ACM Awards 2014: Final Thoughts

This year’s ACM Awards were mediocre and broverwhemingly male-centric, despite women winning most of the major awards.  As with last fall’s CMA show, the best moment was the final one, when George Strait won Entertainer of the Year.

Here’s a rundown of all the major winners:

Entertainer of the Year

• Luke Bryan

• Miranda Lambert

• Blake Shelton

• George Strait

• Taylor Swift

George Strait winning at the ACMs this year was even more surprising than at the CMAs last year, given how the fan-voted element of this award has favored stars with young fanbases in previous years.  King George, indeed. – KJC

While it’s disheartening to see Strait’s mainstream support dwindling, it’s great to see the fans come through for King George. – BF

Even if Strait did unintentionally but hilariously leave Miranda Lambert hanging on her attempted hi-five, it was nice to see the genuine support for Strait’s win among the other artists in attendance. Too bad radio seems to have turned their back on him.  – JK

Male Vocalist of the Year

• Jason Aldean

• Lee Brice

• Luke Bryan

• Blake Shelton

• Keith Urban

A repeat win for Jason Aldean helped both hosts go home empty handed, despite the big years both Bryan and Shelton had. – KJC

Female Vocalist of the Year

• Sheryl Crow

• Miranda Lambert

• Kacey Musgraves

• Taylor Swift

• Carrie Underwood

Has there ever been a female vocalist that the ACMs loved more?  Lambert’s fifth consecutive victory snaps Reba McEntire’s four in a row from 1985-1988, though she’d return to the winner’s circle three more times in the nineties.  But even McEntire didn’t dominate the other categories the way Lambert’s been doing. – KJC

Lambert officially owns this category for a half-decade. Can we please get a shake-up in the Female Vocalist race next year? – BF

As I said on twitter: If she’s in the building, Trisha Yearwood is the Best Female Vocalist (unless Connie Smith is also in the building, in which case Trisha would be runner-up). End of discussion. – JK

Vocal Duo of the Year

• Big & Rich

• Dan + Shay

• Florida Georgia Line

• Love and Theft

• Thompson Square

Florida Georgia Line had the biggest year – actually, the only big year – of all the nominees, making their victory the least surprising win of the night. – KJC

Congratulations to Florida Georgia Line on their win for (Only Significantly Successful) Vocal Duo of the Year. – BF

Vocal Group of the Year

• Eli Young Band

• Lady Antebellum

• Little Big Town

• The Band Perry

• Zac Brown Band

The Band Perry won their first Vocal Group award, with all the votes in before a confetti backlash was able to sway the tally. – KJC

New Artist of the Year

• Brett Eldredge

• Justin Moore

• Kip Moore

Two Moores and a Brett walk into an ACM ceremony… – KJC

Album of the Year

• Blake Shelton, Based on a True Story…

• Luke Bryan, Crash My Party

• Florida Georgia Line, Here’s to the Good Times

• Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park

• Tim McGraw, Two Lanes of Freedom

With the Grammys picking Musgraves and the CMAs picking Shelton, the ACMs broke the tie, picking the best album over the biggest.  Good call. – KJC

Musgraves’ well-deserved victory restores some ACM credibility, though it is ironic that she was the only nominee whom the producers did not grant a performance slot. – BF

She won for Album of the Year and co-wrote the winner of Single of the Year, so we can’t necessarily blame the ACM voters for Musgraves’ lack of a performance: Clearly, the producers of the show had adopted an ethos of “Bros Before Women Who Make Good Music.” – JK

Single Record of the Year

• Florida Georgia Line, “Cruise”

• Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”

• Lee Brice, “I Drive Your Truck”

• Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”

• Darius Rucker featuring Lady Antebellum, “Wagon Wheel”

True, a Song of the Year victory would’ve been sweeter.  But Lambert’s single was still the best of the five, and gave her a third win in this category in four years.  That feat was last accomplished by Willie Nelson, who picked up three in four years back in the eighties, for “Always on My Mind”, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”, and “The Highwayman.” – KJC

The “Cruise” phenomenon promised to be hard to beat, but fortunately the voters chose to honor the best record over the biggest. – BF

I really wouldn’t have any reservations at all with Miranda having won this category three times for “Kerosene,” “Gunpowder and Lead,” and “The House That Built Me.” Hers was easily the best nominee of this line-up, though. – JK

Song of the Year

• “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” – Gary Allan, Hillary Lindsey, Matthew Warren

• “I Drive Your Truck” – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary

• “Mama’s Broken Heart” – Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves

• “Mine Would Be You” – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Deric Ruttan

• “Wagon Wheel” – Bob Dylan, Ketch Secor

With Grammy winner “Merry Go ‘Round” not in the running, the ACM chose to honor last fall’s CMA winner, “I Drive Your Truck.” – KJC

Props to Lee Brice for letting the songwriters have the spotlight for this win. Considering the Song of the Year award purports to honor the year’s best songwriting, it’s been disconcerting that recent years have seen the ACMs shifting the focus from the songwriters to the artists. – BF

Of note: Women won for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and were two of the three co-writers of the Song of the Year. Yet the genre’s regressive gender politics are as problematic right now as at any point in recent memory. When will we reach a true tipping point with this? – JK

Video of the Year

• The Band Perry, “Better Dig Two”

• Kacey Musgraves, “Blowin’ Smoke”

• Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”

• Lee Brice, “I Drive Your Truck”

• Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”

• Carrie Underwood, “Two Black Cadillacs”

The high-octane collaboration between these three superstars earned several nominations, but their only win came in this category. – KJC

Vocal Event of the Year

• Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies and Friends, “Boys ‘Round Here”

• Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, “Cruise” (Remix)

• Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”

• Darius Rucker featuring Lady Antebellum, “Wagon Wheel”

• Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert, “We Were Us”

Betting against Miranda Lambert at the ACM Awards is starting to look like a fool’s wager.  This is her first win in this category, and with the other awards she won last night, her total ACM count is now at fifteen. – KJC