Nobody was surprised when Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year honors at the 41st annual Country Music Association Awards tonight – nor was anybody taken aback at Carrie Underwood taking home two of the night’s biggest awards: female vocalist and single of the year.
The surprise came in the form of Sugarland winning the vocal/duo of the year award, ending Brooks & Dunn’s impressive streak, with 14 of the last 15 trophies.
Other big winners included Brad Paisley for male vocalist; Rascal Flatts for top vocal group; George Strait for best album, “It Just Comes Natural;” and Denver’s very own KYGO/98.5-FM for the best major market country radio station.
But the most enjoyable aspect of the Country Music Association Awards telecast is always how utterly bizarre it is, especially when compared with other, more professional broadcasts.
Instead of opting for a single identifiable, big-name host to make the transitions as painless as possible, this year’s ABC telecast went with three semi-recognizable network personalities – James Denton of “Desperate Housewives,” Kate Walsh of “Private Practice” and Kimberly Williams-Paisley of “According to Jim.”
If it weren’t weird enough that the latter is married to country singer and CMA performer-winner Brad Paisley, it didn’t help that the three “hosts” – like most actors and musicians – are cardboard creations that require writers to help them emote and exude any personality. And while memorizing lines on set is one thing, reading introductions off teleprompters is another thing.
“I am so proud to be a part of country music,” a stiff, teleprompter-reading Sara Evans said before introducing Brad Paisley’s performance of “Online” with the Brentwood, Tenn., high school marching band.
Then there’s the hilariously unintentional on-camera appearances by stage-hands carrying boxes and cables. The looks on their faces when they realize they’re accidentally on camera – “Fired!” – is amateur-hour priceless.
There’s also the strange commercials, including the Fruit of the Loom spot that featured Vince Gill dueting with a human dressed as an apple. But as weird as that was, it didn’t touch the oddly integrated, tacky, mid-broadcast Chevy Truck ads featuring prominent country music stars – including Rodney Atkins – standing in front of freshly polished Silverados. The CMAs aren’t beyond multiple close-ups on the Chevy hubcaps.
This was also the year of the battling big-box stores. While Target bought a big commercial to flaunt its exclusive Carrie Underwood DVD, which accompanies the sale of her new CD “Carnival Ride” at Target stores, Wal-Mart is the only outlet through which fans can buy the Eagles new record, “Long Road Out of Eden.”
Both Underwood and the Eagles performed at the CMAs, and while Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” won single of the year, the Eagles’ recently released record wasn’t up for competition – but it is this week’s No. 1 record on the Billboard charts with more than 700,000 copies moved all via Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and their respective websites.
Few of the performances were memorable – especially the stiff Eagles, who rigidly sang their new song “How Long” dressed in starched, black suits.
The end-of-the-show Rascal Flatts-Jamie Foxx collaboration was odd, ill-advised and hardly worth the wait.
Paisley’s “Online” made for solid spectacle, but it was a little too reminiscent of Kanye West’s Grammy performance from a couple years ago to seem original.
Little Big Town’s take on “Boondocks” was refreshing, and hopefully they keep some of that enthusiasm as they rise throughout the ranks of country music elite. Miranda Lambert’s performance of “Gunpowder and Lead” was upstaged by her own light-socket, Britneyesque hair.
The sweetest moment of this year’s CMAs was easily 17-year-old Taylor Swift graciously accepting the Horizon Award by noting, “This is definitely the highlight of my senior year.”
But the best speech of the night came from songwriter Jamey Johnson, who was recognized for Song of the Year honors via George Strait’s “Give It Away.” At first the audience didn’t know if he was being sincere, but that made it all the more excellent when it became obvious that he was being genuine.
“I wanna thank my ex-wife, Amy,” Johnson started, “for being such a great mother to my kids. She surely deserves half of this song and half of this award, too. She’s a good woman.”
Pseudo-host Denton quipped afterward: “Apparently some guys don’t need writers. And I’m not one of them.”
As if it weren’t obvious by that point.
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394; rbaca@denverpost.com
CMA winners
Winners at Wednesday’s 41st annual Country Music Association Awards:
Entertainer of the Year: Kenny Chesney
Single: “Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood.
Album: “It Just Comes Natural,” George Strait.
Song: “Give It Away,” Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson.
Female Vocalist: Carrie Underwood.
Male Vocalist: Brad Paisley.
Vocal Group: Rascal Flatts.
Vocal Duo: Sugarland.
Musical Event: “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” Tracy Lawrence with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney.
Musician: Jerry Douglas.
Music Video: “Online,” Brad Paisley.
Horizon Award: Taylor Swift.
