Twain’s Enthusiasm Can’t Save Awards Show

“Whoa . . .

“Whee . . .

“Yow. . . wow!”

I’m not sure mega-seller Shania Twain has the musical vision to deserve the best album and new female singer honors she received at the 31st annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday.

But she did show potential in one area during the nationally televised affair at the Universal Amphitheatre: the most enthusiasm of any winner since Naomi Judd, the all-time champion of golly-gee acceptance speeches, retired due to illness in 1991.

“I wasn’t expecting [this] at all,” Twain said at the podium as she thanked her husband, sisters, brothers, grandmother, aunts, uncles, the Nashville music community, her record company, country music fans generally and, in case she missed someone, “everyone in the world.”

Don’t underestimate this kind of disarming exuberance.

Most of these show-biz award shows aren’t about excellence, but exposure. The more awards you get, the more time on camera to make the kind of impression that will send viewers into the record store to buy your album.

Musically, the most compelling moment in the three-hour show came from Garth Brooks, who stepped away from his usual high-energy style for an intimate, acoustic medley of songs written or co-written by Tony Arata, including the socially conscious “The Change.”

Aside from Twain’s charm and Brooks’ music, the ceremony was pretty forgettable, with the Los Angeles-based academy’s choices about as uneven as those at most award shows.

Among the right decisions: Patty Loveless (female vocalist) and the Mavericks (vocal group). Wrong ones: Brooks & Dunn (over Garth Brooks or Alan Jackson as entertainer the year), Twain (over Alison Krauss as top new female vocalist) and Jeff Carson’s “The Car” (over Junior Brown’s “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead”) as top video.