Thursday, November 12, 2009


The Hidden Meaning of Taylor Swift's Big CMA Night: Conventional wisdom is that Taylor Swift won Entertainer of the Year because she's arguably the hottest artist on the planet. I think it goes deeper than that. This is the beginning of yet another changing of the guard in Nashville. Think about it. The incredible Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and George Strait (fellow nominees) have all been hit makers for a decade or more. Taylor was the only recent hitmaker in the bunch. It's not about who's more Pop or who's more Country. Nor is it soley about Taylor's amazing talent. The message from the CMA voters came through loud and clear: It's time to shake things up. Taylor Swift is a glorious lightening rod for that change.

6 comments:

Jim Patrick said...

I agree with Joel that Taylor Swifts's CMA landslide was indeed the changing of the guard in Nashville...i. e. early Garth, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn etc. were the same thing. My question is will Nashville and country radio continue to be produce and play music that is diverse as todays chart....I hope so.....

Jim Shea said...

Taylor had a sympathy vote after her Kanye West experience at the MTV Music awards.They were defending one of their own from a bully.

Ron Kline said...

Genuine "down home" charm, charismatic personality, amazing talent, backed with the goods "live"... whether the awards are any indication of the importance of these combined qualities with major success, they all ring true with Taylor. She is a "continuing" of the guard, endearing and engaging, keeping Country music strong. Let's hope for future success...Country wins.

Trey said...

I actually had the same feelings about Taylor that Ron had. UNTIL Wednesday night! There was something about the look on her face, sitting on the edge of her seat, as she waited to see who had won. This is truly a competitive, accomplishment, award-driven thing for her. Not that that's a bad thing. We're all competitive in our business, and being competitive drives you to do great things, whether you're an artist, a radio personality, or a radio station manager. But, it also includes a sort of "gloat over a corpse" side to it that I guess I didn't think Taylor had. But, I think I saw that in her eyes Wednesday night. She's in it to WIN.

Joe Lang said...

How can anything that big that started with country radio be bad… sure there’s cross over, but if she brings people to country from other formats we win. I also like the fact she thanked country radio during her acceptance speech… bring ‘em on over Taylor!

Joel Raab said...

Regarding Trey's comment, sure she's in it to win. As competitive radio types will understand, you have to have that killer instinct to win. I can't fault her for having that. Plus, personally, she's the nicest, most grounded celebrity I think I have ever met.