ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
Chesney looks for fourth Entertainer of the Year nod
Acts with local connections in the running for awards
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The three “big” country music awards shows each year are the Academy of Country Music Awards, the CMT Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards, which is airing live on ABC at 8 p.m. Wednesday. But the CMAs are often considered the biggest of the big.
Here, we handicap the Entertainer of the Year award nominees:
KENNY CHESNEY
• Shorthand description: Laid-back, fun-lovin’ studmuffin.
• Why he’ll win: With three No. 1 hits over the past year, he was the top concert draw this past summer, grossing more revenue per show than the Police or the Dave Matthews Band.
• Why he won’t: He’s won Entertainer of the Year three of the past four years. Voters might decide to “spread the wealth.”
• Odds of winning: 1-1
BRAD PAISLEY
• Shorthand description: Talented nice guy next door.
• Why he’ll win: His eight consecutive No. 1 hits, his consummate vocal and guitar skills, his memorably goofball videos (“Online”).
• Why he won’t: He possesses a sheen of modesty and normalcy that makes people underestimate his talent.
• Odds of winning: 20-1
GEORGE STRAIT
• Shorthand description: Living country legend.
• Why he’ll win: With another No. 1 album under his belt and a couple of recent tradition-bound hit singles, Strait proves he can still pump out fresh, meaningful music with signature passion.
• Why he won’t: He’s easy to take for granted after 27 years of almost nonstop success.
• Odds of winning: 7-1
SUGARLAND
• Shorthand description: Exuberant duo known for finely crafted country-pop tunes.
• Why they’ll win: The act’s third album has proven Sugarland isn’t a flash in the pan. And perhaps it’s time a group won this category for the first time since 2000. (Then again, that group was the Dixie Chicks.).
• Why they won’t: They’ve only been around four years. Perhaps in the eyes of the voting CMA members, Sugarland hasn’t earned its dues for this big award compared to its peers.
• Odds of winning: 5-1
KEITH URBAN
• Shorthand description: Warmth + good looks + great hooks = Mr. Popular.
• Why he will win: He co-headlined a hit tour with Carrie Underwood. He came out with another instant classic of a song, “You Look Good in My Shirt.” And he’s the only person who kept Chesney from winning this category four years in a row.
• Why he won’t: He only came out with a greatest hits album out the past year, while the other four generated more new material.
• Odds of winning: 4-1
Here are other nominated acts with local connections and how they might fare:
Jason Aldean (New Artist of the Year): Not sure why this blue-collar Georgian with the rock edge is even in this category since his breakthrough single “Hicktown” came out way back in 2005. But he could take it home. His biggest competitor: Rodney Atkins and his four No. 1 hits.
Lady Antebellum (New Artist of the Year, Group of the Year): This trio won an ACM award for best new vocal group before its first album had even come out this past summer. In other words, the Nashville faithful already like the group, giving them a decent shot at besting Aldean and Atkins. Group of the Year, though, will probably go to Rascal Flatts, as usual.
Little Big Town (Group of the Year): Unfortunately, the group’s third album “A Place to Land” hasn’t done particularly well, with the first two singles failing to crack the top 20. With the rivals in this category, it’s fair to say they should be thrilled just to be nominated.
Trisha Yearwood (Musical Event of the Year with Josh Turner on “Another Try”): Turner’s deep timbre dominates, while Yearwood provides nondescript backing vocals in the chorus of this nonevent ballad. Instead, bet on Sugarland’s live cover of “Life in a Northern Town” featuring Little Big Town and Jake Owen to win this category.
Alan Jackson (Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year): This former Entertainer of the Year hit the jackpot this past year with his rollicking “Good Time” as well as his catchy, sentimental “Small Town Southern Man. With more CMA awards than anybody else, never count Jackson out to win any of these categories.
