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My CMA picks: Entertainer of the Year. The explanation.


The case for Aldean...almost sounds like the title of a book or Lifetime movie, doesn't it?


Let's start off with some facts. There's a lot of sources out there, but I'm just going to link to this one for space purposes. Just going to sum it up for you all.

His My Kinda Party tour has sold 1.9 million tickets. Often in minutes.This tour has broken over 40 venue attendance records. I knew he'd broken a bunch; I had no idea it was so many. And then there's this: all the shows on this tour? Sold out. Honestly, if you ask me, that right there is enough to justify his nomination. Numbers means things. These are things that are going to be taken into consideration and things that make him a pretty strong contender. To say the least.

But, and this is a big but, all of the above is just part of why I feel he deserves to win. Numbers aren't everything, now are they? I wouldn't even consider them to be the most important factor. No, in this category, the live show is really what should matter most. So let's talk about it.

I've seen Jason multiple times over the years. The most recent being in Virginia three weeks ago. So I'm feeling pretty qualified to talk about his live show. Though actually, saying that made me think of one of my favorite things about him. See, I talk about it as his show. Most people would refer to it as such. But if you've ever heard Jason talk about it, you'd realize that he rarely if ever refers to it as being his show. He doesn't use words like I or me or mine when he talks about shows; instead, he used words like we and ours. He realizes and appreciates the fact that it's not all about him up there.

Now this is not to say that he's the only artist who feels this way. I'm sure that many others do. As they should. But he is one of the few who talks this way. Makes it a point to do so even. We focus so much on the actual artists, but the reality is that they are but one tiny little part of the overall show. The focal point, sure, but still a tiny part. There's so many other people involved.

First things first, those stages and lights don't set themselves up. No, it's the crews that set those up and if you ask me, those guys and girls deserve to get some recognition. I'm talking about all the crews, not just Jason's. These are the people who make the shows possible. So please let's have a moment of appreciation for all the people who work behind the scenes.

From there, I have to give him props for his choice in opening acts. Bringing Luke Bryan on the road with him was a stroke of genius. Luke is so popular right now and the two of them are so different from each other, but it works and works wonderfully. They complement each other so well. I liked that Jason chose to have female acts opening the show, first Lauren Alaina and now newcomer Rachel Farley. Both great choices. He also brought along DeeJay Silver to play between acts, which was a good way to keep the energy up during the set changes.

Now let's shift our attention to Jason and his band. Because when you go see Jason Aldean in concert, you are not seeing just one person performing up on that stage. You're seeing six. I go to a lot of concerts and I've seen a lot of good bands, some not so good bands, and then a few great bands. Jason's band is one of the greats, in my opinion, and I just can't write about why I believe Jason deserves this award without talking about these guys. In the interest of keeping this post from reaching ridiculous lengths, I've decided to give the band boys their own post. And hey, these guys deserve it.

As far as Jason himself? He's stepped up his game in a big way this year. New sets, new lights - new life into an already strong show. Is he one of the strongest singers out there? No. But when I saw him a few weeks ago, I'd never heard him sound better. He gives his all at his shows and so does his band. This is a guy who has worked for years to get to where he is and instead of letting himself become complacent, as so many do, he seems to be working harder than ever. He knows who he is and who his audience is and what his sound is. To those who haven't been paying attention, you may be somewhat surprised by his current popularity. But those who have supported him from the beginning knew it was only a matter of time before this happened.

I've seen people want to credit songs like "My Kinda Party" or "Dirt Road Anthem" but honestly, all of this started with "Hicktown". Even before then to his days of playing clubs while he was still underage. GAC just premiered his episode of Backstory and he talked about the early days of his career, starting with those clubs and then his experiences when he moved to Nashville. Losing record deals, playing countless showcases, being told to lose the hat and change who he was. Almost giving up, but deciding to do one more showcase and then leaving that showcase with a record deal with Broken Bow. There's people who want to treat him like some kind of overnight success story when it's anything but. He's more than paid his dues.

So he has the numbers, he has the popularity and he's upped the ante with his live show. All very important. But let's not forget the music itself. Ultimately the most important thing to me because if the music isn't good it's hard for me to care too much about the other things. I'm sure there's some of you who may only be familiar with Jason's singles and that's a shame. I've personally liked all of his singles to date, but some of his best songs are album cuts. I think people would be pretty surprised by quite a few of them.

Now granted, the majority of those songs will unfortunately never make it into the live shows, but I don't think it hurts to look at the big picture. Especially with an award like this. Jason's albums are among my personal favorites. He's a much more well rounded artist than people might realize. His live show is basically a party from start to finish, with some slower songs thrown in there. He does all the songs you'd expect him to do with a surprise or two. His set lists are always very strong and his shows have a great flow to them.

If there's ever a category that needs to be shaken up it's Entertainer of the Year. It's good for new people to get nominated and better when they win. This award is too important to become meaningless. And that's what it becomes when the same people win all the time. Meaningless. For me the choice is clear. It's taken Jason a long time to get to where he's at and I'd say that this is only the beginning. It is my belief that his upcoming album, Night Train, will be his best to date. The lead off single "Take a Little Ride" is currently #1 after only ten weeks, the fastest rising single of his career. He's finally getting some long overdue recognition at country music award shows and now it's his time to get Entertainer of the Year.

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