CMA Awards 2009: Nominations – First Ballot
Post by Chuck Gooch,
As a member of the Country Music Association, I'm one of those few lucky enough to help choose the nominees and winners of the 2009 CMA Awards, which will be held on Wednesday November 11th, @ 8pm Eastern on ABC. This is my first chance to help choose the winners, so I wanted to let you guys in on the whole process.
I just completed the 1st round of nominations. I got to choose one nominee for each category. The period began on July 1st, 2008 and ended on June 30th, 2009. Singles had to reach their peak position in the charts during that time, and albums needed to be released during this period to qualify.
CMA Nomination: - Entertainer of The Year
My Choice - Taylor Swift - She's the it girl of country music right now. Her CD is the best selling country disc around. She brings new fans to country music (I know a lot of people think she's diluting it too). Lets face it, Taylor Swift owned country music over the last year.
CMA Nomination: - Single Of The Year
My Choice - Zac Brown Band "Chicken Fried". This song really took country music by storm (even though the Jukebox had been playing it for about 2 years before it reached #1) so to me it was a no brainer.
CMA Nomination: - Album of The Year
The 2009 CMA Awards process has begun
My Choice -Jamey Johnson That Lonesome Song - This is the best country music CD in years, and though maybe not as radio friendly as some of the others, this one is a must-have for country music fans.
CMA Nomination: - Song Of The Year
My Choice - Alan Jackson "Sissy's Song" - Okay, what's the difference between :single of the year: and "song of the year" you may ask? The Song of the year goes to the songwriter. This is a classic Alan Jackson song.
CMA Nomination: -Female Vocalist
My Choice - Miranda Lambert - I know a lot of people are going with Carrie Underwood on this one, and I'm not going to try to compare voices here. There aren't enough ladies on the scene right now.
CMA Nomination: -Male Vocalist
My Choice - Darius Rucker - Learn To Live is a classic and that voice is unmistakeably Darius Ruckers. There are a lot of men singing country music right now, but nobody is doing it better than Rucker
CMA Nomination: - Vocal Group
My Choice - Lady Antebellum - Hands down, no doubt about it. Enough said
CMA Nomination: - Duo
My Choice - Sugarland - I wanted to nominate Love On The Inside for album of the year, but I can only nominate one. These guys are at the top of their game... I hope they never break this duo up!
CMA Nomination: - Event
My Choice - Brad Paisley and Keith Urban "Start A Band" - a Number 1 hit and pretty cool collaberation, there wasn't a whole lot of competition to be frank on this one
CMA Nomination: -Video
My Choice - Taylor Swift "Love Story" - This one got played on MTV and they never play videos on MTV anymore. Jamey Johnson "In Color" was a close 2nd for me
CMA Nomination: - New Artist
My Choice - Zac Brown Band - I'm a huge fan of ZBB, and I'll admit I'm a little biased. But 2 Number 1 hits and "Toes" set to take off? No brainer here
Next Step - 2nd Round
I'm not sure what info I'll be able to give out next time. I'll let you know as much as I can. Let me know what you think about my nominations
First, congratulations on being one of the lucky ones whose vote actually counts. I agree with about 2/3 of your choices and your stated reasons for those choices, however, I have to take issue with your choice for Darius Rucker as Male Vocalist of the Year. While I like the former Hootie I think it’s a horrible omission that so many of you voters forget about Blake Shelton in this category.