CMT Blog: CMT Music Awards

All this talk about Blake Shelton’s No. 1 hit “Home” has conjured up my not-so-vivid memory of the first time we met.

It was a couple years ago, and I had gone down to Nashville for the CMT Music Awards. The morning after the show, I reluctantly packed my bags and took my Xanax for the flight home. I went down to the lobby of the very barebones Holiday Inn to wait for my airport shuttle, and my anti-anxiety drugs were starting to kick in. So when I saw the elevator doors open, I thought I was hallucinating when I saw a guy who looked just like Blake Shelton get off.

Read more…

In Nashville, the conventional wisdom has been that radio is most important. It’s so pervasive that I’ve never seen more artists thank radio at awards shows than I do in country music. As important as radio is, I do believe that history books will likely show that April 2008 may be the epicenter of when that equation changed for country artists. Notable events include:

• James Otto debuting Top 5 across all genres, with the most noticeable awareness spike occurring right when online marketing went into high gear.

Read more…

Taylor Swift came by the office this week and thanked us — my co-workers and me — for our support of her here at CMT.com. I know you think that because I work at CMT.com, I get to rub elbows with a lot of stars. Not really. As my co-worker remarked, “I think that’s the second time in 11 years we had an artist come thank us in person.”

Later, I kept thinking of the scene in Coal Miner’s Daughter where Loretta Lynn drove up to the radio station, went in with her record and asked them to play it. I think it might be easy to dismiss Taylor’s meteoric rise to the megawatt power of the Internet. But thinking back on the movie, I see similarities between these two women. Read more…

I’ve seen my fair share of dancing on award shows. I use the word “dancing” loosely because most of the time it seems quite awkward and bizarre. Beyonce, for instance. I’ve tried to understand her strange convulsion-like hip movements and arm spasms. Maybe I’m missing something in the dance world, but it usually looks forced and unnatural. Most of the time I watch artists dance because of the entertainment value, not because of their actual talent. But during the CMT Music Awards, I watched one artist in awe: LeAnn Rimes completely blew me away. Not only did she flawlessly sing “Nothin’ Better to Do,” which she co-wrote, but she moved like a professional throughout the entire song, not missing a single beat. Check out the performance.

Read more…

Hey everyone,

Monday night was AMAZING. I am still smiling. My sister and I sat next to my tourmates Jewel and Chuck Wicks, and behind us was James Otto, who tapped me on the shoulder and gave me the “biggest fan” award. I’ve grown up idolizing these artists, and I actually got to meet most of them, one in particular, Faith Hill, who has inspired me so much. It was an honor meeting her.

It was so much fun being up on that stage. I got to introduce my tourmate, Brad Paisley, with Sara Evans and Josh Turner, who kept making me laugh during rehearsals that day. Not to mention I was pretty nervous. You would think after performing on TV with 30 million people watching each week the nerves would leave. Well, well think again! :)

The performances blew me away, they were all so amazing. I really enjoyed LeAnn Rimes, Sugarland and Keith Urban. I can only hope to perform up there one day. What an unforgettable night!

Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Rascal Flatts‘ new video — for “Every Day” — hit CMT on Thursday (April 17), and it’s quite likely to be nominated at next year’s CMT Music Awards. That’s not a bold prediction as much as an observation of recent history. When Rascal Flatts’ “Take Me There” was named group video of the year at Monday night’s CMT Music Awards, it marked the sixth consecutive year they’ve won in the category. Other wins include “These Days” (2003), “I Melt” (2004), “Feels Like Today” (2005), “Skin (Sarabeth)” (2006) and “What Hurts the Most” (2007).

Just as they’ve done in the past, the “Every Day” video carries a positive message. This time, it’s the idea that everyday people can make a difference in the lives of others. With Rascal Flatts having participated in the American Red Cross‘ national celebrity cabinet since 2004, the organization is prominently featured in the new video as volunteers respond to emergency situations.

“Every Day” was written by Jeffrey Steele and Alissa Moreno. The video was directed by Robert Deaton and George Flanigen. Photos from the video shoot are available online at CMT.com.

When the rapper Snoop Dogg came backstage at the CMT Music Awards on Monday night, one of my colleagues turned to me and asked, “What in the world is he doing here?” Here’s the answer - in the words of Snoop Dogg himself:

“I have a new single called ‘My Medicine’ and I’m going to get a lot of country artists to perform on it, because it was inspired by country music and by the late Johnny Cash. So I just wanted to try to get a couple of artists to be a part of it, and they agreed to do it, so be on the lookout for it.”

Check out this live performance from VH1 Storytellers and tell us if you think he can really make it in country music.

By the way, what is it about Johnny Cash that appeals to the rapper so much?

“His whole style. His whole persona, his whole way of making music, just being real. His music touched people like myself, which you probably didn’t know that. That’s why I’m wearing all black tonight, in dedication to my main man, JC homeboy.”

In the end, it’s all about who wore what. For some Web sites, anyway. Miley Cyrus, Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill and others get critiqued for their attire at the 2008 CMT Music Awards. But Hill’s rep says a flowing tunic topic doesn’t mean the singer is pregnant.

In more post-show news, Jason Aldean gushed over Snoop Dogg, remarking that when he calls you a pimp it’s the ultimate compliment. Seriously?

And Taylor Swift gives her play-by-play commentary of the entire night, up until the part where she is FREAKING OUT.

Determined not to be pigeon-holed as just a singer/songwriter/actor, Tim McGraw has written a children’s book due out this fall. And his latest greatest hits package is due out later this month.

Yes, Kenny Chesney is known for his stadium shows. But what if you could see him in a small room with only a few hundred people? If you live in Chicago and listen to radio station WUSN you can.

And Billy Ray Cyrus tells OK magazine he’s trying to be Miley’s BFF. Get in line, dad.

Here’s my weirdest moment from the 2008 CMT Music Awards last night. I was sitting among all the reporters in the press room, when Jewel and Tom Arnold came back for photos. Somebody asked them about the election, and since I don’t care who celebrities endorse for president, my eyes wandered off to the television, and Paula Abdul’s on there, rattling on about something. All this is going on at Belmont University? This sort of thing never happened when I was an undergrad there in the 1990s. My big dream back then was to be a reporter on the country music beat, and now I am doing just that - with Jewel, Tom Arnold and Paula Abdul.

Anyway, the reporters are always grateful to anyone who comes back to visit with us. (Thanks, Taylor Swift! TTYL!) In case you missed the show, here are the big winners.

“Our Song,” Taylor Swift 
(Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year)

“Stay,” Sugarland 
(Duo Video of the Year)

“I Got My Game On,” Trace Adkins 
(Male Video of the Year, Supporting Character of the Year, Director of the Year)

“Gone Gone Gone,” Robert Plant and Alison Krauss 
(Wide Open Country Video of the Year)

“Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore,” Bon Jovi and LeAnn Rimes 
(Collaborative Video of the Year)

“I Wonder,” Kellie Pickler 
(Performance of the Year, Tearjerker Video of the Year, USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year)

“Online,” Brad Paisley 
(Comedy Video of the Year)

“Take Me There,” Rascal Flatts 
(Group Video of the Year)

There were many memorable moments in the house at the CMT Music Awards Show on Monday night (April 14). There were of course the ear-splitting shrieks for Miley Cyrus at first. And the same for Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts. But there was also the genuinely spontaneous standing ovation for Alison Krauss and Robert Plant when they walked up the stage steps to receive their Buckle award. The audience gave a similarly genuine ovation after seeing and hearing Faith Hill and Tim McGraw together on the show.

But the musical moment of the evening for me was the powerful and haunting delivery of “Life in a Northern Town,” sung by Sugarland, Little Big Town and Jake Owen. It seems at first an unlikely choice for a country awards show. It was written and recorded in 1985 by the British folk-rock group The Dream Academy and ostensibly is about the British singer Nick Drake, who died of a drug overdose in 1974. The three artists covered it on the Sugarland “Change for Change Tour.” Subsequently, the concert footage of “Life in a Northern Town” was made into a music video for CMT.

It’s full of dreamy, folk music lyrics such as:

They sat on the stoney ground
And he took a cigarette out
And everyone else came down
To listen.
He said, “In winter 1963
It felt like the world would freeze
With John F. Kennedy
And the Beatles.”

But the hook is the hypnotic chant of:

Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.

All together, these song elements along with Little Big Town’s four intricately intertwined harmonies, Jennifer Nettles’ sugary yet gritty vocal and Owen’s grounded singing make this a gorgeous song. Many people in this audience were seeing Sugarland, Little Big Town and Owen do it together live for the first time. And they liked it very much. Even the young Miley Cyrus fans around me, who had gotten bored once they had seen their Miley, quit their wrestling and whining and grew silent and listened to the song, especially to the chanting.