The Academy of Country Music Awards wrapped up in Las Vegas on Sunday night, with awards going to ASCAP members Kelly Clarkson, Michael Knox and other country music stars. Find the entire list here.
I found an interesting article on MSN about some of the snubs & surprises of the 2012 ACM Awards that I believe raises some interesting discussion points about this year's show and nominations. I'd love to you're your thoughts about the show and the surprises/snubs listed below!!
Best New Artist Category
MSN.com's Phyllis Stark writes that "Both Justin Moore and David Nail were among the initial eight contenders in the New Artist category, but after fan voting narrowed the field down to three, neither was left standing, despite the fact that both of these acts have had more hits than any of the final three (Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes and Scotty McCreery). A field of five candidates rather than three would have easily been warranted here." To Our Readers: Fan voting continues to be a hot topic in the music industry; especially here in Nashville. Two of the biggest new artist hit makers were completely left off the ballot, and given Scotty McCreery's American Idol exposure, I knew he was a lock to win the award even without spawning a single radio hit. Do you think the New Artist category is best suited for a fan-voted award?
Reba McEntire's Snub
MSN seemed pretty incensed that ASCAP country legend Reba McEntire was left out of the ACM nominations this year: "Not a single nomination for Reba? Really? Unlike most artists in her age group, she's continued to maintain a steady presence on country radio, appeared as a mentor on NBC's The Voice last year, is gearing up to launch a new sitcom, and has continued to be an excellent ambassador for country music. There's clearly a voter disconnect when McEntire is popular enough to host the ACM Awards show (along with Blake Shelton), but still managed to earn no nominations."
To Our Readers: Do you think the ACM snubbed Reba this year? Or do you feel like the country superstar has had an amazing run with awards show and should be left out of the nominations to make room for the younger female country artists that are following in her legendary footsteps?
The One Nom Club:
"Snub: Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Zac Brown Band were likely all grateful for the one nomination they each earned, but all three deserved more," MSN contends. "For instance, any of the three could have easily been a contender for Entertainer of the Year, but none were nominated. All three landed their sole nods in the extremely competitive vocal group category."
To Our Readers: All three of these acts are arguably among the biggest touring acts in the country format, yet none of them received an Entertainer of the Year nomination. Do you think there should be a set of criteria that determines who gets nominated in the Entertainer of the Year category? Maybe the top five-selling country acts from the past year make up the category and it can be fan voted from there? What do you think?
********
Visit www.acmcountry.com for more info about the ACM Awards.
Click here for a list of ASCAP's 2012 ACM Awards nominees.