The Whining Gets Tedious -- November 16, 2019

I normally would not have posted this but there was so much whining, this needed to be posted. For the record: I do not care for Garth Brooks all that much. I did not watch the awards ceremony but social media told me all I needed to know.

From The Washington Post: Garth Brooks won CMA Awards entertainer of the year. Here's why many country fans are furious. The lede:

On Wednesday night at the Country Music Association Awards, the legendary Garth Brooks won entertainer of the year — the final and most prestigious prize — for the record-setting seventh time in the show’s history. He has received the award three out of the past four years. He’s about to wrap up a massive, sold-out stadium tour. He has a Top 20 single on country radio. He’s part of a beloved celebrity couple with Trisha Yearwood. He’s known as one of the nicest people in Nashville.

Yet, the reaction from many country music fans at Brooks being named the winner? Absolute fury.

The vitriol was pouring out on Twitter after the show; the awards show’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were inundated with enraged comments. In many instances, however, the backlash wasn’t even necessarily about Brooks. His legacy is undeniable. The anger was about who didn’t get the prize. Brooks won out over Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban, who was last year’s winner.

The first enraged fandom? Underwood’s. The “American Idol” winner turned country music superstar has steadily built a phenomenal career over the past 15 years, with tons of smash songs and millions of albums sold. Not only has she co-hosted the CMAs every year since 2007 (formerly with Brad Paisley, this time with Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire), but she has also been nominated for entertainer of the year a mere two times despite her wildly successful résumé. This year, during the awards’ eligibility period of July 2018 through June 2019, she released her sixth album, “Cry Pretty,” which had three hit singles. (She also co-produced it.) The entertainer prize is often informally considered an award that favors touring, and for the past year, Underwood headlined a giant arena tour to support the record.

If I had all the money and the interest in going, but could go to only once concert, whose would i attend? Carrie Underwood or Garth Brooks?

One has to ask: if she has co-hosted the CMAs every year since 2007 and has been nominated only twice for entertainer of the year, one needs to ask.... why?

By the way, who votes: 7,000 members of the CMA trade group.

I guess we need to impeach/convict Garth Brooks and/or ask for a re-vote.

I honestly don't know if I've ever heard a Carrie Underwood song. And I don't know if I've ever heard a Garth Brooks song other than his first dozen big hits. I bet I'm not alone.  Even now, while writing this, I'm listening to Garth Brooks; I have no interest in Carrie Underwood. I have never cared for karaoke singers and that's what she was back in 2004 when she hit the big stage. Back in 2004, I was going through my own mid- to late-life crisis and country music was the last thing on my mind, except for Nora Jones. And, yes, at heart, Nora Jones is a country singer:

At the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003, Jones was nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won five: Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Don't Know Why".

This tied Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys for most Grammy Awards received by a female artist in one night.

Jesse Harris won Song of the Year for "Don't Know Why" while Arif Mardin won Producer of the Year. The album won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Come Away with Me was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for having sold one million copies. In February 2005, it was certified diamond for selling ten million copies.

The End of the Line, Supergroup: The Travelin' Wilburys
By the way, did the best supergroup ever win a music award?

By the way, the best concert I've attended? Liberace in Las Vegas. I saw two of his shows about four years apart.

The second best big-name concert: Bob Dylan in San Antonio. But no comparison. The former, Liberace, was a showman; the latter definitely not. I don't think poets are show people. Also, from what I've seen, Garth Brooks is a real, real showman. It would be hard to compete with him. He did not win "best song of the year"; he won "entertainer of the year." There's a huge difference.