Predictions for the CMT Music Awards, Who’s It Gonna’ Be?
Yesterday the nominees for the 2011 CMT Music Awards were announced. This is always an exciting time of the year for the artists and fans. People always say they are honored just to be nominated, but let’s get real…all the nominees want that CMT Belt Buckle in their trophy case!
Let’s just go ahead and jump on in! Video of the Year is THE award of the night. The nominees are not limited to males or females, solo artists, duets, or groups; it is simply the best videos out there. It’s hard to tell who will come out on top, but I’m going to give it a shot! “Colder Weather” could possibly be my favorite song right now, but it will have a hard time competing with videos that have been out a lot longer. The obvious front runners for this category are “The House That Built Me”, “My Kinda Party“, “Mine“, and “If I Die Young” because they did so well on the charts. “The Boys of Fall“, “Hello World“, “Stuck Like Glue“, “Why Wait” and “Undo It” each give us a story along with the lyrics that can’t be ignored. If it was up to me Kenny Chesney would be the winner, “The Boys of Fall” was a great video that deserves recognition. It went above and beyond and had that certain something that the others just didn’t.
Male Video of the Year, just like all the other categories, is a tough one. “Bullets in the Gun” puts us in the moment and “Without You” shows us a personal side to Keith Urban. “The Boys of Fall” and “My Kinda Party” are sure to put some competition in this all male category, but to say that I would want anyone to win over Blake Shelton would be a lie. He is a funny guy who is great at turning on a more serious and sensitive side when certain videos and songs call for it. My pick is “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking“.
Female Video of the Year has both ends of the spectrum, from a hard hitting break up song like Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It“, to a love conquers all approach like Taylor Swift’s “Mine“. In between we have “Turn On the Radio“, “A Little Bit Stronger“, and “The House That Built Me“. It’s hard not to sing along with all of these songs, but based on the video I think the clear choice is Miranda Lambert, “The House That Built Me“.
Group Video of the Year gives us the usual nominees for this category, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Rascal Flats, the Zac Brown Band, along with the new family trio, The Band Perry. I’m going to have to say they will take this category no questions asked. “If I Die Young” hit the charts like a ball of fire, there was no stopping this video or song!
Duo Video of the Year has a known veteran in this category and that’s Sugarland! Yes, they are good at what they do, but don’t think it will be that easy for them to take home the win. Steel Magnolia and The JaneDear Girls have two very lively videos and aren’t giving up without a fight! The Civil Wars have an absolutely amazing song and video with “Barton Hollow” that I would love to see win. But for my pick, it has to be, hands down, Thompson Square, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not“. This song was released last summer and isn’t going anywhere soon!
USAWeekend Breakthrough Video of the Year could have the closest competition of the night. “Lover, Lover“, “Country Boy“, “Love Like Crazy“, “If I Die Young“, and “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” all came out strong. There isn’t a song in this category that I don’t like. Jerrod Niemann really got me with “Lover, Lover“, it’s a great song that you can’t help but sing along with. But then again, all of these songs make you want to sing along! This will be a tough decision for the fans.
Collaborative Video of the Year nominees include “Country Boy“, “That Should Be Me“, “Don’t You Wanna Stay“, “Collide“, and “Coal Miner’s Daughter“. These collaborations have artists from George Jones to Justin Bieber. Rascal Flatts and Bieber was a fail in my opinion. Yes, the song is catchy and I’m sure there is a group of people that this impresses, but to me, it’s a boy band video gone wrong! I loved the work of Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson in “Don’t You Wanna Stay” but this award is Collaborative VIDEO of the Year, I would have liked to see an actual video instead of a performance taped. Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire are supposed to be friends, well Reba is the queen of collaborative videos and Kelly should have used that to her advantage! Who doesn’t love a Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow duet? They nailed it again with “Collide“. I love Sheryl Crow and lucky for her she is nominated twice in this category, because my vote is for “Coal Miner’s Daughter“. There isn’t much to say about it besides the fact that it is fabulous! Loretta Lynn, Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow were amazing together and this classic with a twist deserves to win!
CMT Performance of the Year is a unique category that includes musical performances on television show, series, or variety special on CMT. There are three nominees that came from CMT Crossroads, “A Broken Wing“, “Sweet Thing“, and “Margaritaville“. “If I Were a Boy” came from CMT’s Unplugged and “Need You Now” came from CMT Artist of the Year. My pick is for “A Broken Wing” because Martina McBride and Train together blew me away!
Best Web Video of the Year is a video created primarily for the internet. “It’s A Shore Thing“, “Mine“, and “Stars Tonight” are great videos that were successful enough to put themselves in this category. But I don’t know who would not want to be rockin’ along with Jason Aldean or Blake Shelton sitting at their computer! Although I am a huge fan of Mr. Aldean, I haven’t given his hit “My Kinda Party” much praise until now. That’s because I found the video boring…this live video on the other hand is something I will compliment! “Kiss My Country Ass“, you can’t go wrong with that! Blake Shelton is a mountain of a man who shows his “don’t give a blank” attitude and I dig it!
Video Director of the Year is a way of saying thanks to those behind the scenes. Deaton Flanigen is nominated based on “Collide” and “Wildflower“. Trey Fanjoy is nominated based on “The House That Built Me” and “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking“. Chris Hicky is nominated based on “Undo It” and “Without You“. David McClister is nominated for “If I Die Young” and “Swingin‘”. Last we have Roman White nominated for “Hello World” and “Makin’ Me Fall In Love Again“. My pick is for Chris Hicky because I love both videos that his nomination is based on.
The show will air on CMT and cmt.com on July 8! Voting is available now at cmt.com and will be open until July 7, remember your vote counts!
For a complete list of the nominees and categories be sure to check out the article “2011 CMT Music Awards Nominees” on our homepage!
