Why Jason Aldean Deserved to be Snubbed by the CMA’s
This post has been updated (at bottom).
When the CMA Awards nominees were announced on Wednesday September 3rd, one of the most high-profile snubs in years occurred when Jason Aldean was left in the shade with zero nominations. As one of country music’s few stadium draws, and as the reigning Male Vocalist of the Year of the rival ACM Awards, the snub seemed somewhat curious, even to those who may count themselves as Jason Aldean detractors.
It was definitely curious to Jason Aldean’s father Barry Williams, who took to his Facebook account to vent about his son’s snubbing.
Ok, somebody help me out here. We have a country artist who has had at least a dozen number one singles, is the most downloaded country artist of all time, consistently sells out stadiums, has broken attendance records set by George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and even Paul McCartney. Yet he doesn’t even get one nomination for the CMA awards this year. He has been consistently shunned by the Academy the last couple of years when it was obvious that he was deserving of the Entertainer of The Year Award, based on statistics, not popularity of the Academy. This current failure to recognize Jason for his accomplishments only furthers my opinion that the CMA’s are a joke and a farce. I don’t want this to sound like “sour grapes”, but the statistics should speak for themselves.
This citing of statistics is the same argument Clear Channel DJ Bobby Bones used when he complained about his snubbing by the CMA’s. Bobby Bones also asserted, “Jason Aldean got screwed too!”
First, let’s dispense of this idea that Jason Aldean has been “consistently shunned by the Academy…” No, Jason Aldean has never won Entertainer of the Year, but he’s been nominated three times, and has been recognized by the CMA’s just as much as any male artist over the last three years.
In 2013, Jason Aldean was nominated by the CMA for Male Vocalist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, and Vocal Event of the Year. In 2012, Aldean was nominated for Male Vocalist, Entertainer of the Year, and Single of the Year. In 2011, Aldean was nominated for a total of five awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, and he won Vocal Event of the Year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelley Clarkson, and Album of the Year for My Kinda Party. You combine this with Jason’s nomination for the Horizon Award in 2010, and that is twelve total CMA nominations, and two wins—hardly a shunning by the CMA.
Something else to be factored in is this was an off year for Jason Aldean due to his album cycle. Aldean’s last release was 2012’s Night Train, which was not eligible along with many of the album’s biggest singles for this year’s awards. Aldean’s new album Old Boots, New Dirt is about to be released and will be eligible next year. And let’s face it, Night Train was a step down from Aldean’s previous album My Kinda Party, which set the pace commercially for country music in 2011. My Kinda Party has sold over 3 million copies, while Night Train only reached 1.6 million.
Boiled down, what happened in 2014 was Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley both re-entered the CMA Awards top male tier because of big years. Dierks Bentley’s Riser album has been quite successful both commercially and critically, and Keith Urban’s new album and American Idol judgeship probably caused him to be more prominent in the minds of voters. It does seem a little strange Urban would be up for Entertainer of the Year and not Aldean, but it’s not so out of the realm of possibility that it should be taken as a sign of impropriety any more than the dozens of other reasons we already know the CMA is flawed.
But favorable “statistics” or “popularity” is not a guarantee of anything. That’s why people vote for CMA nominees and winners instead of using stats to determine the outcomes. Critical reception and other intangibles always must factor into these types of decisions, and that is where Jason Aldean may have shot himself in the foot this year. In the midst of the initial rounds of CMA voting, Jason Aldean released his latest single, “Burnin’ It Down.” Though the song quickly revealed itself as a commercial blockbuster, it was heavily criticized in its initial reception, including by many of Jason Aldean’s core fans. “Burnin’ It Down” symbolized such an abandonment of country music’s sonic values, it may have compelled many of the CMA voters to shudder at the idea of putting a check mark beside Aldean’s name. Jason Aldean has a history of stretching country music’s borders with singles, including country rap tunes like “Dirt Road Anthem” and “1994.”
On September 1st, Jason Aldean streamed his new album through the viral site BuzzFeed. Simply using that forum to preview his new music speaks to just how low brow Aldean seems to be aiming with this new project. Aldean states, “I’m the same dude, but we’re gonna start over and hit some uncharted territory here…If somebody can put a definition on what country music is, please tell me…I’m pretty knowledgeable in country music, and I’ve never once seen where it says, ‘Country music doesn’t have a drum loop.'”
Actually Jason Aldean, country music does have a definition, and drum loops are nowhere to be found. Songs like “Burnin’ It Down” go strictly against how country music is defined by the CMA for example, which defines country as…
…the sound of Jimmie Rodgers yodeling Keith Urban blasting out a guitar solo The poetry of Hank Williams Sr. on “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – A room full of convicts cheering on Johnny Cash as he sings “San Quentin, I hate every inch of you” – Alan Jackson speaking for the common man in the wake of September 11th – Feisty Loretta Lynn, and tearful Tammy Wynette – Roy Acuff showing off yo-yo tricks at the Grand Ole Opry – Miranda Lambert performing a heartfelt ballad – The King of Country George Strait The showmanship of superstars Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift.
Jason Aldean goes on to tell BuzzFeed,
“It’s great to put your stuff out there and give your fans a chance to tell you what they think. But if you’re not careful, you can read way too much into what people are saying. No, [“Burnin’ It Down”] is not Hank Williams Sr. or George Jones, but this also isn’t the ’60s and the ’70s. As great as that music was, you have a new wave of artists that were influenced by a whole different world of music, and country music is gonna evolve just like any kind of music.”
See, this is the justification all of these artists give for releasing music that is not country. They know it’s wrong, and so they try to justify it to themselves and the public as “evolution,” and then expect the country industry, like the CMA, to snap to and help serve it to the public.
Country music is in the identity crisis of its life. Left and right, artists are trying to turn country music into something it isn’t for the short-term commercial gain. There’s no better examples of this than Jason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” If any entity is in a position of leadership to at least set some moderate boundaries around what country music actually is before its sound is lost to the monogenre forever, it would be the CMA. “You can read way too much into what people are saying,” Jason Aldean says, but perhaps Aldean isn’t reading enough.
As many of country music’s other big acts at the moment are turning to more substantive material in the face of growing negative sentiment about the direction of country music—including Florida Georgia Line who helped write “Burnin’ It Down”—Jason Aldean decided to take a different approach. And perhaps that cost him, as it probably should have. An institution like the CMA should not reward someone who is so flippant about defining country music. The CMA should reward artists who excel at showing the public the beauty of what country music truly is.
***UPDATE (9-9-14): Jason Aldean has responded to his CMA snubbing. He told Rolling Stone Country in part,
Obviously it’s disappointing. We’re still out there selling out shows. With maybe the exception of Luke [Bryan], I don’t think there is anybody else out there that is doing the kind of touring numbers that we’re doing. It’s frustrating, man, but at the same time, I don’t know how”¦what do you do? Things like that are out of your hands.”
“When [the nominations] came out, everything stirred up a hornet’s nest with everybody. All the DJs on the radio were talking about it and everything else. Which is cool. I do appreciate the fact that there are people out there who do realize what we’re doing. It sort of validates my reasoning for being upset.”
It is what it is. You can bitch and complain about it, or you just go and keep doing things the way you always did.
In fairness, George Strait has also been selling out shows and breaking attendance records, not just Luke Bryan.
Brett
September 8, 2014 @ 9:37 am
Buzzfeed is the perfect venue for the album stream. It’s a site full of disposable, poorly researched lists written in five minutes. Which makes it a great fit for Top 40 country.
Noah Eaton
September 8, 2014 @ 9:46 am
I will admit I’m surprised he wasn’t nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year, but that was the only category I was expecting to see him nominated in for one reason you already stated: the fact Aldean was amidst an off-year in terms of album releases.
The title track sold remarkably well, but it still didn’t strike me as an “event hit” quite like the five “Song of the Year” or “Single of the Year” candidates. And “When She Says Baby” is more pleasant radio-friendly filler than anything which few listeners ae going to remember even a year from now.
I think “Male Vocalist of the Year” is the only category one could ague he was snubbed in. But the timing of this nominating process clearly wasn’t in his favor. I’m actually quite confident he will re-emerge in the Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories next time around barring yet another major realignment of marquee acts on the format in the next nine months.
GregN
September 8, 2014 @ 9:54 am
Nice!
Sharil Brown
September 8, 2014 @ 9:58 am
I agree I am afraid country music is getting lost in what is being the new country music of today. So many of the songs and albums feel more pop than country. I think they need to come up with a new genre for Aldean and other artist that apparently don’t love true country music but instead want to take it to something different. There are several artist that I was surprised didn’t make the CMA list and artist that made it that I can’t figure out why. Some people are going to be perfectly happy with the list and some not so much but that’s life and there is always next year.
judi
September 11, 2014 @ 3:13 pm
I agree. I Mr Aldean wants a country music award, he should sing country
music. The same can be said of several other “country” stars.
mystery stu
September 8, 2014 @ 10:23 am
Shiot, I can’t stand those drum loops.
Powderfinger
September 8, 2014 @ 10:38 am
You would think the piles of money Jason and his dad are undoubtedly rolling in would be enough – nope, have to bitch about an award that no one will remember in two years. Priorities, man.
Kati
September 8, 2014 @ 10:42 am
Jason Aldean acts like he’s the first person to get snubbed by the CMA. As a devoted Carrie Underwood fan since her Idol days, I can tell everyone that that is 100% NOT true. -_- Artists who care only about what awards they’re nominated for are in it for all the wrong reasons. Maybe if e started making country music again, he’s be nominated. Evolve all you want, I’m all for it. But country music is about not only sound, but also the additude and respect for the past. Eventually you evolve so much you’ve already crossed the line and there’s no more country TO evolve. Just look at Taylor Swift. She’s not even trying to call herself country anymore and it’s the first time I’ve respected her as an artist (as small as that respect may be) since she started remixing her songs for more plays.
Sara
September 9, 2014 @ 2:54 pm
Actually, Jason Aldean has not said anything about not being nominated. I doubt he is worried about an award when he is selling out concerts every night.
Fourth Blessed Gorge
September 8, 2014 @ 10:43 am
Music…regardless of genre…isn’t about stats and awards. An artist that’s concerned with being honored needs to reassess his or her priorities. If you’re in it to collect awards, what’s the point? Quality music is its own reward.
Melanie
September 8, 2014 @ 10:45 am
“Quality music is its own reward.”
Well, there ya go…
Matt
September 8, 2014 @ 11:31 am
I think there’s a typo in the first paragraph here. You wrote “the snub seemed somewhat curious, even to those who may count themselves as Jason Aldean detractors” when I think you meant “the snub seemed somewhat curious, even to people with the remotest sense of good taste.”
LorenzoFloris
September 8, 2014 @ 12:30 pm
whoa I been waiting for this article since I discovered country music some years ago (I’m Italian). I always thought jason aldean was soo overrated and I couldn’t explain myself why! his music is not good, it’s pointless. it’s not country, but not really rock or pop. just garbage. I know he has some good songs (amarillo sky) but he’s mostly a clown. great job Mr. Trigger, good to see a website that actually criticized who deserves it!
Trigger
September 8, 2014 @ 12:39 pm
Glad you found it Lorenzo!
Dan
September 8, 2014 @ 1:03 pm
so glad Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley took his place, this destroyer must be forgotten. go away and take gilbert and rhett with you
NashGirl
September 8, 2014 @ 1:11 pm
Sometimes I have to wonder how old you are. The CMA is and always has been very political. The industry in Nashville, while sometimes schizophrenic, is all about control – again, nothing new. As for country being in the crisis of its life, remember that Olivia Newton John won the CMA for Female Vocalist in 1974 I think it was, and John Denver won Entertainer of the Year in 1975. I was around then and I remember how pissed and insulted the other nominees were.
GregN
September 8, 2014 @ 2:46 pm
And we don’t have to wonder how old YOU are! 🙂
And I remember when Jethro Tull beat out Metallica for the first Hard Rock/Metal Grammy the first year of that category.
Stuff happens.
NashGirl
September 8, 2014 @ 2:58 pm
Yeah, I’m way older than I like to think about. Your point about the Grammy just goes to prove that awards and the societies that give them are their own animal, with their own rules. And also that this is nothing new.
GregN
September 8, 2014 @ 2:52 pm
One more thing:
Wasn’t that the era of crossover artists being rewarded for doing so by the CMA?
Crystal Gayle comes to mind…
NashGirl
September 8, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
Yes, there was a lot of that. I remember artist friends at the time talking about not getting label support, etc,. Kenny and Dolly were big pop crossovers too. I love John Denver but he wasn’t country and didn’t pretend to be, and Dolly’s stuff started being more pop. The CMA and the labels followed the money – they always will.
Motown Mike
September 10, 2014 @ 7:51 am
Was John Denver a country artist? Probably not. However, one colossal difference between Jason Aldean and John Denver was in the quality of the music they recorded.There is also a works of difference in there philosophy regarding artistry and what making music should be about.
On the surface, you can just see this philosophical difference by looking at the work each man released. You cannot compare material like “Wild Montana Skies”, “Country Roads”, “Clypso”, etc. to the vapid, empty, repetitive material that Aldean records today. The albums that Denver released are way ahead of where Aldean is now, even discounting my subjective bias towards Denver.
John Denver is, when many people on here and elsewhere complain about the lack of real artistry in music, a true artist in every sense. John Denver was actively engaged maintaining the quality of work he put out when he released a song or an album. Jason Aldean is concerned only with maximizing his fake brand of materialism and maximizing his pockets with profit. That’s not an artist, that’s a businessman. That’s their philosophical difference and that’s why Aldean’s body of work is almost completely devoid of quality and originality. Where Denver’s was most certainly not.
Motown Mike
September 10, 2014 @ 7:52 am
Was John Denver a country artist? Probably not. However, one colossal difference between Jason Aldean and John Denver was in the quality of the music they recorded.There is also a world of difference in their philosophy regarding artistry and what making music should be about.
On the surface, you can just see this philosophical difference by looking at the work each man released. You cannot compare material like “Wild Montana Skies”, “Country Roads”, “Clypso”, etc. to the vapid, empty, repetitive material that Aldean records today. The albums that Denver released are way ahead of where Aldean is now, even discounting my subjective bias towards Denver.
John Denver is, when many people on here and elsewhere complain about the lack of real artistry in music, a true artist in every sense. John Denver was actively engaged maintaining the quality of work he put out when he released a song or an album. Jason Aldean is concerned only with maximizing his fake brand of materialism and maximizing his pockets with profit. That’s not an artist, that’s a businessman. That’s their philosophical difference and that’s why Aldean’s body of work is almost completely devoid of quality and originality. Where Denver’s was most certainly not.
Bear
September 8, 2014 @ 3:09 pm
You know what, that evolution remark is total BS to me now. People seem to think in order to be “new” or “evolve” it can’t sound like anything that came before (ironically it ends up sounding like everything else but that is not the point). Well thankfully, one true country artist Kelsey Waldon put into words what I could not about evolution vs. tradition.
“I don”™t get mad if people call me a throwback artist. But, I”™m not trying to live in that era. I”™m very inspired by it, but the songs are about things that are happening in my life now. I don”™t know why people who are still doing traditional country music have to be considered ‘throwback.”™ We”™re doing country music now. I don”™t want to be pinned as a throwback artist, I would rather be considered an all-around artist living and recording in 2014.” – Kelsey Waldon
This goes well with my own sentiment the just because music has an older date doesn’t make it necessarily “old”. If you haven’t heard it before than it is new to you, so why are you shunning it simply because of the date it was made. I am always discovering LOTS of NEW music that came out before I was born.
Sam Jimenez
September 8, 2014 @ 6:22 pm
I played blues as a solo Delta blues act, and a Chicago blues band from the mid 90s until last year. It’s the exact same shit going on in blues. Everything is blues now, you just have to call it that, and it’s so. It’s just become a brand name. It’s gotten so bad that I would play and sometimes have people come up and ask me, “what do you call that kind of music?” …or… have someone come up after I finish a Muddy Waters tune and ask me if I know any blues.
I couldn’t stand that scene anymore – so after 20 straight years of, just dumped it. The last year is the first time in decades that I’ve closely followed country, and it’s disgusting to see the same thing happening. I’m playing alt-country now. There is no way I would classify my music as just “country” – YET – a lot of my material is WAY more country than most of what gets called country today. It’s crazy!
With blues and country – it’s just a bunch of rock and rollers, rappers, etc who want to sell their shit to those markets, so they just throw out their typical “who are you to say blah blah blah”… it’s ridiculous.
Whatever.
the pistolero
September 8, 2014 @ 6:37 pm
Man, Aldean’s gettin’ snippy, ain’t he? Imma go out on a limb here and say he’s starting to worry about keeping the green rollin’ in for the child support and alimony.
Scotty J
September 8, 2014 @ 7:36 pm
I can only imagine how much money that must be!
I’ve often wondered how some of the greats of country music (which Aldean is most assuredly not) would have fared in our modern media world. I have serious doubts whether many of them would have had the careers that they did if the every detail of their lives was documented by cell phones and twitter and the like. Take for example George Jones. I can only imagine the frenzy over his duck voice antics and the roadside police video it would be TMZ heaven. Would that have consigned him to being a punch line for late night comics and affected his image as a country great? If you say no, then think of how Randy Travis has had his legacy affected by his personal issues of the last few years (pre stroke obviously). Throw in the drug and alcohol problems of many of the other greats like Waylon and Cash and who knows how many had marital infidelities that could possibly be exposed by cell phone cameras.
Sometimes I think that we have gotten to a point where we know way too much information about people that we really have zero need to know about.
Think about some of the great music we may have lost or at least not been as widely exposed to if some of these careers were diminished by personal scandals that have nothing to do with the music.
the pistolero
September 8, 2014 @ 8:53 pm
Think about some of the great music we may have lost or at least not been as widely exposed to if some of these careers were diminished by personal scandals that have nothing to do with the music.
Oh, I do and think that’s a fair observation. But even if Aldean had George Strait’s track record for marital fidelity (married to the same woman for 40-plus years with no scandals to speak of), “Burnin’ it Down” would still be a piece of shit as a country song. My own observation had more to do with him worrying about his relevancy due to the consequences of his infidelity rather than the infidelity itself. 😀
And something to think about: I wouldn’t go so far as to say everyone knows about Alan Jackson’s infidelity in the mid-1990s, but I do remember the rumors flying in the press and on the message boards, and yet he’s beloved as a legend of the genre now even in spite of that. Not sure what to make of that, but it is an interesting contrast.
Scotty J
September 8, 2014 @ 9:07 pm
Yeah I wasn’t reading anything into your comment I was just inspired by it to riff on a topic I have been thinking about lately. ‘Burnin’ It Down’ is truly awful and it’s success is very disheartening to me because it is just so blatant and calculating in it’s attempt to appeal to the same people who have ate up the worst of FGL and Niemann.
You’re right about Alan Jackson and I think that his wife wrote about in her book. It may be as simple as our society has gotten to the point where we need audio or video evidence to get truly outraged. Just look at the Ray Rice saga today. The video released today really only confirms what everybody knew but actually seeing it creates much more of a furor than just reading the facts.
Would the Aldean thing have been the same without visual evidence? Maybe but I’m not so sure. People cheat and get divorced every day and we all survive without knowing the details and that is the way it should be.
Too much of the lives of celebrities is public nowadays and that is very bad for our society in my opinion.
Albert
September 8, 2014 @ 8:03 pm
I am NOT an Aldean fan but I do find it odd that he is not one of THE front runners in the awards dept .If anyone should be criticized for making pointless, shallow music and for being a non-country act but gets played and played and gets nominated over and over, it HAS to be Keith Urban .
C’mon …..Keith is the male Shania Twain . Yes …he’s a good ( enough ) singer …a good guitar player and maybe even a nice boy/man …whatever he is – but like someone wrote in a song many many years ago “there’s about 14,000 guitar pickers in Nashville …..and everyone plays better n I will ” . I can’t think of one song Keith Urban has released that even approaches trad country ( I KNOW there HAS to be one …but I can’t think of it ) He’s a pop act all the way . His trite lyrics and over-used themes have only worked cuz women love the guy like they love Luke or Tim McGraw . He’s eye candy .
Shania , like Taylor Swift and many others, came into the music biz ‘through the back door’, as it were …..by jumping into the country music fray then quickly changing musical directions to a pop bent while still using the ‘country’ guise and following . In my opinion Keith Urban did the same . He found his audience and never looked back . He is , perhaps , further from the traditional country sound and songwriting than even some of the Bro Boys- but again ….that hasn’t hurt his ” country ” career one bit . As much as I dislike Aldean’s latest stuff , I think he may have REALLY tried to be a country artist initially . I couldn’t say the same about Keith Urban . Yet no one calls Keith out on his non-traditional music and lyric . Hmmmm…..
Scotty J
September 8, 2014 @ 8:23 pm
There have always been pop leaning acts in country music. From Patsy Cline to the adult contemporary stylings of Eddy Arnold and Ray Price in the 1960s to Sonny James who had a string of #1 hits to Ronnie Milsap in the 1970s and Earl Thomas Conley in the 1980s through Shania up to Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum in the 2000s. I would argue that Keith Urban lyrically is very much in the country realm but instrumentally more on the pop side.
The key thing to me is almost all of those I just listed were respectful of the art form of country music and while they may have operated outside of the traditional country form they never were as antagonistic as the new breed of pop country acts that seem to revel in pointing out their distain for traditional country music.
I think country music can have a healthy diversity of styles without the world coming to an end but the core has to be the traditional style and in the warped environment of today that is what is missing. The wrong end of the continuum has been chopped off.
the pistolero
September 8, 2014 @ 8:43 pm
Yet no one calls Keith out on his non-traditional music and lyric .
Not to be all about the shameless self-promotion, but”¦
http://thesouthtexaspistolero.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/sometimes-the-jokes-just-write-themselves/
http://thesouthtexaspistolero.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/monday-music-musings-23-6-14/
http://thesouthtexaspistolero.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/monday-musical-observations-20-01-14/
Stinesong
September 8, 2014 @ 9:58 pm
Aldean should’ve been nominated for Entertainer of the Year. THIS was the snub. And CMA members know this.
Cobra
September 9, 2014 @ 4:50 am
Do you really want to talk about snubs? How about instead, we talk about the dozens of artists who have more talent in their pinky finger than Aldean has in his entire body? More than that, they have more talent than Luke Bryan as well, more than Florida Georgia Line, more than those acts COMBINED! Artists who don’t get nominated for a THING by the CMAs because, let’s face it, the CMAs are the same as the rest of the industry…promoting whatever the big thing is at the moment.
Charlie
September 9, 2014 @ 4:46 am
I think the CMAs are getting way too much credit here. They don’t get Female Vocalist right, so how do they get this right?
Trigger
September 9, 2014 @ 10:57 am
I’m not giving the CMA’s credit for snubbing Aldean. Most likely, it wasn’t a conscious decision by the body as a whole, but the result of tabulating votes from individual members on a year the was an off year for Aldean for his album release cycle. What I am saying is these are the types of decisions the CMA should be making as a whole it attempt to hold on to whatever integrity may be left in the genre.
Cobra
September 9, 2014 @ 4:46 am
I’ll admit to enjoying some of Aldean’s album cuts, but lately, the guy has just been pissing me off. Spending your time bitching about “being snubbed” is just sour grapes, no matter how much you try to claim it’s not.
FIller
September 9, 2014 @ 7:01 am
Country music like Jason Aldean is not popular. Country music only appeal America music. It will not appeal mainstream like Vevo. Country music like Luke Bryan is not mainstream. Minastream only appeals other popular usic genres like rock and crossover like Shania Twain pop songs. That’s why country music like Brad Paisley cannot appear on music industry in general like Spotify. The only way is country music department like CMT and country radio. Music public like MTV doesn’t care about country music like Miranda Lambert. Even internet like Music Choice have zero interest to country music like Chris Young. The only way is inventions. Worse, worldwide like Canada and Japan hates country music like Brantley Gilbert. You have to use America to do country music like Keith Urban. That’s why Carrie Underwood need to appeal her country music to everybody, not country music tastes because her country music is completely strict and rely on major parts of the world and more closely related to Evanescence or Demi Lovato compared to other country music like Danielle Bradbury. If Carrie Underwood move all her country music to pop stations and make a pop album where she adopts Christain rock music for pop tracks, then Carrie Underwood will have an album without country music just in time for her to move to pop. Again, very good article, Trigger. Keep up the good work. 😀
Jilldill
September 9, 2014 @ 12:15 pm
What goes around comes around…..it’s called KARMA! Sometimes the things we do in our personal life comes back to haunt us in our professional lives. He should have stayed with his family, worked it out, and stayed true to his roots. The stupid grass is not on always greener Jason!
Kathi
September 9, 2014 @ 4:43 pm
Oh indeed; I was waiting for someone to bring his personal life into this. Put that aside ok; he had an outstanding musical year, sold out all his shows, made some history but to imply it was based on his personal life is childish. I have enjoyed all his albums & concerts. Granted he has slid off the country path w some rap but that is all that FGL, Luke etc are about anymore. I feel he was snubbed for Male artist maybe because his jeans were not tight enough; he didn’t shake his ass enough & actually looks like he showers.
Sara
September 9, 2014 @ 3:17 pm
So, riding down a dirt road listening to George Jones isn’t country enough for you but getting drunk on a plane is? Wranglers, cowboy hat, cowboy boots isn’t country but diesel jeans, baseball hat, and a t shirt is? Jason Aldean made country music popular again, instead of destroying it like you all suggest, he brought it back to life. Country music as a whole should be thanking him for bringing back all the lost fans. Clearly you are not aware of the history of country music. There once was a time when Johnny Cash wasn’t kicked off music row.
Trigger
September 9, 2014 @ 3:23 pm
Teach me Sara, I’m all ears. And while you’re at it, please supply the link where I ever touted “Drunk On A Plane.”
Baykona
September 10, 2014 @ 1:23 pm
Question: Is it Country if Lil Wayne records a track that says he’s listening to George Jones while driving down a dirt road in a pickup?
Sara
September 10, 2014 @ 2:51 pm
I was simply implying that you cannot chastise Jason Aldean for not being “country” enough and use that as a valid reason for being left out of the nominations when a majority of the other nominees are singing the same kind of music.
Kathi
September 9, 2014 @ 4:48 pm
George Strait had not always sold out in the last few years. With this being his “final ride” of course he sold out his shows.
bamstrait
September 9, 2014 @ 5:43 pm
Maybe he was overlooked for his negative image, poor vocals and terrible music.
TXBri
September 10, 2014 @ 6:01 am
Long time reader, first time commenter – Excellent article. When I heard that chump Bobby Bones complaining about Aldean’s “snub” it confused me. What snub? Aldean didn’t release a new album, and plus his past couple singles have been TERRIBLE.
Tom
September 10, 2014 @ 11:52 am
Someone needs to tell him that Hank Williams, Sr. was dead long before the 1960s rolled around.
Baykona
September 10, 2014 @ 12:28 pm
Burnin’ It Down — the song that killed a career? Perhaps it will (it’s that bad). As a lover of the classic country sound, I’m not naïve enough to think that there won’t be change and evolution in country music. There are plenty of new artists who are bringing quality to the table that do not have the classic country sounds. For instance: David Nail, Frankie Ballard, Hunter Hayes to name just a few. Selling out shows to drunk 20-something women who like to fantasize about being the woman in your bed is not a lot to brag about. If you care more about an immature popularity contest than putting out music you can be proud of, Jason, then knock yourself out. When crap (Cole Swindell, FGL, Rhett Akins) comes on the radio, I turn the station. Pure and simple. And this is from someone who owns your first 3 CD’s.
Tom
September 11, 2014 @ 11:50 am
I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard Rhett Akins on the radio in at least 10 years. Did you mean his boy, Thomas Rhett?
DT
September 10, 2014 @ 1:49 pm
Aldean, you weren’t “snubbed.” The fact is you’re just another modern-version, cookie cutter country singer…and not a very good one.
Alex
September 10, 2014 @ 3:30 pm
Jason Aldean’s dad is Greg Brady?
Scotty J
September 10, 2014 @ 4:43 pm
Real name is Jason Aldine (Aldean) Williams.
Alex
September 10, 2014 @ 6:04 pm
So that’s a yes?
Scotty J
September 10, 2014 @ 6:27 pm
Maybe…
Tom
September 11, 2014 @ 11:45 am
Maybe they could pair up for a duet of “It’s a Sunshine Day”. I’d probably be more inclined to listen to that than most anything in Aldean’s catalog.
the pistolero
September 10, 2014 @ 3:55 pm
Something that might shed a little light on at least the Entertainer of the Year snub ”” the criteria for the award:
“This award is for the act displaying the greatest competence in all aspects of the entertainment field. Voter should give consideration not only to recorded performance, but also to the in-person performance, staging, public acceptance, attitude, leadership, and overall contribution to the Country Music image.”
I see at least three strikes against Aldean here:
A. Attitude: his semi-literate Twitter attack on Zac Brown and his general cavalier attitude on the anything-goes direction;
B. Leadership: With apologies to Trigger, “Is ‘Burnin’ It Down’ the ‘leadership’ from the man these people think should be the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year? Because I”™d rather shit a knife than listen to this.”
C. Overall Contribution to the Country Music Image: Well, I think A and B, combined with the perception that “Burnin’ It Down” is a window into his affair, pretty much knocks that one out.
Six String Richie
September 10, 2014 @ 5:22 pm
Not only does Aldean think he should be nominated, he thinks Tyler Farr and “This is How We Roll” should have been nominated. This guy has terrible taste in music.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jason-aldean-responds-to-cma-awards-snub-20140909
Chris
September 11, 2014 @ 2:35 pm
More bros supporting bros they tour and collabroate with, the “fraternity.” Notice most of the bros never say anything positive about the female artists or mention that they get robbed at radio and awards. For example Jason could have mentioned that his “buddy” Ashley Monroe, who wrote his song The Truth, released one of the most critically acclaimed albums last year and it was completely robbed at radio and awards. Guess the bros are afraid to give the women any attention because they know their music is better.
“You look at the New Artist category and who’s in there, and I look at my buddy Tyler Farr, who’s on tour with me coming off of two Number Ones, and I’m going, ‘How can this guy get left out of that deal?'” Aldean wonders. “Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan having ‘This Is How We Roll,’ one of the biggest songs of the year, and not getting a nod for [Musical Event]. I don’t really understand how they come up with that stuff.”
I don’t either. 😉
Carolyn Hunter
November 5, 2014 @ 8:45 pm
Actually though Jason Aldean is a great singer he is a lousy entertainer. keith Urban, on the other Hand is an awesome entertainer, musician and songwriter…no contest….keith wins hands down!
Dale
November 5, 2014 @ 9:33 pm
Seems rather funny the FG & L wins, Luke Bryan wins and even Miranda Lambert wins yet they were or are opening acts for such “pop” stars as Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean. Normally fans go to see the main attraction not the opening act. So what is country and what isn’t. I have seen Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean and both had great concerts. I have seen plenty of concerts and sure looked like Aldean was doing one heck of a job entertaining (in fact many of the people didn’t even show up until he was due to come on stage). Taylor Swifts was entertaining as well – much different than I expected. The awards are a joke.
George
November 6, 2014 @ 9:46 am
Jason’s vocals were exposed last night. He was FLAT almost the entire song and never really got on key. Maybe that’s why he was snubbed. His vocals just aren’t very good.