Buckling Down for Our CMA Awards Coverage
The 42nd annual CMA Awards show is just minutes away, and those of us at CMT have already had an interesting day. Not to complain (too much), but our offices in downtown Nashville were without electrical power from about 10 a.m. until almost 3:30 p.m. after a Nashville Electric Service transformer malfunctioned. That meant no computers, no e-mail and no TV, which would be a problem for nearly anybody in this day and age. From our parking garage, you can see the Sommet Center, where tonight's awards show is taking place, but that area across Broadway was not affected by the outage. And thank goodness for that. I can't even imagine what sort of problems that would have created for the producers of the awards show.
As for us, several radio stations from throughout the nation were in the middle of artist interviews in the CMT Radio studios when the outage occurred. I heard that Darius Rucker was just about to step into the elevator when the power went out -- proving that timing is everything, regardless of who you are.
But we're back in commission. CMT's Lance Smith and Katie Cook are at the Sommet Center, hosting the 2008 CMA Awards Red Carpet Special to run live at 7 p.m. ET on the channel and at CMT.com. We'll be updating our Web site throughout the evening with photos and news. A live blog will also be underway as Shane Caldwell sets up shop at the Paradise Park Trailer Resort, a bar in downtown Nashville. As they would say in East Texas, where I was raised, Shane is "one funny sumbitch," so I'm looking forward to his observations. (I think.)
There's supposed to be a surprise guest appearing on the awards show, but the CMA seems to be doing a good job of keeping this one a secret. Lon Helton and Chuck Aly, my friends at Country Aircheck, say the speculation on Music Row includes Shania Twain, Andy Griffith and Bruce Springsteen. Twain is apparently working on some new music, and Griffith appeared in Brad Paisley's video for "Waitin' on a Woman." So either of those make sense. I can't imagine why Springsteen would be there, but who knows? We'll have to wait until the show to find out if the surprise is of major magnitude.
Update: I just heard from the backstage pressroom at the awards show that the surprise guest is Twain -- who will apparently be presenting one of the major awards.
©2008 Country Music Television, Inc., a Viacom company. A division of
marie says:
what’s up with the sound on the mikes for the lead performers?
first taylor swift . . . now kid rock?
marie says:
what’s up with kid rock using the warren Zevon’s song “werewolf in london” music and putting new lyrics? did he buy the rights?
David says:
Marie,
I totally agree with you about the sound quality. My wife and I ended up turning it because the sound quality was horrible for the singers. You couldn’t hear a word they were saying. All you could hear was the instruments. We were so looking forward to it but ended up turning it and trust me we have a very nice surround sound system and it could have been so much better.
It was terrible. You could tell the acoustics were horrible.
Very disappointed
ronald culp says:
the sound affects for the cma where bad
seems like this day and time it could have sounded alot better what was going on the main mice was bad or something cna pin it down
Ben says:
You are all right about the sound. If I were producing, I’d add reverb, mix the backgrounds hotter, turn up the abient/audience mikes and fix the monitors. It’s obvious that the performers are not hearing it right because so many are flat. I’m turning it off.
Shelby says:
Marie,
I disagree with you about Kid Rock’s song. I think it is brilliant how he compiled several songs with his own so that he could evoke the spirit and feelings he has about his summers in northern Michigan, a time when he listened and loved the songs he uses here.
Do you think a creation is only art if it is 100% original. If so, then there is a substantial amount of music, movies, books, and other media which you should also disregard, including, but not limited to, any contemporary pop music and much contemporary country music.
Shelby says:
Did anyone else catch the feed issue? In Phoenix, we watched the first half twice in a row.
Lee says:
ABC should apologize to the public for airing a show with sound quality that would not be acceptable in a third world country.
kent says:
I agree with all that have commented that the sound is TERRIBLE! You’d think with all money being spent, someone would be monitoring the actual product going out to the homes across America. You have to hand it to the singers for not throwing down the mic’s and walking OFF!
Shirley says:
On behalf of our entire family and our neighborhood, the CMA award show was awful. Most of the music is NOT country Alan Jackson was the only one that sang a country song .. what happened to country music??? We changed channels half way through, we couldnt stand the screaming women singers. We used to like some of the singers like Martina McBride and Reba, but now they scream like all the rest.. Bring back Country Music like it was!!
Disbelief says:
Best album another handout to the “legend” what a farce
marie says:
Shelby,
Just asked if he had to buy the rights . . . .
Ben says:
As for the Kid Rock song, both Waron Zevon and Lynyrd Skynyrd get songwriting credits on the CD
kent says:
maybe they figured it out! sugarland sounds good!
JEFF SLATE says:
C.M.A’s sound SUCKED
Dana says:
Who won song of the year?
ronald culp says:
something changed for sugarland and carrie underwood
what is going on anyone going to comment on country stations in the morning can we look forward to next yr
or forget it we demand answers this day in time
with instant email
ronald culp says:
still sucks
kent says:
kenny and the reggae band sound good!
ronald culp says:
breaking up and out whats up
kent says:
yep sucks again! if carrie underwood wasn’t so hot, i’d turn it off!
Rob says:
Tampa market missed 3/4 of kenny’s set due to dead air from the ABC affiliate. Real nice.
ROSEBUD says:
song of the year: George Strait
record of the year: Jennifer Nettles
ROSEBUD says:
It might have been the other way around.
Kevin says:
Album of The Year was NOT a handout to the legend. The LEGEND earned it!!
Stacey says:
Does anyone know who the girl sitting next to Kimberly Williams-Paisley was? She is from somewhere on TV and I am not sure where…..but I think she is there as a seat filler. IT’S KILLING ME!! HELP!!!
Stacey says:
And where is Sara Evans!? I havent seen her and she is my fave!
mike says:
Shania Twain!!! OMG!! She looks amazing! What does she mean “I hope to see a lot more of your all soon” ?
Jodi says:
I agree with Stacey, it’s killing me to find out who the girl next to Kimberly Williams Paisley is. I recognize her as well. Someone please help!
Janel says:
Does anyone know who the reggae singer with Kenny Chesney was?? I REALLY want to know! He’s great.. He ALMOST showed Kenny up LOL PLEEEZ help!!!
ROSEBUD says:
Boy Trace sounded great! What did ya’ll think? Sorry Stacey can’t help with the girl but wasn’t it sweet when Brad kissed Kimberly’s belly?
Stacey says:
Jodi–was she one of the girls on the Bachelor? It’s killing me!!
Annie says:
Stacey and Jodi -
She was on a television show I think. I remember that she won some guy that she had always been in love with, but she felt like she couldn’t compete with his ex…or maybe it was a tv movie…but it is killing me to find out her name. I have been searching everywhere!
Stacey says:
Oh I am just so glad to know that I am not going out of my mind! Yea…I was thinking it was a bachelorette show. OH! I think I got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMOG—-was she on that show that was on Lifetime with Jason Priestly and the cute blond chick? She was the girl in love with Jason Priestly and was playing second fiddle to the ex fiance. THAT”S IT!!!
Stacey says:
sorry for the type-o’s…… I got excited!!!
Stacey says:
The show cancelled……Lighter Side of Life…..something like that.
Annie says:
I was googling every term I could think of to find that show. I am really glad somebody else recognized her. It was driving me crazy the whole time.
Stacey says:
Odd that she went from that show to being a seat filler. Maybe she’s their friend? Or nanny!?
Annie says:
She is Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s little sister.
Stacey says:
Side Order of Life……it was a cute show.
Kellijo says:
Side Order of Life was the show. Her name is Ashley Williams. She is Kimberly’s sister. :)
Stacey says:
You go Kellijo!!! That rocks!!! I can go to bed now…..at peace. :)
Stacey says:
And today is her birthday! Odd….she has people talking about her on a blog on her birthday. HA!
Stephanie says:
1) the sound feed was so terrible I gave up watching
2) what happened to ‘country’ music?
Janel says:
Does any one know the reggae singer with Kenn Chesney??????????
Susan says:
I was upset with the sound last year and was hoping this year would be better. It seems they crank down the singer’s mikes but crank up the instruments. There were some songs I had not heard and now I still haven’t heard the words. Isn’t country about the words? I hope CMA or the station or whomever reads the blogs and fixes something. It was so bad, we couldn’t even hear the announcer at the breaks! That’s a new one.
Franc says:
I agree with “mike” above in that Shania Twain does, indeed, look “hot”, though her overall appeal went beyond mere appearances. She was a triple threat package (looks, voice & musical style/writing that served to bring the country music industry to an entirely new level) when she was “on the scene”. I was pleasantly surprised to see her at the CMA’s and am looking forward to seeing more of her in the (hopefully near) future, as she seemed to imply…fingers are crossed as I’m interested in seeing how she’s matured from a musical perspective.
Franc says:
As for the “sound quality” that everyone is mentioning…it could be that the on air program was broadcast nationally via satellite and, since there IS a large storm front in the mid-west, I’d have to say that it had something to do with the overall reception quality…just wait for the replay/rerun (when there will likely not be an issue of weather interference) and enjoy it then sans interference.
LuvKC says:
It was the Wailers singing with Kenny Chesney.
Joyce says:
Iam in NY and I thought the show was amazing.Brad,Kenny, Taylor,Carrie,B&D,Keith,George and everyone else what a great performance on the show. Kid Rock was awesome and I
absolutly loved the background. I cried when Brooks&Dunn and Reba sang Cowgirls Dont Cry,and I just couldn’t help
it when the woman talked about her husband being in the service(Iam so sorry I forgot her name)and then Carrie sang It’s Just a Dream.
Troy says:
Yet once again I am baffled by the inability to find a good sound engineer for an awards show. I could barely hear the majority of the lead singers during performances. This is a trend that started a couple of years back and I am sick of it. There never used to be any problem with sound on award shows and I am beginning to wonder what is behind it all. One of the worst instances were when Reba sang, well attempted to anyway, with Brooks and Dunn. Her microphone was clearly off for the first part of the song. Luckily they did get it figured out by the end of the song. Another horrific instance was when poor Kelli Pickler tried her best to scream in order to be heard over the band….. Are the sound people deaf?
Other than the horrible sound issues which have become the norm, the show was pretty good. The humor was dry at best, but that’s not unusual anymore either….
Troy says:
In regards to the comments about what happened to country music.
It seems we have forgetten what country music was originally all about these days. My guess is it’s because we are living in a MTV world today. Once upon a time, a long time ago… actual singing ability was the cornerstone of the music industry. It didn’t matter what you looked like as long as you could actually carry a tune. Today, it is all about the looks! Nothing elese period! Show me a hot girl or guy and I’ll show you the next music star. These days anyone can be made into a pop star with a few singing lessons. I think back to the likes of Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, Janice Joplin and the likes whom all lacked any real beauty appeal and ask whether they would have made it n todays music industry….the answer is no way!
So country music and all other platforms as well have been turned into something that’s all about the looks and not about the sound. Don’r get me wrong I think there are many good singers today. They just happened to be rather easy on the eyes as well and that also attributed to their sucess in the industry whether they want to admit it or not.
surfider.com says:
Buckling Down for Our CMA Awards Coverage | CMT Blog…
The 42nd annual CMA Awards show is just minutes away, and those of us at CMT have already had an interesting day. Not to complain (too much), but our offices in downtown Nashville were without electrical power from about 10 a.m. until almost 3:30 p.m. …
nik says:
I think the show sucked, sound was terrible and as usually the same winners, Kenny, Carrie, SugarLand and Rasscal Flatts, big deal.
Dennis says:
Where was Toby Keith? The #1 country music act in revenues, not even 1 nomination?
bkb says:
miranda lambert was fantastic. sitting on a stool with only a guitar. she is a star that can sing and write songs. swift always has to have some sort of gimmick or overproduction to cover up for the lack of singing talent.
LINDA says:
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE THE INSTRUMENTS WERE SO LOUD I NEVER HEARD A WORD THE SINGERS WERE SINGING. AND YES ALL THE MONEY THAT GOES INTO THIS YEARLY PERFORMANCE IS UNGODLY AND THEY CAN NOT GET THE SOUND EFFECTS RIGHT. IT WAS ASHAME TO. THE LADY WHO SPOKE OF HER MILITARY SPOUSE THAT WAS REALLY AN AWESOME INTRODUCTION INTO CARRIE UNDERWOOD’S SONG. THAT REALLY IS A POWERFUL SONG. I LOVE KENNY CHESNEY AND HE DESERVES THE AWARDS HE RECEIVES. I DO WISH THAT THEY COULD SHAKE IT UP THOUGH EACH YEAR IT IS GETTING A LITTLY BORING WHEN THE SAME ONES WIN EACH CATEGORY.
Anne says:
The sound last night was lousy - Keyy Picklet and Taylor Swift sounded awful. It was an extreme disappointment - the best of artists sounded like crap.
heather says:
I agree with the sound. Everything sounded horrible. You think it was because of the power? Carrie looked fabulous. Didn’t care for all of Brad’s jokes and why is Kelly Pickler dressing like a hooker?! She was horrible. Cute girl, but horrible show… I loved seeing Kenny w/The Wailers, that was great. What was wrong with Kid Rock’s voice?? Great song and all, but he sounded like he had been up for days or was sick??
heather says:
oh and yeah, where was Toby Keith!??!
Katie says:
Kenny & the Wailers stole the show!!
heather says:
anyone else think Kid Rock sounded sick?
luvncountry says:
kid rock IS sick, still wondering WHY he’s even lumped in with country music at all- talk about diluting the country gene pool.
Kevin says:
Kid Rock probably was sick and probably has been up for days. He didnt look too healthy either.
Lizzy says:
im so glad taylor swift was a part of the awards. she diserved it. i love her music and her look. i also love brad paisley. i love their music. keep on going u 2!!
Dianne Angel says:
The sound was horrible. What happened? I had to turn it off ‘cuz the performances were being destroyed.
ivy cookie says:
hey the best show ever was the one in New York I know cause I was there this show had some great moments kenny of course sugarland carrie and of course the Eagles hey anyone know who was sitting next to sugarland jeniffer nettles i think it was their manager not sure
CMT Fan says:
Sound from lead mike not audible….only hear guitars and crowd