42nd CMA Awards - LIVE - Wed., Nov. 12 on ABC

[Lee]

I would really like to see Miranda Lambert take home the trophy for Female Vocalist of the Year tomorrow night, but I fear she may have lost some of the momentum she had when she won Album of the Year at the ACM's and sent "G&L" to the Top 10. Here's to hoping.

[thescene]

Just in case you can't come to the tv to watch the show., a few stations like Eagle 97 in Virginia Beach and 95.7 The Wolf in San Francisco will be simulcasting the show. Both are available online for the international fans.

[avalyn]

Sugarland said this morning on WXTU they will not be singing Already Gone on the CMA's tonight. Instead it'll be a new song off the album, they wouldn't name it but said it would rock you but hopefully would quicken your spirit.

I'm excited about the show, can't wait to see so many of the performances and of course see who walks away with a few of the awards.

[Dustin J.]

www.people.com/people/article/0,,20239568,00.html


Shania Twain Makes Her Return
By Julie K.L. Dam

Twain, who was spotted at a Nashville hotel on Tuesday, is expected to be a presenter at the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday night. ABC, which is airing the awards show, has been running ads promising a buzz-worthy surprise guest.

Nashville is buzzing all right: The CMAs will mark Twain's first public appearance since the country crossover superstar, 43, announced her separation from husband Robert "Mutt" Lange, 60, in May.

Dividing her time between her native Canada and Switzerland, Twain "hasn't put down her guitar since the split," a source told PEOPLE in July. "The songs are pouring out of her."

Twain took home the Entertainer of the Year CMA award in 1999, and was last in Nashville for the 2004 CMAs.

"She loves Nashville and is excited to spend time with all her friends that live there," says a source close to Twain. "I would expect to see her more around town in the coming months."

[43dudleyvillas]

avalyn, please just pick one thread in this forum for the news item. Repeats tend to lead to parallel discussions in multiple threads, which we should avoid.

For tonight: a reminder to all that this thread is NOT to be treated as a chatroom full of one-liners. This forum is a place for adults to exchange views, which means that if you post an opinion, you are expected to defend it. You are also expected to listen to what other people say -- respectfully.

Keep your sense of outrage in check. You're probably not going to like all of the performances tonight, or all the things that are said in this thread tonight. But you're going to have to deal with that by not treating this thread as a place to rant and vent your spleen. All of the artists appearing and performing tonight are human beings, and all of the posters commenting here tonight are human beings as well. Please don't lose sight of that in your commentary. Snark is welcome, but it's really only going to work here if it is good-natured.

Some ground rules, imported but slightly modified from the ACMs thread of earlier this year:

1. Read/review the Pulse rules, because they obviously apply here. Here are a few excerpts of particular relevance:

[/b] Always show respect to fellow board members and moderators.

No Trolling. Trolling, for those not familiar with Internet lingo, is defined as posting just to get a negative reaction from other board members. Just posting “this artist sucks” in an artist thread, or similar behavior, is trolling.

Concerns about another member in violation of the rules should be directed to the moderators in the form of a Private Message. Members should not confront other members about rule violations on the board. This tends to escalate things and make the situation worse.

Moderator decisions are final. In addition to warning members, moderators reserve the right to lock topics, move topics, delete and edit offensive posts, and edit signatures and other profile information in violation of the rules. In general, these decisions will not be reversed. However, in rare circumstances, a reversal may be appropriate. Complaints about moderator action should be directed to the moderators. These complaints should NOT be posted in the Announcements/Board Concerns forum, or any other forum.[/i][/ul]

2. Do NOT post more frequently than once every 8 minutes. This thread is NOT to be treated as a real-time chatroom for anyone watching the CMA Awards. It is meant for substantive discussion of the awards show. If you want to post running commentary, combine your thoughts into one post and wait until the appropriate amount of time has passed before posting. If you are really moved to post (especially by anger), and it hasn't been 8 minutes since your last one, take a deep breath. Then count to 60. Repeat that process 8 times, then see if you can still compose a post that abides by Pulse rules.

3. Do NOT assume that negative commentary is trolling -- the moderator will be the judge of that. As a mod, I am reasonably familiar with people's posting histories, so I'll have some context to figure out whether a negative post is bait/trolling or simply a person's good faith opinion. If it's the former, I will deal with it. If it's the latter, then the only appropriate responses will be substantive without attacking the poster.

4. Watch your tone and do NOT confuse the strength of your beliefs with their relevance or accuracy. It's understandable that people might feel passionately about music and artists. But if we're going to have a real discussion, everyone needs to stay away from inflammatory rhetoric that is going to distract from your point. Moreover, everyone needs to post in ways that make it clear the s/he is not confusing his/her opinion with the gospel truth. Oh, and show some self-awareness. Realize that if you're obviously a big fan of one artist, then negative commentary about other artists perceived to be in competition is more likely to be interpreted as fan-warring.

Discussion here is NOT about hearing yourself talk and it is NOT about getting in the last word. It is about having a conversation with a real exchange of views. I hope we hear from many of our members tonight and that everyone enjoys the show and the discussion we have of it.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to PM me. Thanks.

[avalyn]

I deleted the other one. So sorry about that. The only reason I really cross posted it, was the possibility of the song being performed being the new single.

[Blake]

For more commentary, Country Universe (www.countryuniverse.net) will commence with a live blog tonight beginning shortly before the broadcast (8 ET). The site's contributors will be posting their thoughts, and the comment section will be open to those who have brief commentary about the performances or award winners.

[43dudleyvillas]

Nov 12, 2008 11:29:41 GMT -5 avalyn said:

I deleted the other one. So sorry about that. The only reason I really cross posted it, was the possibility of the song being performed being the new single.

No worries, and thanks.

I think it's cool seeing Sugarland buck the tradition of performing known songs (either current singles or recent hits) at awards shows. It served them very well with "Stay" at the CMT Music Awards last year. This sounds like the performance will have a very different feel (from "Stay," I mean). What you described immediately made me think of "Take Me As I Am," but from what I read, it isn't in their current tour setlist, is it? So that would make it less likely, I would think.

[Zach]

I think Sugarland may do "Genevieve" or possibly "Love"? They do both in their show and they are incredible live.

[avalyn]

They aren't doing Take Me As I Am in their sets, no. I was leaning more towards Love, since that is their tour opening song. I was just listening to it today and thought to myself this would be a cool song for them to do at the CMA's. It's different from nearly everything out there or being performed on the show. This thought was right before I heard what they said. I was kind of hoping they wouldn't do Already Gone. I love the song but I'm ready for something new. I was losing doubt they'd do something new with what seems like a bunch of new songs being peformed by other artists.

Zach, I'd love to see them do Genivieve. That song recently grew on me from the album, plus the youtubes from the live shows that performance is pretty great with the stomping boards and all.

[leilamaurizia]

Maybe it's Love. (Hee!)

Yeah, I like the not-doing-the-current-or-last-single too. For instance, I would love to hear Sugarland's live take on "Very Last Country Song." That's my absolute favorite track from Love on the Inside. Or, since "Just a Dream" is already on the way down and there's really no promotional benefit to performing it, I would love Carrie to sing "I Know You Won't." Maybe that's just my personal bias since the live "I Know..." is ridiculously amazing and I can't say the same (yet) about "..Dream."

I'm really looking forward to the show. The entertainment line-up looks great, I love the hosts, there are no soap-stars and actors-who-hate-country-music-but-have-to-be-there-because-they-have-to-promote-their-latest-movie-to-the-huge-country-music-loving-market who are presenters, there are a lot of performances featuring new songs... good, exciting stuff!

[someguy]

I always like when artists do new and unfamiliar songs, too. It exposes a side of the album that radio may never get to. Some of the best performances from years past that I can remember have been songs that were never released as singles, but worked really well live. I remember when Pam Tillis sang "You Can't Have A Good Time Without Me" in 1995 or 1996. It was a great song, but probably not radio friendly, so it was neat to see it featured somewhere.

It also provides a great opportunity for pairing artists who wouldn't normally be paired, like Faith Hill & Shelby Lynne doing "Keep Walkin' On" or Reba & LeAnn Rimes singing "When You Love Someone Like That" last year. I wish more artists would sing brand new or unfamiliar songs at awards shows.

[Jonsolo]

I always get the feeling that dudley looks forward to the nights of the CMA and ACM awards like the clerks at the retail stores do to the Friday after Thanksgiving (i.e., Black Friday). If everyone (posters/shoppers) behaves themselves, and plays nice, things aren't too bad. But if chaos sets in, it turns into a long night/day.

Hope you got enough sleep, and a pot of coffee at the ready, dudley!

[Kyla]

Apparently Lady A will be doing "Love Don't Live Here". I saw rehearsal pics somewhere and that's what it said on the screen behind them.

[rowdawg21]

Update from SGG, who will be attending the show tonight:

The CMA is using so much power that the transformers blew. There's a possibility the show could be delayed since it's supposed to take about 6 hours to fix (this happened around 2).

[avalyn]

Oh no. I read about that on the Nashville news station. Hopefully it gets squared away soon.

[43dudleyvillas]

Producer J of XM seemed to be saying that the arena was running on backup with soundcheck ongoing, though power is down in most of downtown Nashville. I don't know how that timing squares with what SGG is hearing, though.

Producer J is also reporting a gas leak 2 blocks from the Sommet Center that she thinks is unrelated to the NES substation having gone out.

producerj.blogspot.com/

Also, WKRN is confirming that the surprise guest performance tonight is indeed Shania. Well, one line says "performance" and the other says "appearance," so I guess that leaves a little doubt.

[Kyla]

Nov 12, 2008 15:24:35 GMT -5 43dudleyvillas said:

Also, WKRN is confirming that the surprise guest performance tonight is indeed Shania. Well, one line says "performance" and the other says "appearance," so I guess that leaves a little doubt.

I don't think they realize that there will be both a surprise performer and a surprise presenter. Everything I've read points to Shania being the latter, including USA Today.

[sbp17]

In my world, the power outage would remain throughout the show. The producers would be forced to only use a back-up generator for a single camera and the performers would have to perform acoustically. Now THAT would be a great show!

[kw9461]

^ Hell yeah. Heck, I might even watch it if that were the case.

[someguy]

Yeah that would be really interesting to watch. I'd prefer it that way, too.

[Kyla]

WKRN corrected themselves. It now says Shania will be presenting, not performing. It also says she won't be walking the red carpet or doing any press. LINK

[drock89]

Nashville is shutting down power to most of the downtown area (blocks that include the Hall of Fame and Symphony) and redirecting the power to the Sommet Center. Show will go on as planned.

PS: SHANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PSS: My site, Country On-Demand, will also be doing live updates. Since I'll be in the Sommet, I can't blog, so we set up a Twitter: www.twitter.com/countryondemand I don't know much about Twitter so I'm not sure if it will show up on the site, but yeah, my thoughts and everything will go in there. And I'll be back here tomorrow probably. I have a long drive back to St. Louis tonight after the show...

[avalyn]

That is great news!!

[zaclord]

ooh i hope Sugarland sings "It Happens"!!! since the song sang tonight will probably be their next single, and that HAS to be their next single.

[kim8]

I'm hoping Sugarland sings Keep You, but I'm guessing it won't be that by the description.

[fischbone]

Here's live stream of the carpet....www.tennessean.com/section/TUNEIN0504

[somebody60]

Nov 12, 2008 14:33:28 GMT -5 Kyla said:

Apparently Lady A will be doing "Love Don't Live Here". I saw rehearsal pics somewhere and that's what it said on the screen behind them.

Aww man, why? Don't get me wrong, I love the song (even though I'm a little sick of it now so I would like to have a break from hearing it), but why? I understand that a lot of people know the song, but it peaked on radio months ago. "Lookin' For A Good Time" is in the Top 20 and is still gaining airplay, so I'm sure a fair amount of the people watching know the song or are at least familar with it. Why wouldn't they sing that?

I've just never understood why these new artists like to sing their very first breakout single whenever they have a current single that is doing well. To me, it would make sense to promote the current single if it's taking off. If the current single isn't taking off and the label is thinking of pulling it (or if the single was just released and hasn't been played on the radio), then yea, I would say the performer(s) should perform their breakout single, but when a current single is doing well and still rising and the audience is at least familar with the song, why not perform the new single?

Is it their decision or the labels' because this has happened numerous times before with new artists?

Well, that's a mini-bummer.

Nov 12, 2008 12:16:52 GMT -5 leilamaurizia said:

I'm really looking forward to the show.

I agree, and I would say that I'm more excited for this show than normal (and even though it might seem that it's because the woman in my avatar is co-hosting, that's actually not the main reason). I'm way more excited about the performances than usual. I know people on here complain that this show always have the same ol' performers. Maybe it's me, but there seems to be more new artists performing on this show than usual (Rascal Flatts aren't performing, and Keith Urban and Brad Paisley are together in what would normally be 2 performances).

I'm looking forward to Brooks & Dunn (with Reba McEntire), Carrie Underwood (hoping for a more acoustic feel to the song), George Strait (if he sings Troubadour, haven't heard "River of Love"), James Otto (wish he was singing a different song but can understand why since he hasn't had another song take off yet), Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum (still wish they were performing "Lookin' For A Good Time"), Martina McBride (new single is better than what I expected and of course, she will sing it great), Miranda Lambert (with this song, she has the potential to deliver a really incredible performance), Trace, and Darius (glad he was added!).

That's 11 performances right there I'm excited to see (usually, there are only around 4-5 performances I look forward to). I'm on the fence about Rodney. I can't remember what award show he was on, but he wasn't too good live, but I'm hoping the new single is good. And, I don't mean to be cruel to Rascal Flatts fans, but I am really happy they are not performing. The past several years, their performances have made me cringe. Sorry.

[nsfb17]

I'm really looking forward to the performances from Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Taylor Swift, The Eagles, Kellie Pickler and Carrie Underwood. It's funny - the line-up of performers and presenters is like a who's-who of my favorite country artists. If they had just added Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Jessica Simpson and Sara Evans, I would have been all set.

[sbp17]

Nov 12, 2008 18:00:57 GMT -5 @somebody60 said:

Is it their decision or the labels' because this has happened numerous times before with new artists?

At least in the past, the CMAs dictated the performances for everyone except those nominated for the main categories (Entertainer, Male and Female). Artists nominated in those categories were allowed to sing new singles.