Prediction: Brooks & Dunn Will Get Vocal Duo Nomination
The nominees for the 41st annual CMA Awards will be announced Thursday (Aug. 30) in Nashville and New York, and I’m ready to make a bold prediction: Brooks & Dunn will be nominated for vocal duo of the year. And, to give you even more insider information, don’t be at all surprised if they win in that category when the awards show takes place Nov. 7 in Nashville. They’ve having a good year, you know.
The truth is, of course, that Brooks & Dunn have won the vocal duo prize for 14 of the past 15 years. Montgomery Gentry’s win in 2000 must have given the champs a strong dose of reality. After that happened, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn got serious again and started making some of the best music of their career.
The nominees in the vocal duo category are generally the same ones who were on the previous year’s list -- give or take a name. In addition to Brooks & Dunn, last year’s nominees included Big & Rich, Montgomery Gentry, Van Zant and the Wreckers. Despite the success of the Wreckers’ debut album, some folks in Nashville are always a little suspicious (if not downright resentful) when a pop artist decides to delve into country. And now that Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp have announced plans to put the Wreckers on hold while making solo albums, it will be interesting to see if CMA voters take them seriously enough to grant them a second nomination.
In addition to those artists, there have been a lot of vocal duo nominees since 1992, the year Brooks & Dunn edged out the Judds at the awards show. The first name that always comes to mind is the Bellamy Brothers, whose humor and financial security allow them to joke about never winning, despite numerous nominations. But do you remember some of the other vocal duos who have been nominated during Brooks & Dunn’s reign? That list includes Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Baillie & the Boys, the Kinleys, Sons of the Desert, Brother Phelps, John & Audrey Wiggins, the Lynns, Thrasher Shiver, Baker & Myers, Darryl & Don Ellis, Orrall & Wright, the Raybon Brothers and Blue County. I have to admit that I’d forgotten about several of those, myself. But I’m sure if you asked any of them, they’d tell you it’s an honor just to be nominated.
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carol says:
LOL….really going out on a limb there…. Brooks and Dunn will win the ” Brooks and Dunn ” award…..( also known as ” Duo or group award “…..
C.
ranfan says:
Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Wreckers won this year? I think it’s a bit sad that the same folks win over and over. B&D are good, and I know there’s hard;ey any real competition in that category, but how bout if someone saw the whole in that category and started a duo just to one day beat B&D. I also heard that they make do solo albums so maybe this will be their last year as duo any way.
OutlawSteph says:
I think I’ll just sit here and listen to my Jim and Jesse Old Dominion Masters boxed set if I want a real country duo. :)
Maureen McCole says:
Oh, come on, CMAS. Let’s give someone else a shot at the Vocal Duo of the Year. B & D are terrific, but Sugarland is very talented and should get this award.
As far as Carrie, she may be talented, but she doesn’t rate this flood of awards and praise so early in her career. Let’s see what happens when he record sales sag in the future.
Isidro Z. says:
Brooks and Dunn have cool music together and I’m just waiting to see what they each have to offer as soloists. I’m glad that they have decided this but I also hope that they don’t leave thier group behind.