44th Annual Country Music Awards--My Prediction of the Winners

The 44th Annual Country Music Awards is my favorite country music awards show because this organization seems to get the awards closer to "right" than any other. This year's show will be packed with great entertainment by many of my favorite artists.

Miranda Lambert leads the nominations in this year's Country Music Awards which will broadcast live from Nashville, TN on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 on ABC. Lambert is nominated for nine different awards, including the big one for Entertainer of the Year. She had an incredible year and totally deserves these nine nominations in my opinion.

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will return as the hosts for the 44th Annual County Music Awards. The duo was a big hit last year after they stole the show singing various clips poking fun at other country music stars.

Now that I have the basics out of the way, are you ready to hear my predictions for the winners of country music's biggest and best awards show?

The nominations for this year's 44th Annual Country Music Awards are:

Entertainer of the Year:

Brad Paisley
Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

This is always the hardest category for me to make a choice of. I have several favorites but have narrowed my choice down to either Miranda Lambert or Brad Paisley. My reasoning is that Lady Antebellum won this award last year and even though they are still very hot, that leaves Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert as the top acts.

Zac Brown Band is good and had a great year, but fairly new to the country music scene. I do not think they will have enough pull to win this award this year. Keith Urban is another worthy artist of this award, but I feel like his year just wasn't' quite as good as Lambert's and Paisley's. I think Miranda Lambert has had a big break-out year and will take this award home this year.

Female Vocalist of the Year:

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McIntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

I have broken this category down to Carrie Underwood, a former American Idol winner who just doesn't stop producing No. 1 hits, Taylor Swift, another hot artist who has recently released a new CD, "Speak Now" and Miranda Lambert. No offense to Reba and Martina, they are both classic artists who will always be popular, but I believe this years Female Vocalist of the Year will be Miranda Lambert.

Male Vocalist of the Year:

Dierks Bentley
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban

The Male Vocalist of the Year Award is another one that I'm having a bit of a tough time with. All of these artists are great and deserving and could be chosen for one reason or another. Dierks Bentley would have to be at the bottom of my list for this award just because he is more of a newcomer to the scene. I'm going to have to flip a coin on this one and go with Brad Paisley. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Blake Shelton pulls this one off either. Shelton has had a good year and gained in popularity.

New Artist of the Year:

Luke Bryan
Easton CorbinJ
errod Niemann
Chris Young
Zac Brown Band

Finally, a group that I can easily narrow down to two artists: Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan. I think that most will say that the Zac Brown Band isn't really new this year and this award will go to Luke Bryan. The other three nominees are good and had outstanding years, but just haven't had the exposure yet to measure up to Luke Bryan or the Zac Brown Band. Maybe next year?

Vocal Group of the Year:

Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

Again, I have this category narrowed down to the final two selections which are Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band. Lady Antebellum won this award last year and I really think this will be a close one and too close for me to call. The Zac Brown band has been on a roll and produces several hits this past year, making them a contention for this award also. I plead the 5th on this one and say TIE between Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band. Can't do that? Well then, I will side with Lady Antebellum since they don't seem to be able to release a song that isn't an instant hit.

Vocal Duo of the Year:

Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland

Normally by just looking at this list of names I would say Brooks & Dunn hands down. However, since the duo toured only half a year on their farewell tour, I will have to go with Sugarland. I feel that Steel Magnolia is worthy of this award but just hasn't gained enough momentum to capture it yet.

Single of the Year:

"A Little More Country Than That" - Easton Corbin
"Hillbilly Bone" - Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
"Need You Now" - Lady Antebellum
"The House That Built Me" - Miranda Lambert
"White Liar" - Miranda Lambert

Talk about a hard choice! This category has the best of the best--literally! I'm going to say this one will be between "Need You Now," "Hillbilly Bone," "The House That Built Me," and "White Liar." That didn't narrow things down much, did it? My next conclusion is that "The House That Built Me" was a newly released song this past year, where the others also got air time the previous year, so I will go with "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert.

Album of the Year:

Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
Play On - Carrie Underwood
Revolution - Miranda Lambert
Twang - George Strait
Up on the Ridge - Dierks Bentley

I think that "Revolution" and Miranda Lambert will be the winner here. Miranda's music has a wide appeal and she has an authentic country sound. Don't be surprised if King George Strait takes this one though. He's a true icon in the country music field. Dierks Bentley has a big hit on his hands with "Up on the Ridge" single, but it is just hitting too late in the year to be taken seriously for the awards ceremony. Next year, Dierks!

Song of the Year- Award Goes to the Songwriter(s):

"A Little More Country Than That" - Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress, and Wynn Varble
"Need You Now" - Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Josh Kear
"The House That Built Me" - Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin
"Toes" - Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins, and Shawn Mullins
"White Liar" - Natalie Hemby and Miranda Lambert

The Song of the Year Award goes to Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin for "The House That Built Me." This is a touching song that we can all relate to.

Musical Event of the Year - Award Goes to Each Artist:

"Bad Angel" - Dierks Bentley featuring Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson
"Can't You See" - Zac Brown Band featuring Kid Rock
"Hillbilly Bone - Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
"I'm Alive" - Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews
"Till The End" - Alan Jackson with Lee Ann Womack

The Musical Event of the Year is another hard category for me. I would love to go out on a limb here and choose the Zac Brown Band for "Can't You See." However, I think either Kenny Chesney takes this one for "I'm Alive" or Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins for "Hillbilly Bone."

Music Video of the Year:

"Hillbilly Bone" - Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
"Need You Now" - Lady Antebellum
"The House That Built Me" - Miranda Lambert
"Water" - Brad Paisley
"White Liar" - Miranda Lambert

Music Video of the Year is a fun category, as the videos bring the music to life. This year's winner of the Video of the Year will be Miranda Lambert with "The House That Built Me."

Musician of the Year:

Paul Franklin - Steel Guitar
Dan Huff - Guitar
Brent Mason - Guitar
Mac McAnally - Guitar
Randy Scruggs - Guitar

The Musician of the Year will be a toss up between Randy Scruggs and Mac McAnally. I think Mac McAnally will be this year's winner.

Tune in at 7:00 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 to ABC to watch the awards, the performances by all the top artists and to see how many of my predictions are correct!

Source:

CMA Award Nominations