CMT Blog: ACM

Why are some segments of the media painting Kenny Chesney as a hypocrite after expressing his opinion about the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year award being turned into a fan-voted honor? Although he criticized the ACM’s recent decision to have fans decide the winner through online voting, he never once claimed (or otherwise hinted) that he hadn’t used his Web site and fan club to campaign for votes.

The suggestion that Chesney was being hypocritical was raised in an Associated Press story that was later used as a point of reference for a blog on the Los Angeles Times‘ Web site. Read more…

Hey you, with your neck hunched over and your thumbs texting a hundred emoticons a minute? Yes, you. Start paying attention to the concert, would ya?

Keith Urban’s not the only one who gets to see the baby bump up close. Soon Patrick Demarchelier will, at a photo shoot reportedly happening closer to Nicole Kidman’s due date.

Wanna meet Wynonna? Or chat with Wynonna? It’s your choice, and you can enter to win one encounter with her in celebration of the CMA Festival.

So you think you can…write jingles? Go to the open casting call in Nashville on June 2 for a reality show to choose tomorrow’s award-winning jingle-writing duo.

Who is the sexiest vegetarian? Our votes are with Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris and Shania Twain, who are all serious contenders for the title.

If you’re wondering whether a Speedo swim cap is stretchy enough to corral all of Taylor Swift’s curls, it is. She wore one to rehearse her wet ACM performance.

Keith Urban says that he is really looking forward to his baby’s arrival (duh), but isn’t saying anything about the baby’s gender.

We can never have too many opinions on the ACMs. So check out the Washington Post’s thumbs down to Garth’s medley and thumbs up to Miranda’s win.

It was a dream come true for Taylor Swift to do that singing-in-the-rain thing at the ACMs. Although in her dream, the water probably wasn’t so cold.

Where did all that Vegas glam come from at the ACMs? Some say it was inspired by the King himself.

If hockey’s a lot like NASCAR, like Dierks Bentley says it is, then who is the Dale Jr. of the ice?

Can mobile music (like ringtones and ringbacks) help rescue the iPhone from obsolescence?

Of the two major network country music awards shows, the ACM show has always lagged behind the CMA Awards show in terms of ratings and industry prestige. So, it’s been trying new innovations. The move to Las Vegas has benefited the show, certainly in terms of its image and profile. Before this year, all of the ACM awards and the CMA awards were chosen by industry voters. For 2008, the ACM rulers decided to have the entertainer of the year chosen by fan votes. An interesting notion - and one that garnered much publicity.

In the course of ACM voting, Rascal Flatts fans were offered a free MP3 download of Flatts music in exchange for voting for the band. That’s what Kenny Chesney was referring to after the awards show when he made mention of turning the entertainer award into a “sweepstakes.” Read Chesney’s words carefully. He was not chastising anyone. He was simply saying this: With an award this important, it should not be given over to selection by whimsy or by pressure group voting. Or by any kind of favoritism. He said, and he obviously meant it with all his heart and conscience, that an award this significant — to fans, artists and industry — should not be given over to any kind of questionable methodology.

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Kenny Chesney might pull down the entertainer of the year trophy at Sunday’s 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards for the fourth straight year, tying Garth Brooks for the second-longest run in history. Rascal Flatts might well nab its sixth consecutive honor as top vocal group, tying Alabama for the all-time mark.

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