Questions I Still Have After the ACM Awards
I know. I know. The ACM show is literally yesterday's news. But I re-watched it this morning and I still have some burning questions. If you have any real answers, or questions of your own, or just some snarky remarks you need to get off your chest anonymously, please post them in the comments section.
Where did Brad Paisley's guitar go when he tossed it into the crowd before his Nestea Plunge into that hot tub of a stage?
What did Carrie Underwood do with the boots Matthew McConaughey gave her as the punchline to an ongoing joke between them?
Is Lady Antebellum paving the way for bands to make a comeback? And why can't more groups do what they did, letting the lead guitarist Dave Haywood shine during the acoustic intro on their "American Honey" performance?
How come stars take security with them when they go into the audience to perform at concerts but Sunday night went alone?
Were Carrie Underwood's hair extensions permanent or the clip-in temporary ones?
Why did the cameras cut away in the middle of what was sure to become some funny banter between Trace Adkins and Blake Shelton after they did "Hillbilly Bone"?
Cher messed up, calling it a CMA award instead of an ACM award, right?
Who chose the three Brooks & Dunn songs that fans could pick from for the last performance, and why weren't "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and "Neon Moon" on the short list?
Why don't the Tritones, the San Diego co-ed a cappella group that backed Taylor Swift on her performance of "Change," have any big showy stories about their appearance on their website?
Why was Eddie Cibrian a presenter? If you have an affair with a married country singer, does that count as awards-show cred?
Who picked the girls to go up and crowd Jack Ingram and Dierks Bentley when they sang Ingram's "Barbie Doll"?
How much money did the airbrush tanning salons rake in over the awards-show weekend?
©2008 Country Music Television, Inc., a Viacom company. A division of
sassyme says:
Is it me or did Kenny Chesney lip-synch?
Matt says:
yes sassyme chesney lip synched and it was beyond bad. he looked so forced it was pathetic. Who fake sings the week his movie is coming out?? He never ceases to amaze me with his weirdness.
PS- Easton Corbin is bad ass. And where was Jamey Johnson and Eric Church? LONG LIVE REAL COUNTRY MUSIC!!
Susan says:
Why did they cut off Miranda’s producer when he started to speak? Miranda’s speech was short and there was plenty of time. I mean the album won for God’s sake. Let the man speak! It was awkward and rude.
Vicki says:
I agree with Matt! Where was Jamie Johnson and Eric Church? I was Jamie on the CMT Tour with Randy Houser in Spartanburg SC and I saw Eric when he opened for Jason Aldean in Greenville SC. They both was awesome concerts! Eric did an amazing job! I also want to know why the cut Miranda’s producer off? That was so wrong!! I was glad to hear the crowd boo whoever did that! They both deserved to have time to speak and they worked hard on that album so they deserve their time to thank who they want!
Realist says:
Disrespectful comments about LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian are not appreciated. It is sad to see CMT allowing such a gossip laden article to be posted on its website. Right or wrong, Eddie and LeAnn have a place and reason for being a part of the show. I certainly hope the writer of this article will not be asked to do any more articles for the website. LeAnn has one of the greatest voices of this generation and she should NOT be shown such blatant disrespect. Shame on you, Allison!
Captain Booger says:
Whenever I hear the names of LeAnn Rimes or Eddie Cibrian, all I think is ‘cheater, cheater’. But when Cibrian came out to be a presenter, all I was thinking was - ‘you can’t be freaking serious’. Then I went back to thinking ‘cheater, cheater’.
Katie says:
I heard Eddie and LeAnn got heckled…so good! They both cheated while married, so I don’t care how good a voice she has (at least not till she comes out with some decent music again) or whatever CBS show he’s on, I don’t want to watch them. People aren’t perfect and they make mistakes, but they don’t need to flaunt it.
And I pretty much agree with all the other questions, especially about Matthew’s boots and the Brooks & Dunn song choice.
Riley says:
Carrie is probably wearing the boots today - they don’t have security at awards show because most of the floor seats are filled with artists, producers, radio, in the biz people - you would hope they wouldn’t attack a singer - ALOT of people get the CMAs and ACMs mixed up - Prob Boot Scootin and Neon Moon are being sung on the Last Rodeo tribute to B&D airing May 23rd I think - good point about the Tritones? I agree there -scouted and hired perhaps
Granna says:
I’ve never understood Chesney’s greatness from day one! His songs are not bad, but he’s not the greatness live singer either. I’ve never enjoyed watching him perform.
Shelley says:
Why was Taylor Swift even there? She clearly needs to be on the Disney Music Awards. Her little ride up in the air was so annoying. I guess she needed to pull this stunt so the attention was taken off of her horrible singing.
Bernie says:
The ACMs are shown on CBS and Eddie Ciprian is a cast member on CSI: Miami which is a CBS show. Most of the presenters on the ACMs (past and present) are cast members on CBS shows.
Joe Coker says:
Kenny Chesney lip synched because he sucks when he sings live! The sound system at the awards is always terrible. Ronny Dunn’s mic wasn’t on when he started to sing, huh? The only award I didn’t agree with was Carrie Underwood winning Entertainer of the Year again! Alot of top country stars weren’t there or nominated.
Robin says:
Kenny clearly was lip syncing.
Taylor wasn’t but sound as horrible as ever (the Grammy’s were worse).
I think they cut away from Hillbilly Bone because it was “supposed” to be battering as they are leaving, not a continuous spot for a few minutes. It was funny exactly the way they ran it.
Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert should record a duet for one of their next albums and release it to radio. It would be spectacular and thank you ACM’s for putting them together!
Why did they have to mess up B&D’s final performance by not getting the sound right!
Why was Eddie Cibrian a presenter? LEANN does has a place in country music even if she is a cheater (she’s given her life to it and she’s one of us whether we like it or not). He’s the odd man out and should not be flaunted in front of his wife like she might think the country crowd actually thinks of him as anything other than a skunk.
Why did they cut off Miranda’s producers? NO EXCUSES!
What’s up with the lack of “real” respect for the women of country who have been burn’n it down for the last several years? While Miranda was FINALLY dully recognized, why was only 24% of the performer’s women, 62% men and 14% a mix of both? Even with putting the mixed groups with the women, it still only 38% which is just a little over half as much as the men. What’s UP ACM’s?
Second men/women question – why was 100% of the male solo performers over the age of 30 and only 20% of the female solo performers over the age of 30? Only hot young girls need apply? I mean Lee Ann Womack was nominated for FVOY and surely Martina McBride who has current hits on the radio right now could have filled a few of those “guy” spots? No?
And, lastly, pop country radio is dominated by contemporary country, but the airways have been full of other sub-genres too (country rock) and neo-traditional is still an important part of country radio that a large portion of the pop country audience wants to have included more in the mix. Then why pray tell me can’t that industry honor that wish a bit more? 71% of the acts were straight contemporary country (who throws some flavor of neo traditional in once in a while). 14% were neo-traditional and 5% going to the Toby Keith (non-typical contemporary/Merle Haggard throw back (workin’ man), but not the Baker’s Field Sound) and 5% rock country and 5% a neo traditional/contemporary/rock country mix. Really Jamie Johnson is so important to the pop country industry right now. He helps keep the balance and guard the gates. There should never be an award show without Jamie Johnson and Miranda Lambert.
FL loves Carrie! says:
I agree with all the above. Carrie’s performance was both beautiful and touching. To compare her live talent to Taylor’s spectacle is like apples to oranges. Hopefully, her time is up! Would have loved to have heard Martina and even Faith. What’s up with Shania…is she coming back to country?
Phil says:
The tanning booths cause cancer do people not know this? I know people that have developed Lupus because they use these machines.Just so they will look good for the night people are so phoney.
TG says:
Lady A is not paving the way for bands to make a comeback because they’re not a band.A band usually plays instruments.They have one guy who plays guitar and 2 singers with back up musicans who get no credit for being part of the group.That’s not a band.
Oh and why the hell wasn’t Alan Jackson nominated for anything?
bkb says:
martina wasn’t nominated either, not even there to present an award. she has a fab tour going on and has several songs on the top twenty list. nothing against leeann womack, but she did not show up and didn’t perform. these award shows are good for the artists career and i don’t think the committee chose to wisely, what about sugarland?they were not up for an award either.
Roxanne says:
I think people are being way too hard on Leann and Eddie. What about Johnny Cash?? He was a cheater too. I doubt he was ever banned or bad mouthed because of it!! Grow up people!!!
bkb says:
martina, alan,surarland,kellie, where were they? they could have presented, why didnt’t leeann womack perform?
KKA says:
Eddie Cibrian was on the show not because of his relationship with LeAnn, but because the show was on CBS and he is one of the stars of NCIS: Los Angeles (his co-star LL Cool J was also on the show). Should either of them really have been there? No. But it was CBS promoting their own shows.
Connie says:
All and all for the most part ACM’s were good As for the short list to vote on the B&D song I thought for sure Boot Scoot would have made the short list. It along with Neon Moon were in the first round of voting,, Sad Ronnie’s mic wasn’t on when they started My Maria,But still a great perfomance
Robin says:
Johnny and June were both already country stars that had dedicated their lives to country. Her issues doesn’t make LeAnn any less country (although she is a “you fill in the blank”), but Eddie isn’t country. He has nothing to do with country music other than he is a cheater with a country music singer (former star). While there are other people there that are also not related to country music really. At least they did not bring shame to country music in anyway like he did. The only reason in the world he would be there is because of LeAnn.
You don’t bring a guy to give awards that is only there because he cheated on his wife and children with a country singer. That’s just sick really. Come on!
Rita says:
Good questions Allison. I had a great time watching the awards~
timcum says:
I have a question. Does Taylor Swift have a chiropractor on staff to adjust her neck after she slings it around? Right now she’s young and can get away with it but if she continues doing it she’s going to start having neck problems. She may be paying a big price just to cover up her bad singing.
I was also wondering why Eddie Cibrian was there as a presenter. I read that some people booed him when he came out on stage. I don’t remember hearing it so will have to watch the show again and listen closely. But I live on the West coast so any booing may have been edited out. Joey and Rory should have dedicated their song “Cheater, Cheater” to LeAnn and Eddie.
I love Kenny Chesney but have to admit that I thought he was lip-synching. He seemed a little over-animated. Maybe he drank too much Red Bull before his performance. I still loved seeing him perform and love the song. I can never get too much of Kenny!
S says:
FL loves Carrie! said “Carrie’s performance was both beautiful and touching. To compare her live talent to Taylor’s spectacle is like apples to oranges.” Actually, to compare Carrie to Taylor is like comparing apples to onions or apples to sauerkraut.
Most people today don’t use tanning booths; they get spray-on tans which are safe. Whatever the case, Julianne Hough’s “tan” was way overdone and looked so phony. It really wasn’t a good look.
Glenda says:
I was just telling my sister last night I thought Kenny was lip-synching….I don’t care for him at all and I usually fast forward through his singing but I watched him this time and would have sworn he was “cheating”. He usually sounds HORRIBLE live. I too thought it was in poor taste to have Eddie on. I would prefer the presenters be in country music anyway. I have never understood why they use Hollywood “stars”.
Stephanie says:
Brad’s guitar went to one of the stage hands. The girls were random at the beginning of the show and we stood around the little stage for Billy Currington & Gloriana performances and then Jack & Dierks had us come up at the end. It was a trip of a lifetime.
Sam says:
What is up with people dissing on Kenny? WTF? He is country’s best, and if you don’t like him, get out of the genre!!! Be happy Underwood won, cause Swift or Chesney would have taken it home, but for some reason folks still aren’t satisfied… Chesney wasn’t lip synching, because they were times when his voice dropped off. His band is top notch, and if you knew anything about him, he is against lip synching, and is all about the fans and entertaining.
Wanda says:
Carrie won etoy because the people voted for her and why doesnt she deserve to win her 3rd album har already gone platinum she is very talented and i for one enjoy her performances
timcun says:
I love Kenny and wasn’t trying to diss him. At the time I saw him perform I wondered if he was lip-synching and then noticed a lot of people on the Internet were saying the same thing. But he could very well have been singing live. Whatever the case I loved his performance and thought it was one of the best performances of the night.
Anita W says:
I was pretty surprised when Eddie came out on stage, it did seem like the ACMs were putting a seal of approval on Leann and Eddie’s affair. On the other hand, it’s not at all unusual to find TV and movie stars presenting awards at country music awards shows. Kristin Bell? Matthew McConnaghey? And as someone else pointed out, Eddie *is* a newcomer to the CSI Miami cast, which is a CBS show and huge. CBS is going to want to promote him - despite his cheating ways, I expect there are a lot of people who don’t follow country music and don’t know anything about him and Leeann - CBS probably figures it’s the bottom line that counts and was doing its best to maximize ratings for the CSI show. Heck, controversy sells, even the people who *DO* know about the affair may be curious to see Eddie act. Sort of like that car wreck analogy - it’s awful but a lot of people can’t help looking anyway.
Tenn says:
I just wish they would invite country artists to give out awards so at least the fans can see their fav - But obviously the tv station needs to promote itself
countryiscool says:
I was going to point out that Eddie is on CSI Miami, NOT NCIS, but I think someone else already did. I couldn’t help but think of him & Leann when Joey & Rory sang “Cheater, Cheater” but I still like Leann’s music & vids.
bkb says:
why didn’t sugarland perform?, where were martina ,gretchalan and even kellie. we need people from the country music to present the awards, there are plenty that would like the exposure.gretchen wilson was there in the audience, why not on stage at least presenting?
DustinG says:
I read somewhere that Taylor actually said she saw Carrie on Youtube with her flying in the blue truck and she that that was cool and therefore she wanted to try it. I think it is good Taylor mentioning where she gets her ideas from, but seriously try to be creative on your own and stop borrowing peoples’ ideas. Also, Taylor needed that extra stuff, because she cannot sing on tune what-so-ever! Congrats to Miranda, I am very happy for her and Carrie. This Year’s ACM Awards were great!