sure the microphone was even on for Alan Jackson's song. It's not such a good song anyway, so that wasn't a great loss. I turned the show off and tried to keep coming back but just turned it off again. As to Faith's reaction to the Female Vocalist of the Year, it was echoed by many real country music fans everywhere. Carrie Underwood is a pretty young woman and can sing well, but the category should be reserved for those who have established themselves through time not someone like Miss Underwood.-- J & S Prattville, Alabama
Dear Jimmy -- I am a person who has listened to country music since I was small. I am even a writer and singer myself, and I must say that I was not impressed tonight with some of the decisions made by the CMA. Carrie Underwood did deserve to receive the Horizon award, but she certainly DID NOT deserve Female Vocalist of the Year. She was up against some of the most talented, hard-working female artists, and they were the ones who should have been recognized for their hard work. Carrie Underwood is only famous because of "American Idol." She has only had two singles, both of which were not that great. She has not even begun to work as hard and put in the time the other four nominees have. Martina, Faith, Sara, and Gretchen really got ripped tonight. I hope these awards have not been reduced to a popularity contest. Carrie did not deserve this award. And on the Faith Hill boo boo, no one will ever really know ... but YouTube, www.break.com, Google, The Drudge Report had it even with the election! Did she have a diva fit or not? I DO NOT think so -- repeat, do NOT think so -- but others disagree. Hi Jimmy! I was just listening and heard you talking about the Faith Hill reaction. I was like you -- I TIVO'ed, so I kept rewinding, trying to figure out what was going on. What were the websites that you said had info on it? I went to CMT, but could not remember the others. I love Faith Hill, but this is very unprofessional and may change the opinions that many have of her! I thought that the category was extremely tough, but was glad to see Carrie win!-- Stephanie M.
Jimmy -- did my eyes deceive me, or did it look like Faith Hill looked shocked and said "WHAT?" in an apparent shocking moment when Carrie Underwood won last night? We love Faith, but the multi-camera view of all the nominees seemed to show Faith being a sore or unhappy loser. Disappointing if true.-- Mike Y
P.S. Vince's song with Amy, Ms. Crow and his daughter was great, and it got fantastic response at the recent show in Atlanta this past Friday.... Predict that will be another hit for him.
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