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A Country Fan's ACM's
By Kevin Skinner, AccessHollywood.com Senior Artist
Fairly certain I'm the lone country music fan here at Access, I proudly plopped down, beer and popcorn in hand, to view last night's 70th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
First off, whatever Reba's had done (or "hasn't" had done), she's done it well. She looked amazing. The monologue wasn't much to write home about, but then again, watching a country awards show and expecting 30 Rock isn't exactly a reasonable expectation. She's Reba and we love her for her upbeat attitude and crazy grins.
The set was a little 80's-Daytime Emmys-meets-Star Search-meets, well, the ACMs. To me, this OK given the nature of the genre. MTV Moonman statue stage themes and lower-me-from-the-ceiling-in-a-flaming disco ball entertainment stylings wouldn't exactly work when you've got a guy in a cowboy hat singing about backroads and frog-giggin'"
So here are my personal highlights, in no particular order:
The reclusive Shania Twain was present. That alone was worth televising.
Former Idol Carrie Underwood's performance of "Wasted" was one of her better awards show moments -- aside from an interesting camera-angle that, at times, had her appearing to ride an invisible horse. Giddyup, Carrie.
Country new-comer Taylor Swift performed her hit song "Tim McGraw" -- During the last verse, she walked into the audience and finished singing directly to Mr. McGraw (whom she'd never met until that moment). It was VERY awkward, cheesy and uncomfortable. Surprise.
Immediately following 17 year old Taylor Swift's serenade to Tim McGraw, Reba hit her comical peak by remarking "Now any teenage boys out there who wanna write a song called Reba McEntire, you just go ahead." Good stuff, Mrs. Reba, good stuff.
Hate Toby Keith. LOVED, however, his dancers and their outfits. They made good use of the local Vegas talent here.
Brad Paisley's performance of "I wanna check you for ticks" had weird silhouettes of loosely illustrated ticks flying across the background. I couldn't decide if it was funny or uncomfortable.
Definitely wasn't diggin' Rascal Flatts and their inappropriate exploitation of current events. Accompanying their performance of the TOTALLY UNRELATED single "He Ain't The Leavin' Kind," was a convoluted photo montage of war-related sadness, followed by photos of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings. Poor taste, guys.
The highlight of the night was probably the Kelly Clarkson/Reba duet of Clarkson's "Because of You." For some, Reba's twang-infusion may have been a little off-putting, considering the smoothness of Clarkson's original. To me, however, it didn't get much better than hearing the harmonies of these vocally distinct powerhouses during the song's climax. Seriously. Reba. Kelly. Together. More, please.
The absolutely deserving Miranda Lambert took home the honor of Top New Female Vocalist. The previous year's winner, Catty -- er, Carrie Underwood presented the award.
And for like the 85th year in a row, Brooks and Hair-fountain Dunn took home the award for Country Duo of the Year. During their acceptance I think even they nodded off.
Unfortunately I didn't stick around for what most might consider the "big win" items... after Sugarland's attempt at incorporating a conveyor belt into their performance, I safely concluded my evening was complete.
So even though I may poke a little fun, I've become fond of this 'underdog' award show -- especially for an often belittled genre for which I am a loyal fan. For music frequently considered cheesy, sometimes funny, a little predictable, but at its core honest... I really can't imagine a production more appropriate.
Anything else just wouldn't feel country, y'all. : )
Kelly + Reba = perfection