By Erik Ernst
Milwaukee Sun Sentinel
Sunday night brings the annual Academy of Country Music Awards at 7 on CBS. While the show is actually older than the fall’s Country Music Association Awards, it has felt recently like the underdog of the two - perhaps because the Las Vegas-based program is physically detached from the genre’s home in Nashville.
But, it is still a major night, filled with stars marching down the red carpet in hopes of capturing shiny statues in a number of categories. In recent years, Vegas has tended to lend the show to a looser feel that should be magnified by this year’s hosting duo of Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan.
This year’s show adds a bit of crossover in longtime (and stellar) CMA Award host Brad Paisley’s role as a host of a remote fan jam that will be the home for many of the night’s performances.
That performance lineup is a country music who’s who that includes Paisley, George Strait, Kelly Clarkson, Eric Church, Hunter Hayes, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and more.
Awards will be handed out in more than three-dozen categories covering musicians, albums, singles, producers and radio stations.
Here are my picks in three of the show’s biggest categories. Agree? Disagree? Go ahead and make your own picks in the comment section below.
Entertainer of the Year
Nominees
Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift
Who will win
Blake Shelton
Who should win
Eric Church
I know, I’m cheating on the “who should win,” since Church isn’t even nominated. But, after the year he has had - and the reviews that have lauded his game-changing live shows that have filled arenas across the country, there is no excuse for the “Springsteen” singer to not have his name appear among the genre’s best entertainers. That said, I picked against Shelton winning this award on the CMA’s last fall in favor of Swift, but a few months removed I don’t know how the chart-topping reality TV star doesn’t bring the show’s top award home on this night too.
Album of the Year
Nominees
“Blown Away” - Carrie Underwood
“Chief” - Eric Church
“Red” - Taylor Swift
“Tailgates & Tanlines” - Luke Bryan
“Tornado” - Little Big Town
Who will win
“Red” - Taylor Swift
Who should win
“Chief” - Eric Church
I’m sure a Church bias seems to be showing now, but the rebellious showman is an exciting performer and one of the freshest voices in Nashville today. That said, “Tornado” is another strong contender for “should win” in this category with Little Big Town’s beautiful vocal harmonies and creative turns. In the end, I see Swift taking this one. While it strayed from her country roots across much of the track list, it is still a strong album and she is undeniably a talented songwriter and the genre’s biggest superstar — even if she seems to prefer making pop music these days.
Vocal Group of the Year
Nominees
The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Zac Brown Band
Who will win
Lady Antebellum
Who should win
Little Big Town or Zac Brown Band
I see Lady Antebellum taking this award and there’s really no reason why they shouldn’t. They rode the platinum success of “Own the Night” from 2011 into one of last summer’s best-selling tours. But, over the course of the past year, Little Big Town and Zac Brown Band have had more new output on record. In both cases it has been terrific. Zac Brown Band’s “Uncaged” was one of the year’s best albums and their genre-bending, jam-filled shows are some of the most entertaining concerts going. And, no one in country music can top the remarkable vocal harmonies of Little Big Town, which they unleashed across last year’s “Tornado.”
TV PREVIEW
Academy of Country Music Awards, 7 p.m. on CBS
