Brandy Clark – Page 9 – Country Universe

The Best Singles of 2014, Part 2: #20-#1

December 30, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 15

The countdown concludes with our top twenty singles of 2014. Check out the first twenty entries here, and look for our countdown of the year’s twenty best albums tomorrow. #20 “The Devil is All Around”

2015 Grammy Nominations

December 5, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 10

Updated: Best Country Duo/Group Performance The Band Perry, “Gentle on My Mind” Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, “Somethin’ Bad” Little Big Town, “Day Drinking” Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill, “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s” Keith Urban

Single Review: Brett Eldredge, “Mean to Me”

November 11, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 9

“Mean to Me” Brett Eldredge Written by Scooter Carusoe and Brett Eldredge Winning a major award seems as good a time as any to pay closer attention to an artist. Brett Eldredge collected his New

CMA Awards 2014: Staff Predictions and Picks

November 2, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 29

Despite the Grammys and even the ACM’s demonstrating more consistent taste over the past few years, the CMA’s remain the most significant industry awards that honor country music. This year’s slate of nominees gives the

Single Review: Toby Keith, “Drunk Americans”

October 22, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 7

“Drunk Americans” Toby Keith Written by Brandy Clark, Bob DiPiero and Shane McAnally The most successful records Toby Keith has had lately have been about drinking or about being American. It’s easy to see the

2014 CMA Nominations

September 6, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 49

This year’s CMA nominees are the best in years, with multiple nominations for Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, and Brandy Clark. Country radio may still be shunning women, but their embrace by CMA voters suggests that

Single Review: Kacey Musgraves, “The Trailer Song”

June 24, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 6

A new Kacey Musgraves track with co-writes from Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally is not a bad way to start your day. “The Trailer Song” has been a live staple for Musgraves, and it sounds

2014 ACM Awards: Staff Picks & Predictions

April 4, 2014 Tara Seetharam 24

And they’re back: The 2014 ACM Awards air live on Sunday at 7 p.m. CST, hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. They’re sure to be enraging or amusing, depending on your bro-country meter. In the meantime, we’ve picked and predicted the awards below – chime in with your thoughts!

Entertainer of the Year

Should Win

Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait – KJC, TS, BF
Taylor Swift

Will Win

Luke Bryan – KJC, TS, BF, JK
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Taylor Swift

2014 Grammy Awards: Staff Picks & Predictions

January 23, 2014 Tara Seetharam 3

The Country Universe staff has picked and predicted the 2014 Grammy Awards below, strange bunch that they are. Chime in with your thoughts, and catch the show on Sunday at 7 p.m. CST.

Album of the Year

Should Win:

Sara Bareilles, The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories – Kevin
Kendrick Lamar, good kid m.A.A.d. city – Jonathan
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
Taylor Swift, Red

Will Win:

Sara Bareilles, The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories – Kevin, Jonathan
Kendrick Lamar, good kid m.A.A.d. city
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist
Taylor Swift, Red

Kevin: With electronic music so mainstream now, it would be wise and timely for NARAS to acknowledge the excellent comeback of one of its pioneers, especially as the year’s best country albums (Brandy Clark, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, etc.) and the year’s best rap album (Kanye West) didn’t score nominations in the top category.

Jonathan: Lamar and Daft Punk would both be worthy winners of an award that rarely seems to go to one. Hip-hop and R&B have notoriously struggled in the general field in recent years, so Daft Punk’s cachet with the rock contingent should give them the edge over Swift, who didn’t score the across-the-board support many were expecting from her this year. If the voters are feeling especially timid, though, watch out for “Brave” yelper Bareilles as a spoiler.

Musgraves, Clark, Monroe dominate Annual Nashville Scene Critics’ Poll

January 23, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 1

Much like they dominated the Country Universe lists, Nashville Scene’s 14th Annual Country Music Critics’ Poll finds Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, and Ashley Monroe on top.

This year, six of our seven Country Universe writers voted in the poll, with Sam Gazdziak featuring heavily in the comments section!