The 51st Annual ACM Awards: Who SHOULD Win And Who WILL Win

     Tonight is the 51st showing of the Academy of Country Music Awards.  The Academy was originally started to give recognition to non-Nashville artists like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, but has since evolved into to the same boot-licking parade that the CMA Awards seem to be.  There is already an overcrowded amount of award shows in country music, so the weight of these accomplishments is significantly diminished.  The CMA Awards will always be the most prestigious and most meaningful, and the ACM Awards have settled into their number two spot.  This year, Luke Bryan returns to co-host. However, his former co-host Blake Shelton has been replaced with Dierks Bentley.  In all honesty, Luke was the one who needed replaced.  He lacks the charisma for a live event that came natural for Blake.  It will be interesting to see how Dierks handles the challenge.  There are a slew of performances this year, even more than usual.  The usual suspects such as Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Florida-Georgia Line will perform.  New artists such as Chris Stapelton, Kelsea Ballerini, and Cam will also perform.  Nick Jonas, Katy Perry, and Billy Gibbons of ZZTop will perform as well, because screw country music, that's why.  Although Katy Perry will be with Dolly Parton, so there is some hope there.  And ZZTop is awesome... but this is a country music award show.  Let's get to the picks for the night!

The 50th Annual ACM Awards: Who SHOULD Win and Who WILL Win

     The 50th Annual ACM Awards will be taking place on Sunday, April 19 in Dallas, Texas. The ACM Awards have been under intense scrutiny the past few years, as the legitimacy of the awards has been called into question due to inconsistent criteria for awards and the implementation of fan voting for major awards. Frankly, the ACM Awards are the little brother to the CMA Awards, so they are trying to pump life and excitement into the show. Look no farther than the eyebrow raising performers list that includes Christina Aguilera and Nick Jonas. Bringing in pop stars to apologize for being country is nothing new, but it seems to be more and more egregious each year. I feel shortly we will see Wiz Khalifa debut his new single on the ACM or CMA Awards. Fortunately, while we will have to put up with out of place pop stars and country wannabes like Sam Hunt and Cole Swindell, we will get some good performances from Alan Jackson, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, and a Brooks & Dunn reunion. It is also possible that Garth Brooks will be lip-syncing his performance. So, there’s a decent chance the ACM Awards will be a train wreck. However, we will still all probably rubberneck to see the disaster. Without further ado, here are my picks for who SHOULD win and who WILL win at the 50th Annual ACM Awards.

The 49th Annual ACM Awards: Who SHOULD Win and Who WILL Win

     The 49th edition of the Academy of Country Music Awards will take place tonight from Las Vegas.  Vegas is as fitting as a venue as any for this show, as the ACMs typically are all flash and lack substance compared to the CMAs.  While the this particular awards show always wreaked of corruption and politics, it has boiled to a head this year.  The leader in the New Artist of The Year category is clearly not eligible by the ACMs own rules, one of the nominees for Duo of the Year has barely even made a dent on radio, and one of the nominees for song of the year is over 2 years old.  Tack on performances by many outside of country music such as Shakira, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Nicks, the lackluster country list of performers, and the fact that nobody is clear on how the voting process of some awards even works (do fan votes actually get counted? Nobody knows) and this has the potential to be a stinker of a show.  But, Merle Haggard is getting a tribute, and Kacey Musgraves and George Strait have a chance to let traditional country be well represented if they pull off a few wins, so it has potential to be a decent night as well.  Now, on to the predictions!

2013 ACM Awards: Who SHOULD Win and Who WILL Win

     This Sunday, the Academy of Country Music will hand out their awards for 2013.  Eric Church leads the way with 7 nominees, followed by Hunter Hayes with 6, and Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift with 5 a piece.  Blake Shelton returns to host, with Luke Bryan taking over the female co-host role for Reba.  How fitting.  All kidding aside, it does say something about the current state of country music that two males are co-hosting.  Despite recent pushes from the ladies like Miranda, Carrie, and Taylor, and huge albums this year from Holly Williams, Kacey Musgraves, and Ashley Monroe, it's still a male dominated world.  Anyway, I always have considered the ACMs important, but not as legit as the CMAs.  An award is an award, but this show is always second fiddle in my book.  On with the nominees!!!