-
ACMs 2017: Must Love Dogs
April 3, 2017
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
There were several surprises during Sunday night’s (4/2) “52nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards” televised live on CBS-TV. Thomas Rhett won Male Vocalist Of The Year; the Brothers Osborne won Vocal Duo, adding to their previously announced New Vocal Duo award; a dog was thanked almost as often as Country radio; and Miranda Lambert won an unprecedented eighth consecutive Female Vocalist trophy – yes, that was a surprise, too, as many felt Carrie Underwood had a strong chance or that current “it” girl Maren Morris could emerge as the dark horse.
Oh, and one more shocker: I found myself actually defending the Backstreet Boys as collaborators with the Florida Georgia Line performance. I guess it proves all things are possible at the ACMs.
The show was performance-driven; the hits, and/or, soon-to-be hits kept on comin’ with a palpable forward momentum that served the show well, delivered by the format’s stars, its rising stars, a few legends, and some legendary guests, one of whom – Joe Walsh – joined hosts Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley in saluting the late Rock icon Chuck Berry to kick off the show. On the other hand, the string of live slots came with a price worth discussing – five award announcements were pushed off the telecast as a result: all three New Artist categories (Male, Female, and Vocal Duo), plus Single of the Year (Florida Georgia Line for “H.O.L.Y.”) and Vocal Event (FGL/Tim McGraw, “May We All”).
The Grammys have famously displaced winning category announcements from the live, three-hour show for years – seventy-five of this year’s 84 total Grammys were handed out before the television coverage began. But, while the Grammys cover multiple genres, the ACMs recognize one. And, the ACMs have, what? Fourteen major awards? That makes nine televised awards last night.
I think bumping the new artist categories hurts, especially as this format has an important history of evolving before our very eyes and passing the superstar baton forward. Some of us remember upstarts Brooks & Dunn shocking the world in 1991 by dethroning reigning, eight-time ACM vocal duo winners, The Judds. Brooks & Dunn then went on a seven-year ACM Vocal Duo win streak before ceding that crown to the Dixie Chicks. After the Vocal Group or Duo Award was split in two categories in 2000, Brooks & Dunn won another eight in a row before Sugarland won it in 2008.
Yes, it was nice to have Kellie Pickler present all three New Artist trophies to Maren Morris, Jon Pardi, and the Brothers Osborne, who were able to say a few words – including TJ thanking his dog. Except for Morris, that came after an abbreviated version of their current song. It had a sense of being a perfunctory afterthought, however. Here a couple of thoughts on that: for a format that has seen tremendous growth among younger fans in recent years – but, now a steady decline of 18-34s past 15 months – and whose critical, primary delivery vehicle – Country radio – has put a lot of eggs in its young-appeal basket, shouldn’t we WANT to showcase our new stars? Present the new awards on TV. Let viewers, who may be just casual Country watchers, see who ALL the new artist nominees were. Include socials and links to these artists’ sites as each are displayed. And let the winners take the stage right after being presented so they can do so in a moment of glory. Oh, and let them play their whole damned song.
I’m not the Lone Ranger on this point. “I did enjoy all three performances from the New Artist winners – I would, however, have liked to see them do full songs,” commented KUZZ/Bakersfield PD Brent Michaels, among others. KXDD/Yakima, WA MD Carey Jacobson agreed, arguing, “All three of them have great songs out right now.”
Who won the prize for the strongest performance of the night? Three seem to have surfaced as most impactful: Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, and FGL with the Backstreet Boys. “Miranda's performance was the highlight of the night,” believes WDRM/Huntsville PD Abby Zellmer. “It was just a girl and her guitar, which, for that song, was the right move. The performance was about the song; the message of the music, not about the energy of a live performance. We were hanging on every word and every note.” Added KTTS/Springfield, MO PD Mark Grantin: “Miranda. Wow!” KUZZ’s Michaels also lauded Lambert, saying that inside the building, it was heartfelt. “Lady Antebellum with the full [UNLV] horn section was also fantastic,” added Michaels.
“I loved the FGL with Backstreet Boys, and when they broke into ‘Everybody,’” said Jacobson. “I loved it so much, I forgot it wasn't Country and I was supposed to hate it. Tim McGraw was every person watching when Tyler and BK actually broke into the choreography.” Watching it live, in the arena, said Michaels, “The energy of FGL and the Backstreet Boys was a great way to end the show.”
Sam Hunt got plenty of mentions, too, including this observation from Zellmer: “Serenading his fiancé was awesome. I think the reason it went over so well is because it obviously wasn't planned … it was definitely cute. It was a guy singing to his girlfriend.”
Jacobson also loved Tim McGraw and Faith Hill singing “Speak To A Girl,” with Grantin saying “Faith's reaction after she and Tim nailed their performance was the moment of the night. True joy and a priceless reaction and smile. I love that they both are so human and show their emotions. Cool to see two superstars react with such joy.” WQDR/Raleigh PD Lisa McKay agreed, telling me, “All sweetness from Tim and Faith. We are overdue to be kind and supportive to all of our girls.” Added Zellmer: “Tim and Faith are still relationship goals.”
McKay shared her overall thoughts about a music-intensive ACM awards, saying: “This show is strong because of the commitment to one amazing performance after another.” Michaels thought so too: “I think it let the artists and their work speaks for itself. Overall, a good showcase for the format.” McKay said other big moments included, “Back-to-back Keith [Urban] performances (“Blue Ain’t Your Color” into “The Fighter” with Carrie Underwood). I really enjoy seeing he and Nicole still so in love; he is a treasure. Chris Stapleton. It’s really amazing how wide Country music is. And I love Brett Eldridge. It's good he is testing the limits so he will know where they are.”
Michaels agrees that Rhett’s Male Vocalist win was a bit of an upset. “Not because he isn't deserving – he had one of the biggest songs of all time last year – but because I hadn't thought of him on the level of Aldean, Urban, and some of the other superstar names. Well, that's about to change.” Like many others commenting, Jacobson was “thrilled” for Rhett. Zellmer called Rhett’s win, “pretty cool. I mean, I think we've all known Thomas was destined to be a star … That's probably why it was a ‘surprise.’ Who says that the Male Vocalist Of The Year has to be a superstar? Not only was he shocked and shaking his head in his seat, but his acceptance speech was respectful and humble...he was definitely a superstar last night.”
As I said at the top, Lambert’s Female Vocalist win was considered by some to be a surprise, too, with social media showing more than a few groans. For some crazy reason, we seem to get tired of the same people winning a lot, just as people hate the New England Patriots for winning a lot of Super Bowls, or the UConn women’s basketball team (until last weekend) winning more than a hundred games in a row. I guess Maren Morris winning would have made for a convenient narrative, paired with Rhett’s win, about how the format is undergoing a changing of the guard. But, even Morris winning would have been considered a huge upset. Additionally, there’s a reason that a very few people, teams, or organizations keep winning: It’s because they’re really exceptional. Lambert delivered a masterpiece of an album – two of them, actually, as “Weight Of These Wings” is a double collection filled with strong stories and songs. ACM voters deemed her the year’s top Female Vocalist – and so it is. Deal with it. Support it, and if you’re a radio personality, cheer it in public. Be an advocate for these artists and our music; it’s your responsibility.
Finally, as I said on my Facebook page last Sunday night (4/2), yes, I have bitched long and loud about Pop collaborations on Country awards shows – but here's why the Florida Georgia Line-Backstreet Boys performance was a winner and belonged: They (BSB) are part of a single which is active on Country radio with FGL, and the set started with that. They have influenced a ton of today's rising Country stars, and many of today's Country fans grew up with BSB. Very different than random pairing with flavor-of-the-month Pop artists who may not be around in 10 years – and who are allowed to reduce Country artists into a supporting/backup role. And, except for the Reba McEntire duet w/ Lauren Daigle (also excellent), it was the only such collaboration of the night, so it stood out as an event that energized the show and that room. The impact of that performance would have been seriously diluted had it been preceded by three or four others. It was a stand-alone, grand finale moment, which – from what I could see and what I have heard from those who attended – was even more over-the-top in the room.
As topics on social media often do, this one at times digressed on to a “what is and what is not Country” discussion, which is never productive in that forum, but perhaps suggests a higher level discussion here sometime soon about what I believe to be a transformational time for Country as a format. A lot of replies expressed shock and disgust that some current Country stars could have been influenced by (gasp!) non-Country artists and music while growing up.
Well, I’ve interviewed hundreds of artists during the last 10 years in this role; the last five in particular, I’ve learned to understand how wide the younger artists’ influence range is. That's because many of today's artists grew up in the iPod generation where they could – and did – find anything possible and tried it all. And, get ready, because the next wave will be the playlist generation (i.e. streamers). They'll still list Country artists – so you're mostly safe if you insist on Country influences, but there will be many other genres and artists that shaped who they will and have become as artists themselves. I think the good news is that Country music will have won them over – but, their interpretation of it will be different than our generation expects. And, be prepared for that, too, because it’ll for sure be different, and there's nothing we can do about that. Hopefully, it will be something you and I can enjoy, as our musical tastes evolve as well. Hey, if you love surprises – like on last night’s ACMs – fasten your seatbelt for many more to come.
-
-