2017 CMA Awards: My Ballot

by Julian Spivey
The 51st annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards air tonight at 7 p.m. on ABC hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood for remarkably the 10th consecutive year. I usually do a piece where I predict who will win the awards and then say who I believe should win the awards, but this year I’m just going to basically give you my ballot if I had a CMA vote.

Entertainer of the Year: Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton & Keith Urban

Last year was the milestone 50th anniversary for the CMA Awards and there was a lot of nostalgia involved on the night, culminating with Garth Brooks winning his first Entertainer of the Year award in almost two decades. Luke Bryan had taken home the award the two years prior (unfortunately). It’s hard for me to believe that anybody can see an Eric Church concert and not vote for him for Entertainer of the Year. His shows are always incredible and he’s hardcore about his passion. I’ve seen Church live five times (the most of any artist I’ve seen) and I hope that he can finally take this honor home tonight. Though, I won’t be holding my breath.

Male Vocalist of the Year: Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton & Keith Urban

Eric Church has been nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year quite a few times, but has never taken home the honor – which is quite unfortunate. He’s incredibly deserving, and I’d love to see him win it one of these years. But, I find it hard to vote for him when Chris Stapleton is also nominated. Simply put, nobody in the genre of country music has a voice as good as Stapleton’s, who’s won this award the last two years. Is a trifecta in the cards? It should be.

Female Vocalist of the Year: Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris & Carrie Underwood

This one is a no-brainer for me: Miranda Lambert. I realize she has won this honor six of the last seven years (Carrie Underwood won last year), but she’s the most deserving so it’s hard to argue against it. This is one of the awards that kind of irritates me because I’d love for the CMAs to have shown some guts and kicked Kelsea Ballerini out and replaced her with Brandy Clark. I understand the “lifetime achievement” honor basically of nominating Reba McEntire, who released a gospel album this year, but I would’ve preferred Lori McKenna to have taken that slot, as well.

Vocal Group of the Year: Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Rascal Flatts & Zac Brown Band

Little Big Town has won this award the last five years in a row and they’re going to win it again tonight. I have little doubt about that. The CMA voters love themselves some Little Big Town, even though I find them to be overrated. The only deserving winner in this category, in my opinion, would be Zac Brown Band (who somewhat shockingly has never won the award). I’ve been critical of ZBB off and on for most of their career, but Welcome Home released this year has some of mainstream country music’s best songs of the year. By the way, is Rascal Flatts still a thing?

Vocal Duo of the Year: Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, LOCASH & Maddie & Tae

Jesus Christ this is a rough category. What the hell is a LOCASH anyway? Brothers Osborne won this award last year in a major surprise (likely the biggest of the night) breaking a three-year winning streak of Florida Georgia Line (the STD capital of the world). I’ve never really gotten into Brothers Osborne yet, but I do really dig their song “It Ain’t My Fault.” On that song alone, I’d vote for them and I honestly believe they will go back-to-back this year.

Album of the Year: The Breaker by Little Big Town, From A Room: Vol. 1 by Chris Stapleton, Heart Break by Lady Antebellum, The Nashville Sound by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit & The Weight of These Wings by Miranda Lambert

This is the category I love the most every year and I think the real artists out there would much rather take home the CMA for Album of the Year than Entertainer of the Year. It’s also the honor that the CMAs seem to get right the most often. I don’t think they’re going to get it 100 percent right this year because I just don’t see Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s The Nashville Sound winning, but you can’t really go wrong with Miranda Lambert’s The Weight of These Wings or Chris Stapleton’s From A Room: Vol. 1 either. I believe The Weight of These Wings will ultimately win and Isbell being nominated is truly a win in itself (if you believe in such things). How did Lady A get nominated for this, by the way?

Song of the Year: “Better Man” by Little Big Town, “Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban, “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt, “Dirt on My Boots” by Jon Pardi & “Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert

You’re usually going to see most of the same nominees for Song of the Year and Single of the Year, but I can’t ever remember a year where all the nominees for each of those awards were the same. I don’t like it either. Based on its success alone Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” makes a ton of sense being nominated for Single of the Year, but a nomination for Song of the Year is vomit inducing. I like two of these songs, which for mainstream country music is about to be expected for me. “Tin Man,” written by Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, should be the winner and I believe it will be. The other song among the nominees that I like is, believe it or not, Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” written by Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey and Steven Lee Olsen, despite the fact many country music bloggers like me didn’t care for it. I honestly haven’t gotten on the Jon Pardi bandwagon much, which makes me a bit of an outlier among those country bloggers I mentioned.

Single of the Year: “Better Man” by Little Big Town, “Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban, “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt, “Dirt on My Boots” by Jon Pardi & “Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert

If Sam Hunt was ever going to be deserving of winning an award (I can’t believe I just typed that) it would be for Single of the Year for “Body Like a Back Road.” That’s simply based on the fact it was a record setting single. It’s complete shit, but it was a record setting single. It’ll probably win the award tonight. But, this is my ballot dammit and I refuse to vote for it. I’m going with “Tin Man” here again. “Tin Man” has no business being nominated for this honor, because it bombed majorly as a single. It topped out at No. 24 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, which makes it one of Lambert’s worst performing singles. But, because it’s nominated I may as well say I’d vote for it.

New Artist of the Year: Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Old Dominion, Lauren Alaina & Luke Combs

This is, without a doubt, the weakest bunch of nominees for any award on the night. I don’t even know who Brett Young is, but based on his photo he seems like possibly a Sam Hunt protégé. Hasn’t Lauren Alaina been around quite a while? I just looked it up – her debut album was released six freakin’ years ago. She shouldn’t be eligible. I’m voting for Jon Pardi. As I previously mentioned I haven’t really jumped on his bandwagon, but his lead single “Head Over Boots” wasn’t all that bad, so if somebody must win this award and somebody does I’ll take him. 

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