CMT Blog: Shows

If you've ever wondered what performing on the CMA Awards would do for your career, I have three words: triple digit spikes. That's what happened for Lady Antebellum, Sugarland and Jamey Johnson. After winning two awards and performing the snowy "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum had their biggest sales week ever and a 130 percent sales increase from the previous week for their self-titled debut album. And Sugarland's current album, Love on the Inside, had a sales jump of 136 percent, while its concert companion, Live on the Inside, rose 110 percent. Even better, Jamey Johnson's That Lonesome Song jumped 286 percent after his performance of "Between Jennings and Jones" with Kid Rock, as well as his trophy for song of the year ("In Color"). That makes him the CMA performer with the biggest album sales percentage increase this week and he is grateful for every album he's sold, because like he said on stage, "I've swung a hammer for seven bucks an hour so I appreciate every single person who supports country music."

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Oh great. Just what you want to see after you've stuffed yourself with turkey, gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie and every kind of carbohydrate casserole known to man: the slim, trim and gorgeous Carrie Underwood doing what she does best. She'll be on CNN on Thanksgiving night performing for CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. With Anderson Cooper as host, the event will honor those selected by CNN's Blue Ribbon Panel and each hero will go home with $25,000 in recognition of their work. The big $100,000 prize will go to the hero of the year, who will be announced that night. There's no word on what Underwood will sing. Probably more patriotic upbeat stuff like "All-American Girl" versus the no-good man tunes like "Cowboy Casanova." Either way, watching Underwood on TV over the holidays is something we can all be thankful for.

The song that was in Kristian Bush's head all day on Tuesday (Nov. 17)? Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." He calls it the most genius song in a career for a woman who is growing up. "Miley's 15 being 16," he said in this short but jam-packed interview at Chicago radio station WUSN (US99). Jennifer Nettles admits to loving the rock band Phoenix and to not really knowing how famous they were until they were asked to be on Sesame Street. Then they take time to answer a question from a Twitter follower about their recurring use of "Joey" in their songs. Bush compares it to the way Bruce Springsteen sings about "Maria" all the time. "It's an ongoing story. Joey died as a teenager, then comes back as a football hero," he laughs. The duo was in Chicago taping an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, or as Nettles says, "getting everybody in the fa, la, la, la spirit." Their Oprah appearance will air on Nov. 30.

I really want to plead the fifth on this topic. But the comments just won't stop coming on Taylor Swift's recent CMA entertainer of the year win. So I will say nothing this time, and let some country artists do the talking via a feature in People magazine:

Faith Hill: "I think she worked her tail off the last couple [of years] and she deserves to win."

Tim McGraw: "I've been doing this a long time, and she's got a better head on her shoulders than I do, so I don't know how anybody could complain about that."

Randy Travis: "As a writer, she is a phenomenal talent. When you look at the body of work that she has written at the age when she came into this business, it's remarkable. It really is. But do I think that entertainer of the year might have been a little early? In my opinion, yes, for whatever that's worth."

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The CMT New Music Video Evaluation Team met to screen one new video. It's Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home," shot live and in HD during her concert before an audience for the CMT show Invitation Only. The show will be telecast on Dec. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Artist: Carrie Underwood
Video: "Temporary Home" Invitation Only Excerpt
Director: Ivan Dudynsky

The song, which Underwood co-wrote, builds around the words "I'm not afraid because I know/This is our temporary home" and traces their impact in the situations of a young boy, a young mother and an old man who is dying.

Panelists' comments: "That's a powerful performance." "She is really good live." "What can I say -- a great voice."

Consensus: "Temporary Home" debuted on CMT in heavy rotation on Nov. 17.

Wynonna's critical remarks on Taylor Swift's early success caused some trouble at the CMA Awards last week. However, during a visit to the pressroom backstage during the ceremony, she cited Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker -- who both won trophies that night -- as two of her personal favorites. Speaking about Lady A, she said, "Their voices are real -- and their harmonies. I love harmony and I love it when I can really hear someone's voice and I can vibrate to it. I resonate to it. I like the way that they sing together. I mean, they're real. They're real vocalists and real entertainers. So I'm excited about them. I love Darius. He's very down to earth and a very grateful, humble person. What a concept. We do see it all and backstage we watch to see who's kind to the limo driver and who's paying attention to the hairdresser, not just the lady giving the award. I like Darius a lot. We're going to write together."

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She should've won. He shouldn't have. This artist is too old. That one is too new. Why wasn't she nominated? Who voted for him? This is fixed. Controversies and questions surrounding this year's CMA Awards are endless. But it's certainly nothing new. Back in 1975, when John Denver won the CMA Award for entertainer of the year, the reigning titleholder Charlie Rich opened the envelope -- and set fire to the card in disgust. Despite earning the most votes, Denver wasn't considered a true country artist by many Nashville insiders, according to The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Denver wasn't there, thank God, so he didn't have to walk up onto that fiery stage and embrace that awkward moment on national TV. So now we have a bit of history repeating itself, with artists and fans weighing in on whether or not the right person won the top award last week. But all I know is, as long as nobody pulled a lighter out of their pocket at last week's show, we are keeping it classy.

Technically I was not invited. Nor were a lot of Tim McGraw fans. But now that it's on the air and online, we can at least feel like we were there for this Invitation Only show. What I love most about McGraw's voice, especially at this show, is that it sounds like velvet. That's a standout right now when so many male country singers are putting a little more gravel and a few more growls in their voices. These shows have such a perfect balance of new and old, too. So you get to hear "Southern Voice" and another moving new one, "You Had to Be There." But there's no shortage of vintage McGraw: "For a Little While," Real Good Man" and "The Cowboy in Me." I also love the way his big Dancehall Doctors band surrounds him in a semi-circle. And the way he answers audience questions so candidly, like how when they're on stage, they see 30,000 people yet they all remember when there were only 30 people.

Sugarland captured their third consecutive CMA Award for duo of the year on Wednesday night (Nov. 11), capping a very successful 2009. Although there have been numerous highlights -- multi-platinum certifications, a network TV special, a new Christmas album -- Jennifer Nettles was forced to cancel several tour dates this year due to nagging health concerns. She fielded a question about it during a visit to the press room backstage at the CMA Awards.

"This year I started out on a limp leg because I was randomly sick several times before we went on the road. That started me out, when we were on the road, still dealing with that," she said.

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I already blogged a little bit about loving the collaborations on Wednesday (Nov. 11) night's CMA Awards, especially when Jamey Johnson and Kid Rock sang Johnson's "Between Jennings and Jones." They sounded good together. Not good like a duo would. But good like two guys with their own sounds coming together. While Johnson has that outlaw moan to his voice, Rock's is more of a gritty Southern rock thing. The twist at the end of that song -- how it's not just his sound but also the spelling of his last name that would put his records literally between Waylon Jennings and George Jones -- gets me every time. Since hearing the CMA performance, I keep thinking that someday, maybe 10 or 20 years from now, some new artist who was inspired by both their styles of country will sing about being right there between Johnson and Rock.

Photo Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images