Music. According to Kim.

Starting off with an FYI for those who may haven't heard: the winners of both this award and Music Video will be announced on Good Morning America tomorrow morning. I'm sure that they'll mention who won at some point during the CMA Awards, but I wanted to bring it up just in case anyone had any interest in seeing them announced live. This is one of the first years where I've actually heard all of the songs nominated in this category. I listen to a ton of music and try to listen to as much new stuff as possible, but there's usually one or two songs nominated that I've never heard. This category is strange that way. Meanwhile, odds are that this will be one of the shortest posts I've done in this series because I just don't have a lot to say about any of these songs.  The nominees: "Dixie Highway", Alan Jackson featuring Zac Brown Band "Feel Like a Rock Star", Kenny Chesney duet with Tim McGraw "Roll Me Up and Smoke M...

I want to take a moment and say that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was affected by Hurricane Sandy, particularly those in New Jersey and New York. The pictures and footage they've been showing are just heartbreaking. They have a long road ahead of them and it's not going to be easy. Let's not forget about these people in the days to come. And of course, let's say a few prayers for all of the firefighters, police officers and all the other emergency responders in these places, along with all the crews that are going to be working to restore power to those who lost it. I know there's a lot of information out there about ways we can help, but I thought I'd provide some links here as well: The American Red Cross:  http://www.redcross.org/hurricane-sandy?scode=RSG00000E017&subcode=paiddonationsbrand&gclid=CIS7wZ66qrMCFYd9Ogod0HcA_g World Vision:  http://www.worldvision.org/?lpos=top_img_wvLogo The Humane Society:  http://www.humanesociety...

Ah, Album of the Year. One of the biggest awards of the night, second only to Entertainer in my opinion. My choice for Album was an easy one. Another category where I was able to make my pick right away. Without further ago, here are the nominees for Album of the Year: Chief , Eric Church Four the Record , Miranda Lambert Home , Dierks Bentley Own the Night , Lady Antebellum tailgates and tanlines , Luke Bryan And my choice for Album of the Year? Chief , Eric Church. No question. What do I think of the other nominees? Starting off with what I'm sure many will consider one of the favorites for this award, Miranda Lambert's Four the Record . This album has gotten a whole lot of praise from critics, fans and other artists alike. But in all honestly, I'm just not feeling this one. I think Miranda is a lot better than this album. In fact, I know  she is. I loved Kerosene,   Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Revolution . This album was a bit of a disappointment and one that...

I'm going to start this off with mentioning that the eligibility period for this years CMAs started on July 1st, 2011 and ended on June 30th, 2012. I point this out because I was pretty surprised by a couple of the songs up for this award. Not because I don't like the songs, but because it seems like it's been so long since they were released. Come to find out, when a song comes out doesn't really matter. What matters is when it reaches its peak chart position - which has to be somewhere in the top fifty. So there we go. I still think it's weird that a couple of these songs are in the running, but then, I am not a member of the Country Music Association. For anyone interested in how the voting process works and what the criteria for all the awards is, you can read about it  here . That all said, my picks have more to do with my own personal preferences and factors that I think should be considered. That should go without saying, but I wanted to make it clear. Me...

The nominees: Big & Rich Love and Theft Sugarland The Civil Wars Thompson Square I kept going back and forth between a couple of them, but ultimately my pick for CMA Duo of the Year? Thompson Square. My thoughts on the other nominees? First up is Big & Rich. After taking a break for the past few years to pursue individual projects, they're back to making music together. Their new CD, Hillbilly Jedi , came out last month and the lead off single from said CD "That's Why I Pray" became a top 15 hit on country radio. But I really don't see them having a shot here. Love and Theft. My second choice. As I said in my pick for new artist, I really believe that they have a huge chance of winning this. They just had their first #1 with "Angel Eyes" and have really been making a name for themselves lately. They've put on a great show every time I've seen them. I really like these guys and I'd have no problem whatsoever if ...

After the difficulty of the category, this one felt like a breeze. One of the categories where I instantly knew who my pick would be. Makes this a whole lot easier, lemme tell you. The nominees: Eli Young Band Lady Antebellum Little Big Town The Band Perry Zac Brown Band My pick for CMA Vocal Group of the Year? Little Big Town Before I talk about the other nominees, I just have to say once more how ridiculous I think it is that Rascal Flatts didn't get a nomination this year. Biggest snub of the CMAs, in my opinion. Though that's probably a sign of how tough this category could become. What with all the groups currently doing so well in country music. There was a time when you always knew who'd get nominated in this category because that's all the groups there were. Now in addition to the nominees and Rascal Flatts, we have Eden's Edge, The Farm, Pistol Annies and Gloriana. And then there's Lonestar, who are going to be putting out a new album at som...

This one was a tough one for me. Another one where I've changed my mind multiple time. But as evidenced by the existence of this post, I've finally made my decision. First the nominees: Lee Brice Brantley Gilbert Hunter Hayes Love and Theft Thompson Square And my pick for CMA New Artist of the Year? Lee Brice. If you've been reading this series, you know the drill by now. I'm going to talk a little bit about each of the other nominees before I explain why I went with Lee. Starting with Brantley Gilbert, who has had a pretty solid few years. First, scoring two cuts on Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party  album. Two cuts that of course became very big singles for everyone involved   and came with the added benefit of getting Brantley's name out there. He'd had a very loyal following before that, but those cuts made him known among the general country fans who hadn't heard of him previously. As an artist, he has two #1's under if his belt. Namel...

Well, this post is a first: my first interview with an up and coming artist. Actually it's my first interview with an artist period. This isn't something I imagined I'd be doing, but when the opportunity came up I knew I had to do it. And it's something I'd like to do more often. So, that said, if you are an artist and would be interested in doing an interview, let me know! You can get in touch with me here, on twitter or Facebook or you can email me at countrymusicatk@hotmail.com. This interview is with a guy currently working to make it in country music, Shane Morgan. Shane can be found on twitter at @OfficialSMorgan, on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/ShaneMorganOfficial  or  https://www.facebook.com/shanemorganmusic  and you can also check out his official website  here . He has a CD available on either CDbaby,  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shanemorgan . You can also purchase his album on iTunes,  https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/im-getting-...

This category kills me. It was so easy to choose my picks for Entertainer and Female Vocalist - I knew what my pick was the first time I saw the nominees. But then we get the Male Vocalist and I really like all five nominees. Three of whom are my favorite artists right now; not just in terms of male artists, but period. And the other two aren't terribly far behind. In all honesty, I wouldn't have much of a problem with any of them winning. It'll be a mixed reaction no matter what. Happiness for the winner and sadness for the losers. More so than any other category for me. This choice was a tough one and I've changed my mind more than once. A lot more than once, in fact. But after so much consideration, I have finally made my final decision. The nominees? Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. My pick for CMA Male Vocalist of the Year? Eric Church. First, my thoughts on the other nominees. Starting with Jason Aldean, who I'd argue...

The nominees: Kelly Clarkson Miranda Lambert Martina McBride Taylor Swift Carrie Underwood My pick: Carrie Underwood. This was a pretty easy choice for me, for a number of reasons. But before I go into those, let me talk about the other nominees. Kelly Clarkson. She's a great singer, but I don't understand why she got nominated in this category. Yes, her duet with Jason Aldean was a huge song for both of them. Sure, she released a country version of a song that had already been a single on pop radio. And yeah, she's good friends with Reba McEntire. But none of that makes her a country singer. Her inclusion in this category makes absolutely no sense. If she ever does a fully country album and starts releasing country songs to radio - and country remixes don't count - than I would have no problems with her being nominated for country awards. She could do well in country music, but she needs to fully commit to a project instead of just flirting with the ...