Country Mike Blog

ACM Part 2: Strait, Turner and Paisley

Mike Sudhalter  |  May 15, 2007

George Strait is a classy guy, but how can he clap while a pop queen dominates the genre. Well, you've got to give him credit for not pulling a Faith Hill.

Josh Turner sounds good with "Would You Go With Me?", but I've got a couple of points. Turner should be showcasing some new material, not a song that was hot last summer. Secondly, he didn't need to shout out to Las Vegas during the performance. It's a perfect song that doesn't need any "extra showmanship".

This new male vocalist is fitting for Rodney Atkins, who struggled with his debut album but finally made it through with this award. It proves that he lives his songs, at least the one about overcoming your problems.

It's good to see Strait singing "Wrapped". He was probably just shown before because he had to get ready to go on stage. If anyone's interested Australian country singer Catherine Britt also sings this tune. I can't decide which one's better, so I'll just say both versions are special in their own way.

Little Big Town - New Vocal Group of the Year? Have they ever actually been to the Boondocks. Maybe, this award can spring them back into pop music - where they belong.

That's funny though - I'm Kellie Pickler and the decaf did not work!

What is it with all these artists singing their current songs? Why not debut a new one in front of millions of viewers?

How corny is this? Taylor Swift singing "Tim McGraw" to the man himself. Taylor:"Hi, I'm Taylor", What Tim should have said: "Yeah, I know"

I'm not even going to watch Rascal Flatts. Yeah, Reba they sell a lot of records, but it's like country made a deal with the devil to do it. But I have to admit that this song is decent, "He Ain't The Leavin' Kind".

Miranda Lambert takes over Underwood's crown as top new female vocalist...the right choice. I especially liked her speech, thanking "God and all the fans". By the ACM's logic, Swift could be up for the award in 2013 because her debut album came out in 2006.

And on to Brad Paisley. Paisley is still traditional by today's country radio standards, but I still remember hearing his best song, "Who Needs Pictures" for the first time on the radio. It was my freshman year at the University of Delaware, and I knew this artist was special. I bought the album the day it came out, and never stopped listening to it. I still think it's one of the best country albums, song for song, of the 1990's.