Saving Country Music’s 2018 ACM Awards LIVE Blog
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the official 2018 ACM Awards LIVE blog. For those of you not familiar with this exercise, for the next three hours we will be ranting and raving, holding feet to the fire, showering others with praise who are worthy, and generally trying to make the excruciating practice of watching a live country music awards show that much less painful.
As thoughts are left below in a timeline fashion, please understand this is completely unscripted and off the cuff. There will be typos, occasional swear words, and plenty of snark offered in good fun. Whiners and PC/Grammer police, this is not the place for you. Others, feel free to leave YOUR opinions and observations below in the comments section, and get your refresh fingers ready.
For a list of nominees, presenters, performers, and what to expect, check out the 2018 ACM Awards Complete Preview.
All times Central.
– – – – – – –
WINNERS:
- Entertainer of the Year – Jason Aldean
- Album of the Year – Chris Stapleton’s “From A Room: Vol.1”
- Male Vocalist of the Year – Chris Stapleton
- Female Vocalist of the Year – Miranda Lambert
- Song of the Year – Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man”
- Single of the Year – Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad”
- Vocal Group of the Year – Old Dominion
- Vocal Duo of the Year- Brothers Osborne
- Vocal Event of the Year – Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood – “The Fighter”
- New Male Vocalist of the Year – Brett Young
- New Female Vocalist of the Year – Lauren Alaina
- New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year – Midland
- Video of the Year – Brothers Osborne for “It Ain’t My Fault”
- Vocal Duo of the Year – Brothers Osborne
- Songwriter of the Year – Rhett Akins
10:18 – Chris Stapleton had another big night. Sam Hunt finally won an award. So did Jack Ingram so maybe it balances out. And Miranda Lambert is now the most decorated artist in ACM Awards history. Alan Jackson, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood, even Blake Shelton had good performances. Jason Aldean didn’t but walks away with the biggest prize. But the biggest miss appears to be a true lack of a proper tribute to the Route 91 Harvest Fest victims like the CMAs did so well, and in fact there was no In Memoriam segment at all. That was one of the numerous victims of squeezing in so many performances this year. Those that passed deserved something, even if it was a few seconds on a screen. Florida Georgia Line didn’t win anything again. Neither did Thomas Rhett. The ACMs under Pete Fisher (formerly of the Grand Ole Opry) really need to figure out their moral compass and creative direction, and clean up their nomination process. But overall there were some memorable moments, good and bad, but the 53rd Annual ACM awards will probably just blend into the background by next week, while we were talking about the 2017 CMAs weeks after.
10:10 – THANK YOU to everyone for reading, commenting, following along, liking, sharing, retweeting, etc. ! Going to compose some final thoughts, recap the winners, and I’ll be out of here!
10:05 – Look, Chris Stapleton probably deserved Entertainer of the Year for album sales and influence, or Garth for touring since it’s mostly a touring award these days. And as we saw from Jason Aldean’s performance tonight, he is a very flawed entertainer. But I’m not going to fault anyone for the way they voted here. Of course it was a sympathy vote, but I’m just going to say it was for the people of Las Vegas, and Aldean is their figure head. And Aldean has done well as the face of that tragedy. He’s no leader. He was foisted into that terrible narrative just like everyone else. And he did the best he could, and it was admirable.
9:59 – Chris Janson has a good single on radio right now with “Drunk Girl,” and he takes the ACMs out with THAT? Way to end on a sour note. This dude continues to be confounding.
9:58 – This win by Jason Aldean for the ACM Entertainer of the Year is for all the victims, all the survivors, all the first responders, everyone affected by the Route 91 Harvest Festival tragedy. It is THEIR Entertainer of the Year trophy. And always will be.
9:56 – #sympathyvote
9:55 – Oh fuck. Jason Aldean just won Entertainer of the Year.
9:53 – I believe two of the five nominees for Entertainer of the Year are not in attendance.
9:52 – In all seriousness, I have a lot of respect for someone who can give as little of a shit about performing for a national audience as Toby Keith did.
9:51 – Very solid performance from Reba and Kelly Clarkson.
9:49 – I’d tell Toby Keith to watch this and learn how an actual duet is done, but he’s vomiting in an In-&-Out Burger bathroom on Fremont St. at the moment.
9:47 – As a host, as a performer, Reba McEntire is proving what folly it is to age out country stars. This isn’t a Reba McEntire resurgence. She’s always been this great, and there was no reason for country music to ignore her for a decade. It’s always more meaningful when you see an artist perform with decades of mastery behind them.
9:44 – The ACM Award for Male Vocalist of the Year goes to Chris Stapleton.
9:40 – Was so geeked up to celebrate another Sam Hunt loss, and then that bullshit. And then he’s not even fucking there to accept it. What is Sam Hunt doing on a Sunday night, updating the iMac for his DJ station? What a chode.
9:37 – Lauren Alaina did okay with her 45 seconds I guess. Better than trying to sing with Kane Brown’s creep ass in her face.
9:34 – The ACM Award for Single of the Year goes to “Body Like a Backroad” for Sam Hunt. Fuck.
9:33 – Would have been cool if either the Luke Bryan or Carrie Underwood performance would have featured survivors and First Responders to the Vegas massacre. Perfect moment for it. Right now, the CMAs did it so much better. That still might be coming though.
9:31 – I’m no Luke Bryan fan, and we all know this. But take this in, and then after the show go watch his performance of “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” from the 2011 CMA Awards and tell me we aren’t seeing a sea change in mainstream country music. Boring maybe, but much better. Same goes for Blake Shelton and his past performances of “Boys ‘Round Here” and other garbage.
9:29 – I’m pretty sure Reba McEntire just made a racy butt joke. I respect her pluck.
9:27 – Still got a Reba performance coming, and what if Chris Stapleton wins Entertainer of the Year the same night Morgane gives birth to twins?
9:24 – Miranda Lambert now has one more ACM Award than anyone in history … can’t crack Top 20 on radio.
9:20 – Thomas Rhett is a haircut with a microphone.
9:18 – The Thomas Rhett performance is a good time to repost this important ACM quote:
“They should drop all the formulaic cannon fodder bullshit they’ve been pumping down rural America’s throats for 30 years along with the high school pagentry meat parade award show bullshit & start dedicating their programs to actual country music.” –Sturgill Simpson
9:17 – The ACM Award for Female Vocalist of the Year goes to Miranda Lambert.
…and water is wet.
9:15 – Does anyone think that guy from Florida Georgia Line who fake sings looks like a flunking Jedi in his man bun?
9:13 – Vegas is the perfect place for Darius Rucker to be performing. The ACMs should leave his ass off the plane back to Nashville to residency in the smokers lounge of the Bellagio.
9:12 – House cleaning: Midland did fine. Ultimately, it’s about the music, and they’re is much better than most in the mainstream.
9:09 – Not to harp on Carrie Undewrwood’s face because it’s a pretty stupid, People Magazine topic. But it is interesting that you didn’t see Carrie Underwood until they “revealed” her face. Ratings ploy. I guess maybe some nerve damage may have made it where her smile is very very slightly different. But who gives a shit?
9:06 – Looks like the server issues have been wrinkled out folks, thanks for hanging around. Dan + Shay sucks!
9:04 – The ACM Vocal Event of the Year goes to Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood for some garbage song.
9:02 – Sam Elliot’s mustache is more manly than all the other men who has performed tonight combined except for Alan Jackson.
9:01 – … pop as it may be.
9:00 – And those gams. Sorry, she’s a badass. Generational voice.
8:58 – All the dumb talk about Carrie Underwood’s face post her fall and hospitalization, I can’t tell a difference.
8:57 – I appreciate some folks think Carrie Underwood’s voice is “emotionless” or don’t care for this song. But think about all the other awful performances we’ve experienced tonight, and appreciate the talent on display here.
8:50 – Sever might be struggling a bit folks. Hang tight. Drunk Toby Keith set the internet ablaze.
8:48 – For once in my life, I felt bad for Blake Shelton.
8:47 – Toby Keith is going from this performance straight to the Betty Ford Clinic across town. Or should.
8:46 – No way Toby Keith is in a position to legally operate a motor vehicle at the moment.
8:44 – Great singing, horrible everything else. Little Big Town should have spent less time dressing like Ziggy Stardust, and doing an okay song justice.
8:42 – Maybe if they want “Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un to cough up his nukes, they should pipe this Little Big Town performance into Pyongyang and watch that fat bastard hit his knees. Yikes.
8:40 – The hell?
8:39 – Reba is doing a great job hosting, dropping important notes, delivering solid jokes.
8:37 – Cool note: Miranda Lambert was playing a guitar signed by Loretta Lynn. Perfect for that song.
8:35 – “Keeper of the Flame” is a good song, not great. But Miranda is doing a good job delivering it with passion. Fine performance.
8:33 – Randomly, you know who would make a good duet partner for Miranda Lambert? Even Felker of the Turnpike Troubadours. Just sayin’…
8:32 – Miranda Lambert now has more ACM Awards than anyone in ACM history with her win for Song of the Year, Reba announces.
8:30 – Jason Aldean sings to arenas for a living ladies and gentlemen. Let that sink in.
8:28 – Well one thing’s for sure, there is absolutely no doubt Jason Aldean is singing live. Holy shit.
8:27 – Why is Jason Aldean wearing the smock of a Pakistani errand boy? Who dresses these losers?
8:26 – Give me Bob Wayne’s “Love Songs Suck” over Ballerini’s “I Hate Love Songs.”
“You won’t ever hear me sing a love song
‘Cuz love songs suck.
You won’t ever hear me sing about blue skies or brown eyes,
…unless I’m real fucked up.”
8:26 – Who are these marionette looking dumbasses in suspenders?
8:26 – I can really connect with this Kelsea Ballerini song. She hates love songs, and I hate interloping pop stars parading as country artists using their daddy’s deep connections in country radio to hopscotch the field of actual country women.
8:25 – Kelsea Ballerini’s much more entertaining live when there’s a random Jonas Brother fucking up the guitar solo.
8:24 – It would be a huge shame if Kelsea Ballerini fell and landed on her voice.
8:23 – Almost halfway through folks, we can do this!
8:19 – LOL, comment from Not Kenny Rodgers on Twitter, “Chris Stapleton’s wife just gave birth to twins and they can already name more Merle Haggard songs than Florida Georgia Line.”
8:17 – Some guy that looks like the character on a Lucky Charms cereal box just walked away with ACM hardware. Excuse me as I go downtown and flip a police car.
8:16 – Old Dominion just won a fucking ACM Award.
8:15 – The ACM Award for Vocal Group of the Year goes to some band that doesn’t deserve it.
8:13 – This Keith Urban song truly offends me. Turned an iconic guitar riff, and made it sound like a drowning cat being electrocuted. Get out of my hemisphere, Keith!
8:11 – LOL, Reba McEntire introducing Keith Urban, “He can definitely rock a frosted tip.”
Good one.
8:10 – REAL email from a Kane Brown fan I got who for some reason thought I was Kane Brown.
8:09 – Thanks to everyone piping up in the comments section. Reading when I can.
8:07 – Apparently Blake Shelton’s Takamine guitar is made in JAPAN, not Korea. My apologies to the Korean people for associating you in any way with Blake Shelton.
8:05 – Kane Brown just illustrated every dad’s worst nightmare on primetime television.
8:03 – What the fuck is up with the creep fest from Kane? Yikes! Be looking for the #metoo from Lauren Alaina in the next few days.
8:02- LOL, where the band in this “performance”? Behind that big ass rock?
8:01 – Kane Brown has a decent voice. Not sure why he insists on wasting it on garbage.
8:00 – I ask “What If” every time I see Kane Brown. Like what if his management hadn’t shoveled payola to streaming services at the start of his career. Right now he’d probably be writing up 2-year cellular service contracts in a mall kiosk.
7:58 – This Blake Shelton song is definitely list-tastic, but folks are just going to have to deal with the fact that his recent album “Texoma Shore” is decent, and so is this song. Nothing wrong here.
7:57 – Of course Gwen Stefani gets a big dollop of face time.
7:55 – Nobody can make a Korean guitar sing like Blake Shelton.
7:50 – Dierks is definitely getting laid tonight. Guess that’s one positive to come out of that mild song.
7:49 – Dierks Bentley’s got more drummers than women on mainstream country radio.
7:48 – Shit I didn’t know The Lumineers were playing tonight. #dierksgonegranola
7:47 – No way that tall, dorky one in Lady Antebellum is singing those high notes live.
7:46 – I think they just showed Kimberly Perry from The Band Perry. First sighting in like two years. How the mighty fall.
7:44 – Why are the guys from Lady Antebellum dressed like they’re cleaning out the basement?
7:43 – …AND Chris Stapleton just had twin boys. Good reason not to be here.
7:42 – The ACM for Album of the Year goes to Chris Stapleton, “From A Room: Vol.1”
7:40 – Fucking Sugarland is back together, and Oasis is still broke up.
7:39 – Not a huge fan of “Chattahoochee.” It was probably one of Jackson’s most lame songs, but this is super cool. Torched being passed from Jackson to Pardi. Better know what to do with it Jon!
7:38 – “There’s not really much at all that’s real country music anymore on the mainstream country charts—what is nominated for awards. I don’t expect radio at all to sound like Hank Williams, but there oughta be room for all of it … Because there’s fans for it.” -Alan Jackson
7:37 – Jon Pardi – That’s what a COUNTRY singer looks like.
7:34 – Looks like Alan Jackson might be coming up.
7:31 – That was Brett Young I guess. Meh. Next.
7:30 – Who is this generic pop guy singing right now screwing up my buzz that Jack freaking Ingram was just on the ACM stage?
7:29 – JACK FREAKING INGRAM is speaking on the ACM Awards stage! Big win.
7:27 – The ACM for Song of the Year goes to “Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert! Songwriters Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall
7:26 – Glad Merle Haggard died before he had to see a man bun on the ACM Awards stage.
7:24 –
7:24 – Ah here comes Florida Georgia Line. Good time to take a piss.
7:19 – Oh shit, Florida Georgia Line coming up.
7:18 – At least Chris Young can sing. Maren left so much to be desired.
7:17 – Chris Young needs to spend less time singing formulaic songs about losing sleep, and get to the gym and try to lose that Michelin around his waist.
7:16 – Hey, Reba, you stole my joke! 🙂
7:14 – Maren Morris proving why Auto-Tune is not always a bad thing. Very breathy here.
7:13 – They’re also using Big Kenny’s top hat backstage as a portable toilet.
7:13 – ACMs going green by recycling stage props from the last Big & Rich tour behind Maren.
Incandescents are hard to get these days.
7:12 – Oh look, Maren Morris takes time from showing us all how fucking fabulous her life is on Instragram and repping sports bras for Calvin Klein and Nike to entertain us lowly proles.
7:11 – Wow, Kenny Chesney is so talented, he doesn’t even have to play his guitar for you to hear it. This guy!
7:10 – What we need in the world is more love … and more aluminum-bottomed Trackers loaned at 19% interest floating in our local Corps of Engineers reservoirs.
7:09 – Leave it to Kenny Chesney to equate world peace to purchasing personal watercrafts.
7:09 – Hard to hate on Reba.
7:07 – Oh shit, Chris Stapleton is not even there. Gonna make for some awkward trophy handouts. Hopefully Dave Cobb is in the house and gets some face time.
7:05 – Reba welcomed everyone to the “ACM Award”. I guess that’s because they might as well just give everything as one award to Chris Stapleton now.
7:04 – Reba: “I guess they figured out it only takes one woman to do the job of two men.” 🙂
7:03- I can’t tell you how happy I am Reba is hosting. Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley had NOTHING.
7:01 – Instead of opening with a song, it starts with Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, and Thomas Rhett remembering the Route 91 Harvest tragedy in words.
7:00 – Here we go!
6:59 – Also, during any tributes and stuff (especially at the start), let’s all try to keep the snark to a minimum. There will be ample opportunity to get our licks in.
6:57 – Okay folks, with these live things, there’s always a chance the server completely crashes with the extreme traffic load the site receives. A much as we try to plan against this, it’s always a possibility. If the site becomes unresponsive, it’ll come back. Just be patient.
6:54 – Not some huge Brothers Osborne fan, but it’s ridiculous that they made Vocal Duo of the Year an non-televised award this year, along with giving them Video of the Year before the telecast. If it was Florida Georgia Line winning, you can be rest assured they would be standing up there on the podium during primetime with their bad haircuts and designer ripped jeans.
6:52 – Some Awards have already been handed out:
- New Male Vocalist of the Year – Brett Young
- New Female Vocalist of the Year – Lauren Alaina
- New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year – Midland
- Video of the Year – Brothers Osborne for “It Ain’t My Fault”
- Vocal Duo of the Year – Brothers Osborne
- Songwriter of the Year – Rhett Akins
CountryKnight
April 15, 2018 @ 7:57 pm
Jason Aldean is already looking for a new blonde floozy, honey. Better enjoy it while you can.
Jimmy
April 16, 2018 @ 2:29 am
Go listen to the recent Blake Berglund album you Stapleton worshiping teens
Jack Williams
April 16, 2018 @ 7:38 am
No, I don’t think I will. Certainly not based on your recommendation. You’re not helping your boy any with these a-hole comments.
James Ewell Brown
April 16, 2018 @ 8:07 am
Fairly sure it was /sarc, and Blake Berglund is well worth the time.
Crooked Old Earth
https://youtu.be/svAhBzcnMKk
“Well country sucks,
and Buddy Holly’s dead
May the Starman cross quick”
Enjoy
Corncaster
April 16, 2018 @ 8:52 am
Damn son, that’s a find. Thanks for the tip.
Jack Williams
April 16, 2018 @ 9:31 am
Oh, I don’t think it was. I’m pretty sure I’ve got the measure of “Jimmy.” I’ll check this song out, though. Thanks.
Pelvis Elvis
April 15, 2018 @ 7:58 pm
Yeah, go Jason!
NPC
April 15, 2018 @ 7:59 pm
Normally, they wait to take out the trash until after the crowd has left… they must not want to pay Chris Janson overtime for his janitorial services.
Homer Jarvis
April 16, 2018 @ 3:53 pm
Not much country to the ACM’s anymore. Kane Brown and Florida Georgia Line, what a bunch of shit. But the thing that really bothered me was not a word about the passing ot the late GREAT Daryle Singletary, when you talk about country music that man devoted his whole life to real pure country music, and to not even mention his passing at the country music awards was just plain low class
CountryKnight
April 15, 2018 @ 7:59 pm
“A Tornado Warning” would have done a better job. Or “The Mercury.” Instead of these cliche lyrics. I do like the melody.
Paulie Walnuts
April 15, 2018 @ 8:00 pm
Pleease God…make it stop
FarmHer
April 15, 2018 @ 8:02 pm
Chris Janson has some decent songs, but this is horrible.
Mike Honcho
April 15, 2018 @ 8:04 pm
That Carrie performance is why I don’t listen to female singers. They all try to out-loud each other. Sounds like shit to me.
Michael
April 15, 2018 @ 8:04 pm
Not one acknowledgement of Eric Church’s existence on the show tonight.
Trigger
April 15, 2018 @ 8:51 pm
He’ll be back next year, trust me. Time out of the spotlight can actually be a healthy thing for an artist’s career, and success.
Jimmy
April 16, 2018 @ 2:34 am
Church is the most overrated turd to ever grace the pseudo country space over the past decade. Is that even in question at this point?
Pelvis Elvis
April 15, 2018 @ 8:05 pm
Hey Trigger, this award is also for my boy JASON ALDEAN. Get over it buddy. Jason’s shows are lit!
Jon
April 15, 2018 @ 8:06 pm
Where the hell was the mention of Troy, Glenn, Daryle… What a disgrace by the ACM’s.
Trigger
April 15, 2018 @ 8:10 pm
NO In Memoriam, NO real tribute to the Harvest Festival victims. The CMAs stepped up, the ACMs dropped the ball.
Matt
April 15, 2018 @ 8:39 pm
I have long thought the CMAs are superior to the ACMs.
Adrian
April 16, 2018 @ 8:26 am
I don’t think this is a completely fair comparison. The CMA awards were one month after the Harvest Festival tragedy, while the ACM awards were 6 months afterwards. The Harvest Festival was much more likely to be on people’s minds last November.
I suppose that giving the Entertainer of the Year award to the singer whose fans were most directly affected by the tragedy could be considered a form of tribute. But I would prefer if the ACM could pay tribute without pretending that he is a great country artist.
Trigger
April 16, 2018 @ 8:32 am
The ACMs, the press, CBS, and the artists were playing up the return to Vegas after the tragedy for weeks ahead of the presentation. And I think they failed to deliver on the promise of paying proper tribute. But I think a lot of this also has to do with tragedy fatigue. If this was the 90’s, they’d be paying paying tribute to those victims two years afterwards. These days, biggest massacre in modern history? Eh, it was six months ago now. I also think it’s fair to say they may not have wanted to be opportunistic either.
hoptowntiger94
April 15, 2018 @ 8:13 pm
Troy, bear.
Mike Honcho
April 15, 2018 @ 8:08 pm
Dan and shay sing like females…….or Rascal Flats.
FunctionallyIlliterate
April 15, 2018 @ 8:10 pm
They make Gary Levox seem like Lemmy from Motorhead.
hoptowntiger94
April 15, 2018 @ 8:12 pm
Maybe I’m drunk … I went and downloaded that Redneck Life… it sounds nothing like the performance. I don’t even hear the harmonica on the single.
Mike Honcho
April 15, 2018 @ 8:18 pm
The audience is full of fat cougars looking for camera time. This may explain the state of Country Music. Not a Resistol in sight.
Jimmy
April 16, 2018 @ 2:38 am
And I’m assuming you have six pack abs Miguel? That’s what I thought, vavoso.
Mike Honcho
April 16, 2018 @ 9:27 am
I’m still in good shape, Jimmy. Never had a problem with the ladies, including Faith Hill right before Tim.
Michael Ramalho
April 15, 2018 @ 8:21 pm
One of the best shows ever!! Keith urban deserves entertainer of the year
Raymond
April 15, 2018 @ 9:11 pm
I thought Lady Antebellum did well same with Lauren Alaina both times and Carrie Underwood was the standout of the night.
Ray
April 15, 2018 @ 9:14 pm
The highlights for me were Carrie Underwood, Reba/Kelly, Keith Urban and Little Big Town. The worst was Kane Brown doing his best trying to keep up with Lauren Alaina. He looked so lost walking around the stage that it was embarrassing. If I thought I had a good shot of winning, I would have shown up, Sam Hunt. You aren’t touring and we are not hearing any new music, why not show up and say “suck it” to country fans.
albert
April 15, 2018 @ 11:08 pm
This whole thing seemed a lot less bro and a lot more “real’ in terms of better material and pretty damn good sound for all of the acts. Some terrific vocal performances and some nice stripped down performances with some real good playing and a great pace …..lots of music , very little banter . Reba was amazingly relaxed , warm and REAL . Giving the award to Aldean was probably conciliatory …I’m ok with that . Anyone with ears knows he doesn’t deserve it for his talent when stacked up against the other nominees …he was even flat in his performance tonight . But OK ……its country music’s family throwing a little love his way and to Vegas collaterally .
Country ? ….Nope ,,,,mostly pop-centric , I thought …but we all know where to find the good stuff ….the real stuff .
Hey …..it didn’t suck , IMO …..but it ain’t country .
Lydia
April 15, 2018 @ 11:46 pm
Very happy that Miranda Lambert won. She is very beautiful, very talented and young. Compare to Gwen who is much older and her outfit was awful. At her age it is dreadful. Blake Shelton made a mistake when leaving Miranda. I am sure that Miranda will find love again with a nice, kind man, that is all I hope for her : love and success.
Amanda
April 16, 2018 @ 8:27 am
It ain’t a competition. We don’t need to put one down to make the other look good. Both are beautiful, talented women.
Anne
April 16, 2018 @ 8:29 am
Hmm ya not sure it was Blake’s choice to leave Miranda. Rumors are rumors but let’s not be dumb and think they divorced for no reason. Also it’s been 3 years. Pretty junivile to comment on his girlfriend’s age here.
TxMusic
April 16, 2018 @ 9:21 am
She’s already had one boyfriend and now has another. She’s doing well for herself in the men department.
Cindy
April 16, 2018 @ 9:50 am
Not sure what she will use for her success going forward. She’s been playing the “broken hearted” card for close to 3 years now, you would think someone as “badass” as her would have recovered more quickly. As for love she’s already moved on to man number two since the divorce.
Ulysses McCaskill
April 16, 2018 @ 12:02 am
It’s funny, they say alcohol makes you happier, but all of the Old Granddad in my liquor cabinet didn’t make me hate this crap any less.
Wild Billy
April 16, 2018 @ 2:16 am
Three quick thoughts as morning approaches :
1) Carrie Underwood – Big props for not skipping “leg day” – Good lord, the thighs on that woman!
2) Kenny Chesney – Stop wearing that guitar on national TV, and giving it 3 strums. (He does some sort of leg dip, strum, and then sings) – Do not insult our intelligence. Play the damn thing or leave it at home.
3) Florida Georgia Line – I hope when they split up that pile of dirty money at the end of the week, that the one guy gets about 85% , and the other 15% based simply on the amount of noise each one generates.
Jimmy
April 16, 2018 @ 2:31 am
And Stapleton is still a lame songwriter and has boring vocals, no matter how many twins he can artificially inseminate
Rob
April 16, 2018 @ 8:28 am
Ok so king george wore a guitar never played it..that I can remember lol
A. Michael Uhlmann
April 16, 2018 @ 5:02 am
My wife: Oh you watched a “mushy” movie with me
Me: Yeah I put the “Shape of Water” on, so I was able to miss the ACM awards.
Thank you Trigger for making me laugh out loud over coffee this morning, great reporting – and thanks also to the commenters, getting the scoop without torturing my ears is a new concept. Will try to watch a video of the AJ / JP duet though.
By the way, Trigger must be a happy camper, the resident evil in Nashville only won one award.
So it’s over – let’s see what the CMAs are coming up with this year – it’s almost 20 years since I left this organization in protest when they started to award crap over substance.
Troy
April 16, 2018 @ 5:25 am
Some performances were good. Miranda, Carrie and the Reba/Kelly duet stand out. As for the rest? Meh. Sam Hunt won an award (why?) And Jason Aldean was given one due to the Vegas shootings (sympathy win because his performance was shit tonight). And even if Chris Stapleton wasn’t expecting the birth of his twin boys, I would’ve come up with some sort of excuse as to why I can’t attend.
Dawg Fan
April 16, 2018 @ 5:34 am
Disappointed….was hoping Alan Jackson would stop mid song and break into Gone Country and walk offstage giving the crowd the finger.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
April 16, 2018 @ 6:43 am
I don’t care how much people want to talk about the 91 festival. calling Jason Aldean an entertainer is sort of like calling a bowl of rice a butternut squash.
Trigger
April 16, 2018 @ 8:35 am
See you’re still hung up on the food analogies, Fuzzy.
Corncaster
April 16, 2018 @ 9:08 am
at least this time Ole Fuzzy is focused on the intake end
Fuzzy TwoShirts
April 16, 2018 @ 6:48 am
and feel free to call me insensitive to the victims.
but I think it’s insensitive to thousands of fans past and present who grew up on everything from Acuff and Ernest to Haggard and Jones to try passing of Jason Al-can’t-sing-in-tune-and-hasn’t-read-abook-since-high-school-get-over-my-affair-dean as a country singer
and it’s incredibily insentitive to the people disrespected by the ACMS like most notably Roy Clark
Vin
April 16, 2018 @ 7:12 am
What qualifies one to win “Entertainer of the year?” I don’t get it.
JB-Chicago
April 16, 2018 @ 7:59 am
I think Saving Country Music should their (his) own awards show. The “SCM’s” where the nominee’s and winners actually play real/actual Country music and are voted on by experts (us, …well you guys because I’m no expert but I’m smart enough to be here) . How many of the performers that were on the show tonight would be on it? 2 or 3 perhaps?
the realist
April 16, 2018 @ 8:11 am
I’m shocked that Beyoncé and Jay-Z didn’t win an award at this years award show. Nevertheless, I didn’t watch the show, I found something more entertaining to do. I watched grass grow in my front yard.
Lindsey
April 16, 2018 @ 9:13 am
7:12 – Oh look, Maren Morris takes time from showing us all how fucking fabulous her life is on Instragram and repping sports bras for Calvin Klein and Nike to entertain us lowly proles.
7:26 – Glad Merle Haggard died before he had to see a man bun on the ACM Awards stage.
8:03 – What the fuck is up with the creep fest from Kane? Yikes! Be looking for the #metoo from Lauren Alaina in the next few days.
8:07 – Apparently Blake Shelton’s Takamine guitar is made in JAPAN, not Korea. My apologies to the Korean people for associating you in any way with Blake Shelton.
8:19 – LOL, comment from Not Kenny Rodgers on Twitter, “Chris Stapleton’s wife just gave birth to twins and they can already name more Merle Haggard songs than Florida Georgia Line.”
8:42 – Maybe if they want “Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un to cough up his nukes, they should pipe this Little Big Town performance into Pyongyang and watch that fat bastard hit his knees. Yikes.
9:52 – In all seriousness, I have a lot of respect for someone who can give as little of a shit about performing for a national audience as Toby Keith did.
Trigger, thank you for these comments. I desperately needed to laugh and smile, and your writing gave that to me. I don’t dare watch these awards anymore, but I love your snark.
TxMusic
April 16, 2018 @ 9:25 am
Looked at the performances I missed and I didn’t miss much. Carrie has a huge voice but I prefer when she tones it down. Just never been a fan of over singing.
Ratings are up 11% hopefully it’s a sign to the ACMS and CMAs that people want to see them incorporating older acts but less of Kane Brown please. It was awful.
Jimmy Row
April 16, 2018 @ 11:18 am
I have a ’72 takamine “martin script” that plays as good as any martin. Why the hate trig? Hell Garcia played them too, I know you’re a closet “head”.
Trigger
April 16, 2018 @ 11:23 am
Oh I was just being snarky. Takamine actually makes probably the best acoustic/electric guitars out there, and they’re perfect for guys who sing lead with an acoustic at arena shows because they don’t feed back and sound great. I do think it’s a bit ironic though that some of these guys who beat their chest about America play guitars manufactured in Asia.
albert
April 16, 2018 @ 5:42 pm
I have to wonder of the Tak is the ‘house guitar ‘ for some of these awards deals and late night shows etc for guys who don’t bother to bring one . Still …c’mon Gibson,Martin …and LOTS of other great American’-built legendary acoustics are available . The pickup and feedback argument may have made sense way back when , Trigger….but there are so many American-built acoustic instruments now it seems silly these guys still play Takamine .
Troy
April 16, 2018 @ 1:29 pm
Just saw Jason Aldean perform on Ellen. He was jist as flat as he was last night at the ACMs. Please remind me again why this no talent hack won this award 3 years running…..
Emmyloufan
April 16, 2018 @ 1:33 pm
Reading this type of blog on the next morning is the only way to “watch” these award shows anymore. I tuned in by mistake to it live while looking for something else. Started at the Little Big Town costume debacle and ended at Miranda’s award. A few weeks back I looked at Carrie’s Cry Pretty lyric video and thought it was only a mediocre power pop ballad and certainly not country. But live I thought it was actually worse. To me, she just over sang it and it seemed like it would never end with all the no-no’s and the nah-nah-nah’s and the histrionics. And then I could not figure out the long standing ovation she got until some partly forgotten news blurb about her medical problems popped into my head and I realized all the noise was for her, not the song. Go ahead, call me a cynical but I still thought it is not a memorable song. And this comes from a hardcore Lori McKenna fan. Also read somewhere that Carrie’s next album will be produced by the same producer as this song and FGL “fame”.
Trigger
April 16, 2018 @ 2:14 pm
She is producing her new album herself with the help of David Garcia, who is a Christian music producer mostly, though he did work with Florida Georgia Line on “Meant To Be.” But I wouldn’t call him a Florida Georgia Line producer. That’s Joey Moi, who worked with Nickelback.
Troy
April 16, 2018 @ 2:25 pm
Let’s all breathe a collective sigh of relief that she didn’t choose to work with Joey Moi. Nickelback are the FGL of rock. Shitty, poorly produced rock that is.
albert
April 16, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
I can’t believe I’m about to say this but if there was any singer out there I’d LOVE to see work with ” Hands-Off Cobb” it may be Carrie Underwood . Everythng she records is over-produced and over the top.And I am not a fan of Cobb’s non-production style production , in general . How about lets scale back the heavy artillery that supports her and see what kind of Carrie shows up . I would guess it would be superb and timeless .
Sasha
April 16, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
Since when is Rocket Man a country song? And how is Elton John a country singer that either should be mentioned during the COUNTRY awards.
James Ewell Brown
April 17, 2018 @ 8:56 am
There was a release of country covers called Restoration, included Willy, Dolly, Vince Gill, Stapleton, Bros Osborne, Lee Ann, Miranda, and others. LBT wasn’t the low point.
Don’t think the project, nor it’s recognition, was because anyone thinks EJ was a country singer, so
much as that the songwriting of Taupin that often included a heap of country-inspired themes.
If you stuck 1973’s “Texan Love Song” on today’s country radio it’d get hammered as sounding too traditional, but if you popped it up (and explained the satire) Maren or Kacey would have a hit. Lulzy.
Mike
April 17, 2018 @ 4:51 am
I see Studley Dudley changed his name to “Pelvis Elvis.” That, or he is Dallas Davidson or Bobby Bones in disguise.
Martinez
April 17, 2018 @ 7:43 am
CMAs is not country anymore how dare you play Elton John but couldn’t even honor daryle singletarys music you ought to be ashamed I can’t even listen to that “citified music that’s honky tonk thump, you ain’t country if you ain’t living it” to quote Daryle I have his music on my phone and listen to Real country not that crap you have on the CMAs n radio it’s time to start playing real country
Bonnie Lyon
April 17, 2018 @ 1:51 pm
Is it too much to ask if our Female Vocalist of the Year sing in tune.
Saundra
April 21, 2018 @ 11:54 am
Wish I had seen this before today. I totally agree with the Toby Keith comment! He was totally effing smashed. I was beginning to wonder if he’s had some neurological issues we have not been made aware of or if he’s just turned into a massive drunk. Either way, he’s still the bomb. Can I say that word? I hope the PC police don’t come looking for me. JS.
LaVon K Howard
June 7, 2018 @ 9:10 pm
More like Rock & Roll…Country pretty much not represented
Carrie Underwood, Cry, started out ok, then just became too much. Always admired her.
Eugene Hernandez
October 9, 2018 @ 6:53 pm
I used to lo e CMA. WHY can’t they just let us enjoy and celebrate all our favorite artists . ‘leave the politics out. Me and my family and friends will.never again watch as long you can’t keep politics out.