New Music!

This week, not only are several new songs being released to radio, there are also several new music videos premiering on CMT.

Let's start with the videos premiering in the coming weeks. Carrie Underwood's video for Cowboy Casanova is the one that most are talking about. Based on her previous videos there is a good chance it will be directed by Roman White and lack any creativity and originality.

Other videos premiering are Reba's Consider Me Gone, Sugarland's Keep You, Keith Urban's Hit The Ground Running, Kenny Chesney's I'm Alive, Miranda Lambert's White Liar, Billy Currington's That's How Country Boys Roll and Tim McGraw's Southern Voice. Keep in mind we have not seen the videos and these are our opinions, but since Kenny Chesney announced that he is taking a break from touring we wouldn't be surprised if it's another live video. As long as he sticks with Shaun Silva the video should be excellent regardless.

Make sure to tune into CMT and check out all of these videos. And don't forget to go to CMT.com for the newest video from Lady Antebellum. Need You Now is one of Lady A's best.

Now on to singles being released to radio this week. If you need a reason to change the station listen for Bomshel's 19 and Crazy, Heartland's Mustache and Mica Robert's Days You Live For. However, if your ears aren't, let's say, as sensitive to bad music as ours, then you can just easily drown out the previously mentioned songs.

If you're looking for another emotional song from Rascal Flatts then listen out for their latest Why. While it's not the worst song ever, in fact it's one of the better ones on their latest CD Unstoppable, it's just the type of song that has become Rascal Flatts' staple. They used to have upbeat songs that had more to it than "Summer nights everybody are you with me" but those are now few and far between.


But don't lose hope just yet. There are a few great new cuts being released. Among those are Jason Aldean's The Truth and Jimmy Wayne's remake of the 1976 Hall & Oates' hit Sara Smile. Jimmy's cover also features Hall & Oates on background vocals. We will be very surprised if this isn't a hit forhim. Also, Sara Smile is the first single off of Wayne's upcoming album, which is set to be released on November 24th.

Opry Quest

With Montgomery Gentry the latest to receive an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry, it's led to a lot of discussion about who else should be invited. We've heard names like Jory & Rory and Ashton Sheperd tossed around, so we decided to throw in a few cents of our own.

One complaint is that MG hasn't been around long enough to deserve an invite to the Big Show. If that is a legitimate gripe, then please explain how Carrie Underwood managed an invite as early as she did. She has not proved her staying power, or really even her talent, as far as we're concerned.

This is how Opry members are chosen, according to the official web site:

The decision to increase the Opry’s ranks is, and always has been, made exclusively by the show’s management. The people who’ve been entrusted with the Opry’s tradition and future direction take into account all the standards of success in country music—radio airplay, album and ticket sales, industry recognition—when considering an act for membership. The Opry considers career accomplishment, as well as the potential for continued success.

To us, this sounds like one thing: Money! Who can make the most money, who has the potential to make the most money, who can sell the most tickets to an Opry show, thereby gaining the Opry - all together now! - MONEY!

Maybe that's cynical, and we're not saying there is anything wrong with wanting to make money. The Grand Ole Opry is a business as much as anything else and in order to stay open, it must have revenue.

It used to be that being invited to the Opry was an honor reserved for the most talented artists in country music, not flashes in the pan. Ashton Sheperd can hardly be called a star. Her album reached number 16 on the Billboard Country Music Charts and her singles have not broken the Top 20. She is a mostly a mediocre singer who decided to cash in on her ability to imitate "Redneck Woman" Gretchen Wilson, not counting on the fact that Wilson's popularity would quickly wane.

Joey & Rory haven't had much commercial success either, going by the charts. However, they definitely seem to have longevity. Rory Feek was already a successful songwriter in Nashville, having penned hits for Clay Walker, Blake Shelton and Jimmy Wayne, among others. Clearly, Feek has a bit of a magic touch when it comes to songwriting. Give them a few more years, another album or two under their belts, and Joey & Rory will be prime Opry material. Just not yet.

MG, on the other hand, released their seventh studio album last year and have had more than 10 Top 10 Billboard singles since being signed in 1999. They are consistent in their performances and in drawing crowds. Carrie Underwood, it seems, has peaked. Yet, she is an Opry member already and MG is not.

If I were a bettin' (wo)man...

Are you ready for the ACM Awards LIVE from Vegas this coming Sunday? We are! Do you have your winner picks ready? We do! Check 'em out below, as well as our takes on who SHOULD win, even if they don't. Plus, check back Monday for a recap of the show, performances and to see if anyone made Jake Owen say "Damn."

For a full list of nominees, click here.

By the way, we're just guessing as to who will win. We don't know and we'll probably be wrong.

Top Male Vocalist
Who Will Win: Brad Paisley
Who Should Win: George Strait
Brad Paisley has been racking up serious awards lately. He and Urban have already been named winners of Vocal Event of the Year from the ACMs. Paisley also won Video of the Year. Sounds like a shoe-in to us. George Strait, however, is George Strait. George Strait is the closest thing to a living embodiment of country music out there. There's a reason they call him King George. And we all know, it's good to be king.

Top Female Vocalist
Who Will Win: Carrie Underwood
Who Should Win: Miranda Lambert
Let's face it, in the country music world, Underwood can apparently do no wrong. (That's notwithstanding her shrieky rendition of Randy Travis' I Told You So and the fact that we here don't like her.) She is the current darling of country radio. Since her American Idol win, people have been fawning over her, claiming she is the reason they like country music. Not a good enough reason. Miranda Lambert is the anti-Carrie Underwood. Just as beautiful, with twice the pipes and triple the personality. Underwood may bash your headlights in, but Lambert will shoot you down just as soon as look at you. Which one sounds more country?

Top Vocal Group
Who Will Win: Rascal Flatts
Who Should Win: Rascal Flatts
The groups are great, but no one can deny Rascal Flatts' success. It's a no-brainer. (Watch them not win, now.)

Top Vocal Duo
Who Will Win: WE DON'T KNOW!
Who Should Win: Sugarland
We just couldn't make a pick on this one. After all, Duo has long been "the Brooks & Dunn award," but Sugarland is the one group who was able to topple them. Lately B&D have been making a resurgence with Cowgirls Don't Cry, but Sugarland's star has been steadily burning in the Nashville sky. As far as we're concerned, it's a toss-up.

Top New Artist
Who Will Win: Jake Owen
Who Should Win: Jake Owen
Wanna know why? Go here. There is a slight chance of a Julianne Hough upset given her Dancing With the Stars fan base. We aren't big DWTS watchers, but there's no doubt she's been plugging for votes.

Album of the Year
Who Will Win: Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift
Who Should Win: Jamey Johnson
If Underwood is radio's darling, Swift is its golden child. Her first two albums have had unbelievable success, mostly due to the tween factor. But Jamey Johnson has long been a Nashville fixture. TLS is critically acclaimed and Johnson can sell out bar crowds in a way no other artist of his relative newbie status can. His songwriting ability is unparalleled (just ask George Strait) and his singing style is "somewhere between Jennings and Jones."

Single of the Year
Who Will Win: "In Color" Jamey Johnson
Who Should Win: "In Color" Jamey Johnson
Have you ever heard a sold-out crowd sing a popular song back to its artist? We have and the sound is deafeningly beautiful. "In Color" stretches across generational boundaries, speaking to the veterans of World Wars and to the youngest members of society. Who doesn't know that "Man, you should have been there" feeling? Who has never expressed, "Guess ya had to be there." Some things just can't be conveyed, they can only be experienced. Of course, if hell freezes over and Johnson doesn't take home this trophy, it will likely go to Brad Paisley's "Waitin' on a Woman" or Trace Adkins' "You're Gonna Miss This."

Song of the Year
Who Will Win: "I Saw God Today" George Strait
Who Should Win: "In Color" Jamey Johnson
We have no complaints if King George takes this home, but refer to our reasons above for our JJ love.

Entertainer of the Year (Fan Voted!)
Nominees: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban
Who We Voted For: George Strait
There is no real way to call this one. It's all about who gets the most clicks. But, we predict Carrie Underwood again, given her legions of AI fanatics.