I love my country
I’m not a huge country music fan. More accurately, I’m not even a medium-sized fan unless you count my short-lived fascination with Kenny Chesney or my love of Johnny Cash after Walk the Line. But I tuned into the CMA awards last night and watched it intermittently between my usual evening chores.
You gotta love an award show where women with big hair and even bigger dresses share the stage with guys who are dressed as though they just left a tractor pull. And if I were seated behind someone such as Kenny Chesney or Brad Paisley, I’d be tempted to tap them on the shoulder and ask them to remove their hats. I’d be a bit miffed if I couldn’t see the stage!
But despite the gaudy dresses and the oversized belt buckles, there’s something that I find very endearing about the country music industry. They just seem like one big, happy, functional family. I watched as award “losers” quickly hopped to their feet to cheer on the winners, slapping them on the back or grabbing them in a bear hug as they made their way to the stage. And it looked genuine! When Kellie Pickler broke down singing her song on stage, the camera panned the audience and many cried right along with her. They knew her story and many had their own rags-to-riches tale too. And not to be outdone in the emotion department, Brad Paisley choked up during his acceptance speech for male vocalist of the year.
When dressed-like-a-princess Taylor Swift won the Horizon Award for best new artist, the adorable 17-year-old gushed that the honor was “the highlight of her senior year.” (And to think mine was winning the tug-o-war over a mud pit at our homecoming festivities.)
I am an American Idol junkie, so my real motivation for tuning in was to see Carrie Underwood. So I was pleased to see her win two awards including back-to-back female entertainer of the year awards. In her honor, I will go to iTunes today and finally buy her new song I love so much: So Small. If you haven’t heard it, watch it on Yahoo video. It just might make you a country music fan.
You gotta love an award show where women with big hair and even bigger dresses share the stage with guys who are dressed as though they just left a tractor pull. And if I were seated behind someone such as Kenny Chesney or Brad Paisley, I’d be tempted to tap them on the shoulder and ask them to remove their hats. I’d be a bit miffed if I couldn’t see the stage!
But despite the gaudy dresses and the oversized belt buckles, there’s something that I find very endearing about the country music industry. They just seem like one big, happy, functional family. I watched as award “losers” quickly hopped to their feet to cheer on the winners, slapping them on the back or grabbing them in a bear hug as they made their way to the stage. And it looked genuine! When Kellie Pickler broke down singing her song on stage, the camera panned the audience and many cried right along with her. They knew her story and many had their own rags-to-riches tale too. And not to be outdone in the emotion department, Brad Paisley choked up during his acceptance speech for male vocalist of the year.
When dressed-like-a-princess Taylor Swift won the Horizon Award for best new artist, the adorable 17-year-old gushed that the honor was “the highlight of her senior year.” (And to think mine was winning the tug-o-war over a mud pit at our homecoming festivities.)
I am an American Idol junkie, so my real motivation for tuning in was to see Carrie Underwood. So I was pleased to see her win two awards including back-to-back female entertainer of the year awards. In her honor, I will go to iTunes today and finally buy her new song I love so much: So Small. If you haven’t heard it, watch it on Yahoo video. It just might make you a country music fan.
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