Sturgill Simpson On ACM Awards Snub: “Good. Dodged a Corny Bullet.”
After Sturgill Simpson and his recent album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth took home the trophy for Best Country Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards and was in contention for Album of the Year, some wondered if the ACM Awards would finally wise up and offer Sturgill Simpson a nomination. The ACM Awards announced the nominees for their 2017 awards on February 16th—only a few days after Sturgill’s big win. After all, the CMA’s considered Sturgill for the awards last year, and unlike the CMA’s, the ACM Awards break down their “Best New Artist” categories by male, female, and duo or group, giving them a perfect opportunity to highlight an outsider in one of the extra spots.
But it wasn’t meant to be for Sturgill Simpson. He got snubbed again, along with other fast-rising country stars who happen to not be on the radio. This wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it’s still unnerving how the industry refuses to acknowledge artists accomplishing great things just because these artists don’t have an inside track on Music Row.
Don’t think Sturgill Simpson is rattled by it though. If anything, it has emboldened him. After Sturgill’s music pal Wheeler Walker Jr. called out the ACM Awards on Twitter for giving five nominations to Florida Georgia Line and zero to Sturgill, Simpson’s reply on Saturday was, “Good..dodged a corny bullet. Plus it highlights their own hegemonic, transparent corruption/irrelevance. It’s all working perfectly…”
Close Sturgill Simpson fans know that there is no love lost between him and the ACM’s. In August 2016, Sturgill slammed the awards for disrespecting one of his mentors Merle Haggard, saying in part, “If the ACM wants to actually celebrate the legacy and music of Merle Haggard, they should drop all the formulaic cannon fodder bullshit they’ve been pumping down rural America’s throat for the last 30 years along with all the high school pageantry, meat parade award show bullshit and start dedicating their programs to more actual Country Music.”
So it’s probably no surprise that the ACM’s avoided Sturgill Simpson, and instead gave Best New Artist nominations to people like Kane Brown and Chris Lane. But as Sturgill Simpson alluded to in his statement, he’s taking the long game approach to climbing the country music mountain. And if it’s anyone that should acquiesce, it should be organizations like the ACM’s. They’re the ones that risk facing irrelevancy if they continue to not recognize the groundswell of artists fundamentally changing country music from its core, and without the help of radio or industry awards.
Sturgill also had folks in stitches Sunday night after the Oscars, saying about the Best Picture fiasco, “Beginning to think I might have actually won Album of the Year…”
Jim
February 27, 2017 @ 8:53 am
No Beyonce for Best New Artist? That’s racist!
Beau Bradlee
February 27, 2017 @ 9:24 am
Sturgill Simpson was not a new artist this year, so he would not have been nominated in that category.
Trigger
February 27, 2017 @ 9:38 am
He would have very easily fit within the parameters of the ACM’s New Artist category, and much better than many of the other candidates over the years. Hell, in 2014 the ACM’s gave Best New Artist to Justin Moore despite him being clearly ineligible by the ACM’s own bylaws:
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/justin-moore-wins-acms-new-artist-despite-clear-ineligibility/
Wade Peterson
February 27, 2017 @ 9:42 am
I believe that to be nominated for a CMA or ACM award you at least have to be recognized and acknowledged by country radio. His fans are largely not country fans in a broader sense…..no issue with his music, but you have to at least have some commercial radio success in the genre, or an award makes no sense…
Trigger
February 27, 2017 @ 9:53 am
Generally speaking that’s usually how the cookie crumbles. But when Chris Stapleton swept the CMA’s in 2015, and then the ACM’s in 2016, and with virtually no radio play behind him, some thought the books had been rewritten. Of course it helped that Stapleton’s label was still located on Music Row as opposed to New York, and he was so well-known and loved by many in the industry, and written radio hits for others.
Norrie
February 27, 2017 @ 9:42 am
He’s right he’s dodged a corny bullet.The whole thing is just a cheesefest to be scorned at.Better not to be involved in these cringeworthy award shows that with a rare exception show country music in a bad light.Any music fan that’s not into country that much but maybe wants to see what’s what in country music wil switch off pretty quickly with a bad impression which is a pit as there is great music to be heard
Ed Hathaway
February 27, 2017 @ 10:05 am
Not being acknowledged by anyone who gives awards to dogsh!t “country” bands like Florida Georgia Line, should always be seen as a compliment. I keep waiting for mainstream “country” to give some sort of a nod to it’s real country roots but it just keeps getting worse and worse. Unfortunately, us real country fans need to accept that great country music has been replaced on the FM dial with cliche, boy band, monotone crap. Thank God for Pandora!
Slehmann
February 28, 2017 @ 6:49 am
Amen
RG
February 28, 2017 @ 9:42 am
Pandora? 2008 called and wants their technology back.
Ed Hathaway
February 28, 2017 @ 9:46 am
What form of media do you suggest?
Rock along with Rockalong, the giant, friendly, purple dragon
February 28, 2017 @ 5:34 pm
Ed Hathaway – I recommend Spotify
RG
February 28, 2017 @ 6:13 pm
With Rock along, Spotify.
Chad Perry
February 27, 2017 @ 10:44 am
Just waiting for some whiny douche to come on here like “OMG all you EVER talk about on this website is Sturgill Simpson!”
jtrpdx
February 27, 2017 @ 4:52 pm
Exactly. And, like, his last album wasn’t even country…..I mean, like, it had horns and didn’t have lap steel prominently featured in every single song. (being completely sarcastic)
One Jack
February 27, 2017 @ 11:14 am
Still tring to find something that rhymes with bronco.
TheKillerRocksOn
February 27, 2017 @ 12:40 pm
Mike Honcho
Michigan Music
February 27, 2017 @ 11:16 am
In the awards hierarchy, I put the CMAs at the top, with the ACM’s a distant second and the CMT Awards are an utter disaster and unwatchable waste of time.
On the ACM website, they use this phrase repeatedly for how nominees are selected:
“The factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, success at radio, sales of pre-recorded music,
success in digital media, live concert ticket sales and vocal performances”
The LAST factor is vocal performance after all the sales/$$ aspects. So, while we know there are better artists out there, we also know which are the artists (term used loosely for some) that are racking in the big bucks on tour or have their vapid songs played nonstop on shallow country music stations across the US.
A line like “She got a body, and she’s naughty” is the gold standard for ACM since it was a #1 song, not because of its artistic level.
It is somewhat amazing just how out of step the list of 2017 ACM nominees look from what critics think of the artists and songs from this past year. But, follow the money from their own standards to how everyone is gettin’ paid with selling and promoting the schlock that is churned out en masse nowadays.
Jim Bob
February 27, 2017 @ 4:22 pm
Was “pre-recorded music” supposed to be “pre-ordered music”? It is the ACM’s, so it really wouldn’t surprise me if they just don’t understand words
Mule
February 28, 2017 @ 1:37 am
I’ve never understood the term “pre-recorded” anyway. It’s completely redundant. If you’ve recorded something, then by definition, it happened before you’re actually listening to it! Hence, “pre-“! AAAAAH!!
albert
February 27, 2017 @ 11:42 am
The Sturgil quote is reminiscent of the famous Woody Allen line ” I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member ” ( paraphrasing ). Funny ….although the jury is still out on whether or not SS has a sense of humour .
Here’s the thing . FGL’s sound isn’t country in any respect . BUT …the ACM , by today’s definition of ”country”, accepts them as such . SS ‘ latest record isn’t country ( as we’ve had pointed out countless times by even hard core SS fans ) ….and the ACM’s obviously DON”T accept him as such by today’s definition . The issue isn’t that SS was NOT nominated . The issue is that FGL WAS nominated .
Neither of these non-country acts should be nominated by ANY honest country music organization . For me , the bigger mystery/sleight/disrespect/slam to REAL country artists is that SS won the GRAMMY for country album of the year . Its blatantly obvious that these things are ALL just misguided , out-of-touch , crooked trend and consumer-chasing marketing tools .None of these organizations seem to have any standards or qualifications in terms of what constitutes a valid nomination to a category . If I’m a REAL country artist investing my heart , soul, money , time and talent and life playing REAL country music and have a RESPECT for the fans and other artists who remain steadfastly loyal to the genre I wouldn’t want to be considered alongside an FGL OR a Sturgil Simpson any more than I’d want to be considered alongside a Dierks , a Lady Antebellum , a Band Perry or a Darius Rucker . Remember …ALL of these organizations considered Shania Twain, Jessica Simpson and Taylor Swift ” country” acts because the acts labelled THEMSELVES as such and duped listeners into believing that misnomer l . Its not about who is getting the nominations by these organizations …its about who ISN’T ! With very very few and even questionable exceptions , the REAL ” keepers of the fire ” are still being ignored by the powers that be and , arguably , on a larger scale than ever .
John Colton
February 27, 2017 @ 12:49 pm
How is Sturgill not country?? Because he plays and sings along to musicians that actually play instruments?? The man writes his own songs and is a musical and lyrical genius. Shame on CMT and any other country award show or platform that doesn’t recognize the genuine article. Props to Sturgill for not giving a shit.
Matt
February 27, 2017 @ 3:34 pm
Because his latest album had virtually no aspects that compose traditional country music
Not to say he’s not a great artist, because he is, but i dont think he’s really country at this point
jtrpdx
February 27, 2017 @ 5:07 pm
Matt – just curious as to what specific aspects you are referring to that ASGTE lacks?
Evan Carlson
February 28, 2017 @ 2:19 am
and Georgia Florida line is? ah, i don’t buy it.
Big Cat
February 28, 2017 @ 4:35 am
I’ll say it again, neither did MMSICM. Outside of ‘Long White Line’ show me these “musical parameters” you require to be called country on that album. The truth is people worshiped that album so much they FREAKED when he changed his sound (in SGTE). This guy is so far ahead of many listeners it’s pretty comical.
Tom R.
March 13, 2017 @ 2:13 pm
Big Cat, I must have clicked on your “reply” button by mistake on my above comment – my comments were directed to the thread in general not to a specific poster or comment.
Tom R.
March 13, 2017 @ 2:10 pm
I think it’s more than a little hypocritical to pan acts because they are “not country” and then to praise another act who may indeed be a superior musician, write better songs, and be a better singer than the brocountry crowd but still only skirts the country format at best. Sturgis himself shucked off the “country” label in his commentary on a recent PBS appearance so if he doesn’t want it, why do some of his fans insist on it?
And frankly there’s more than a touch of Garth-sized ego in Simpson’s increasingly frequent self-important comments like re this ACM snub. If Brooks had made a smart remark for not being nominated for something his detractors would have been all over his ass.
albert
February 27, 2017 @ 3:51 pm
”The man writes his own songs and is a musical and lyrical genius.”
Were this the only criteria required to be considered ‘ country ‘, Paul Simon , Joni Mitchell , James Taylor , John Mellancamp and Bruce , among countless others , should be considered as candidates for country music awards …..and would clean-up next to what’s being nominated .
My point , of course , was that there are dozens of artists with much more consistent , traditional and obvious loyalties to the genre than the nominations discussed , who are being completely ignored apparently because they don’t have sales or attendance numbers to ‘validate’ them in the eyes of a dollar-driven rather than substance and tradition -driven industry .
Mule
February 28, 2017 @ 1:47 am
Like I continuously point out, the man everyone seems to compare SS to, Waylon Jennings used horns (“I’ve Always Been Crazy”? OMG HORNS!!!), covered ROCK and POP songs (Los Lobos! Neil Young! Richard fkg Harris!) , and both he and Willie broadened country’s tight-assed narrow-minded world-view and are both seen as legends and NO ONE will say they ain’t country. So why all the Sturgill hate?
Chad Perry
February 28, 2017 @ 9:44 am
And “Ring of Fire.”
J
February 28, 2017 @ 6:41 pm
The day country music died was July 16th 1930, when the ‘father of country music’ Jimmie Rodgers decided he wanted to play a blues song, and – to make matters worse – got Louis Armstrong to play TRUMPET on the damn thing.
Oh wait, it wasn’t. Oh well.
Mule
February 28, 2017 @ 9:03 pm
Or it may have been when Bob Wills added a cursed drummer to The Texas Playboys…or when Ernest Tubb, that bro-country hack, put a drum set on his backline on the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
jtrpdx
February 27, 2017 @ 5:00 pm
Still not getting the “ASGTE isn’t even country” thing. On the whole, it is sure as hell a country album in my view. Song structure, instrumentation (yes the is more steel guitar than you hear at first blush, its just a little hidden in some places), and most importantly, the vocals, leads ASGTE to best be classified in the country category vs. any other available category. Now, you can say that there are guys out there doing more straight down the fairway traditional country than ASGTE and you would be correct. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t properly classified as country or that Sturgill is somehow no longer a country artist / singer. Kind of a headscratcher.
jtrpdx
February 27, 2017 @ 5:05 pm
Also, the Grammy awards are not meant to recognize the most “countriest country” album of the year, or the “most rappiest rap” album of the year, etc. It isn’t a vote on how well an album fits into the limited number of categories for which one can win a grammy. The categories are meant to attempt to group genre-like albums together so they can then be judged on their merit as an album (and so the final ballot doesn’t include 100’s of albums in each category). Given the categories that the Grammy’s have to work with, country was certainly the right place for ASGTE.
musiccityman
February 28, 2017 @ 12:16 am
That was a Groucho line. Getting your jewish yankees mixed up there.
Sam Cody
February 27, 2017 @ 4:13 pm
Snub? Hell, we don’t even know if he’ll bother to play any country on his upcoming tour or not. He needs to save that sailor crap for his kids, in their nursery, and get back to playing country if he’s gonna pretend to not care about winning country awards…
Chris
February 27, 2017 @ 9:45 pm
Maybe the album is just above your head?
Evan Carlson
February 28, 2017 @ 2:25 am
listen to some old merle haggard songs. he incorperates horns in lots of his songs, and no one would say his music isnt country. you can’t tell me that tractor rap garbage thats getting cranked out qualifies if Sturgill doenst.
Chad Perry
February 28, 2017 @ 9:46 am
You don’t listen to very many of the legends, do you? Hell, Willie Nelson released a reggae album.
Jennifer Sutherland
February 27, 2017 @ 5:36 pm
I wish good country music was on radio that’s why I listen to stations that play real good country music that being said its very disrespectful to say such mean things about other acts cma, or ACM sturgill needs to take some respectful lessons from Garth George Strait
stinks
February 27, 2017 @ 5:56 pm
he should be celebrated for calling those organizations out on the decades of damage they’ve done to country music. I’ve read or watched almost all of his interviews and garth is about the onlyname I’ve seen him disparage. I’d much rather hear Sturgill,s honest feelings than Garth,s fake humility.
Mark
February 28, 2017 @ 4:34 am
Can you recall or point me in the right direction of the interview where Sturgil speaks about Garth? Would be much appreciated.
Kevin Smith
February 28, 2017 @ 9:06 am
Once again the same topic controversy on Sturgill creeps up. Obviously many of us see ASGTE as a non country record. Many of you passionately take the opposite stance and to your ears it screams country music in Hi Fi.
Seriously folks it’s just opinion, nothing more and opinions are like…well….
We just have to agree to disagree as I see neither side converting the other. What most of us can agree on is that Sturgill makes some impressive music.
stinks
February 28, 2017 @ 10:35 am
You can tell Sturgill goes out of his way to not name names in these situations. It was just a quick comment about Keith Whitley passing and then Garth came along and everything went to hell ( or shit, maybe). It was from years ago and i hope I’m remembering correctly.
Trigger
February 27, 2017 @ 6:47 pm
George Strait did sing “Murder On Music Row” and “Kicked Outta Country.” But I get your point.
WestTexasRain
February 27, 2017 @ 7:01 pm
Life aint fair and the world is mean -Sturgill Simpson
Jim Bob
February 27, 2017 @ 9:12 pm
Respectful lessons? Piss on that. They wanna play stupid games, they’ll win stupid prizes. When FGL has 5 nominations (read: ANY nominations) they should not be surprised that actual artists treat them like the butt of the world’s worst joke.
Chad Perry
February 28, 2017 @ 9:48 am
And you need to take grammar lessons from Hooked on Phonics
Chad Perry
February 28, 2017 @ 11:54 am
Oops, I forgot to put a period in front of that.
Corncaster
February 27, 2017 @ 6:39 pm
Hey Trigger I heard a term the other day that I hadn’t heard before:
“Nashville Pop”
that’s what it is. That’s what “country” radio stations keep piping down the sluices. It’s not country: it’s Nashville Pop.
Ok, Captain Obvious. But it’s a good term that deserves wider currency.
Evan Carlson
February 28, 2017 @ 2:22 am
Hank 3, “country music has lost it’s soul.”
Stringbuzz
February 28, 2017 @ 7:22 am
Tired of the is he this or that debate.
Enjoy him..
Completely psyched for the next show.
Lois Souders
March 8, 2017 @ 5:54 am
Love the music, and Sturgill has a great, unique voice. My disappointment is with the language. Let me know if he brings out a cd with clean lyrics.