The 2008 CMA Awards will sound a lot like 2007
Don’t be surprised if tonight’s telecast of the Country Music Assn. Awards feels a bit like 2007.
That’s because the eligibility period for these awards stretches from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. With only seven weeks left until 2009, consider these tidbits:
* Of the nominees for album of the year, only two were released in 2008: George Strait’s “Troubadour” and Alan Jackson’s “Good Time.” Carrie Underwood’s “Carnival Ride” and Brooks & Dunn’s “Cowboy Town” were both released in October 2007, and Kenny Chesney’s “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates” was a September 2007 release.
* Speaking of Chesney, he has already lapped the CMA Awards. His latest effort, “Lucky Old Sun,” was released just a few weeks ago.
* Sugarland’s adultery tearjerker “Stay” is nominated for song of the year. The duo performed the song on last year’s CMA Awards telecast.
* The single of the year field, which also features Sugarland’s “Stay,” features another song that was performed at last year’s telecast: Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead.”
* Of the women up for female vocalist of the year, none released albums in 2008, at least until this week. Taylor Swift’s new album, “Fearless,” arrived in stores Tuesday.
* Country music in 2008 is almost exactly like country music in 2007. At least that’s what can be gleaned from the entertainer of the year field, which features the same exact nominations in 2008 as it did in 2007, save for one act. Swap your Rascal Flatts for your Sugarland and everything else remains. Chesney, Brad Paisley, Strait and Keith Urban round out the field.
The awards will be televised by ABC at 8 p.m.
Paisley and Underwood are hosting.
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