Here we have the "53rd Annual CMA Awards" from November 2019, so this awards show is only minimally over a year and a month old, so still relaively fresh and of course the room is packed, also audience-wise, because this took place quite some time before corona hit. The show ran for minimally under 130 minutes if we do not count commercials. If we do, then you can add at least another half hour I suppose. From the title you can see that this ceremony has a really long history. It took place over half a centruy ago already, but honestly looking at when the popularity of country music was probably at its highest, then you could almost be a bit surprised that this show did not have its first edition already ten or even twenty years earlier. Still, this is not supposed to indicate anything negative. On the contrary, most awards shows can only dream of a history as long and packed with specctacular and talented artists like the CMA Awards. The hosts here are Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. Doesn't sound bad, right? Well, at least not in theory. I personally must say I am not too fond at all of this trio and I would have loved for Paisley to replace the two elderly ladies featured as hosts here. Paisley and Underwood have hosted this even so many times. Pity he wasn't there in 2019. Apparently not even in the audience. So yeah, Reba I never liked at all. She is too over-the-top for me. Parton I had a bit of a soft spot for in the past, but the more I see from her the less likable she seems as well. And Underwood I would describe in a similar manner, even if she is considerably younger. Good for her that she managed to preserve her casting show fame until not and I really respect it that she has stayed loyal to the music genre that made her (unlike Swift), but what I have heard from her in terms of music lately did not make any impact on me at all. And her hosting here was also very much on the forgettable side honestly. As for the rest of my review, I guess I will just do some brainstorming and elaborate a bit on stuff I liked and disliked. First of all, I want to say that I watched the 2020 edition of this awards show the other day and even if I am not too big on this 2019 edition here, it is still way better than the most recent one. 2020 was one of the worst of them all honestly, but not really because of how they really tried all they could to fit in as much political correctness as possible on the occasion of the BLM movement times and include as many Black country artists as possible. Be it as hosts or as lifetime achievement awards winners. (Here in 2019, we only got one occasion where they randomly push a Black child into the camera. And I think one Black band member and the other ones were White. Not that it matters.) They weren't undeserving or anything, not at all, but probably not a coincidence that it happened in 2020. The real issue with this year was that it felt pretty sad how it almost seemed like a sellout ceremony to pop music. Not only, but also because of Maren Morris. She also won one big category, but did not dominate the event like she did in 2020. In 2019, she also already had the most nominations from everybody. Instead, the love was really spread and many nominees were allowed to triumph and there was not one dominating artist. Best example is Garth Brooks in the end, who got the Entertainer of the Year awards. Reese Witherspoon was there to give it to him, probably still because of her eternal June Carter portrayal. Anyway, I still think that "Entertainer of the Year" is a strange name for a category and, for all I am concerned, they can leave this one out or at least not turn it into the big final category of the night. I still like though that they nominate men and women together, but not because I am a radical leftist who thinks it is sexist if they don't. The opposite is the case. A healthy balance is all. Also nice to see Willie Nelson at his really high ageb still around here and even if there was not too much of a voice anymore, then again he was always more about talking than singing, it was quite an effort as he is moving closer to 90 now.
Johnny Cash, my all-time favorite, was also featured here. Got mentioned once on the occasion of the male vocalist category and got a well-deserved applause. And of course indirectly through Reese at the end. I mean many people will probably first think of Legally Blonde when they hear her name, but for me it's always gonna be "Walk the Line". Alright, what else can be mentioned. Oh yes, Pink was there for a duet. Nothing new here. They got Beyoncé and the Bieber on other occasions to collaborate with renowned country music artists, but at least Pink was a bit restrained here as I normally do not like her at all, but she was tolerable and only one song luckily. However, a key issue with this awards show was the usual. Far too many songs. The awards element felt moved to the background. And that is always a negative deal breaker for an awards show and I just cannot recommend it this way. Was a close call between two stars out of ten and four stars out of ten, but I shall be generous here. Don't give threes for non-series. A few words on the people in charge behind the camera. Normally, I talk about those right away at the beginning, so it's high time. As for the writers, the man in charge mostly here was Wild and he is super experienced with shows like this one we got here. Carrie Underwood also gets a writing credit for coming up with her own material I suppose and Deaton, the third in the bunch, is also highly experienced although most of the time he was more active as a producer than writer. As for the duo of directors, Rudzinski has three Primetime Emmy wins and he is a very experienced non-film director, but country music awards may not exactly be his area of expertise. That is probably why they got co-director Flanigen in here. He is nowhere near as experienced and prolific as Rudzinski, but he brings the country element. I think with these people in charge of writing and directing here, they certainly made a good choice and the outcome should have been much better than it actually was. But yeah, you can only hope for future editions to turn out better. And until they don't turn these shows into concert events, it's probably never gonna happen. But that is of course not just the CMA Awards' fault. Almost every other music awards show is also doing it wrong. Besides, it would be nice if Reba is not gonna host the 2021 edition. It is pretty cringeworthy how everybody is sucking up to her, like the one who talked about her own beginning and how people saw talent in here, but at the same time said to her that she is no Reba. Cringe is real. Okay, what else? Sean Combs (Puff Daddy or P. Diddy) is probably not the most known musician named Combs anymore these days. Or maybe he still is. But there is stiff competition. There was a lot of fire at Blake Shelton's perfomance, but I liked it. Country music, even (or especially) when it is about God (also when one of the most defining artists has the last name Church), does not need to be restrained. It just shall not move too much into pop territory. But Shelton did a fine job there. He's been around for a long time too. Same applies to Keith Urban, who brings Australia (or actually New Zealand) to American country music. And also as always, Nicole Kidman was with him. I really wonder if those two will stay together forever and also if Kidman really likes country music as much as it seems when she is grooving along in the audience or if se is just acting and does it for her man. Pretends, I mean. Okay, I think this is pretty much all then. Still a bit sad that they do not include Musician of the Year during the broadcast. They really should. Who cares if this is a category for non-singers. Actually, it is fairly disrespectful to them because they are almost the only ones who are left out. They could really ditch one or two songs performed live on stage to include those fellas. I shall do it here instead. This time, fiddle player Jenee Fleenor won over Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Mac McAnally (guitar), Ilya Toshinsky (banjo/guitar) and Derek Wells (guitar). And what was up with Kris Kristofferson? Where was he? He sure would have deserved a better inclusion if he received the lifetime achievement award or was he too old for audiences? Really disrespectful. Makes me wonder if I should take away one or two more stars indeed. He is still younger than Nelson by the way and I am mentioning him because he is the one whose name they used for this lifetime achievement award. To end this review on a genuinely positive note, I find it nice to see Kacey Musgraves receive some awards recognition. "Rainbow" is a song I like. And also good to see to see "Old Town Road win an award too. This one I can also listen to a 100 times. So there are definitely some uplifting moments from these otherwise underwhelming over two hours. Still, they are not frequent enough for a positive recommendation. I give this one a thumbs-down and I hope that the quality can rise again for future editions. Most important this is that they preserve the core country music here and do not also get lost in generic pop music with minor country elements. This would be such a shame. Oh and by the way, people, stop saying you're (best) friends with everybody. This really feels kinda pathetic by now. Instead of using this term in such an inflationary manner, go value your true friends. Also, of course, not a problem here only. Actually, a far bigger problem on other awards shows indeed. Now, that is really it. Maybe indeed a better choice that, with the overall quality here (or lack thereof), I am ending this review with a reference to something that certainly needs to be improved in the future.
Johnny Cash, my all-time favorite, was also featured here. Got mentioned once on the occasion of the male vocalist category and got a well-deserved applause. And of course indirectly through Reese at the end. I mean many people will probably first think of Legally Blonde when they hear her name, but for me it's always gonna be "Walk the Line". Alright, what else can be mentioned. Oh yes, Pink was there for a duet. Nothing new here. They got Beyoncé and the Bieber on other occasions to collaborate with renowned country music artists, but at least Pink was a bit restrained here as I normally do not like her at all, but she was tolerable and only one song luckily. However, a key issue with this awards show was the usual. Far too many songs. The awards element felt moved to the background. And that is always a negative deal breaker for an awards show and I just cannot recommend it this way. Was a close call between two stars out of ten and four stars out of ten, but I shall be generous here. Don't give threes for non-series. A few words on the people in charge behind the camera. Normally, I talk about those right away at the beginning, so it's high time. As for the writers, the man in charge mostly here was Wild and he is super experienced with shows like this one we got here. Carrie Underwood also gets a writing credit for coming up with her own material I suppose and Deaton, the third in the bunch, is also highly experienced although most of the time he was more active as a producer than writer. As for the duo of directors, Rudzinski has three Primetime Emmy wins and he is a very experienced non-film director, but country music awards may not exactly be his area of expertise. That is probably why they got co-director Flanigen in here. He is nowhere near as experienced and prolific as Rudzinski, but he brings the country element. I think with these people in charge of writing and directing here, they certainly made a good choice and the outcome should have been much better than it actually was. But yeah, you can only hope for future editions to turn out better. And until they don't turn these shows into concert events, it's probably never gonna happen. But that is of course not just the CMA Awards' fault. Almost every other music awards show is also doing it wrong. Besides, it would be nice if Reba is not gonna host the 2021 edition. It is pretty cringeworthy how everybody is sucking up to her, like the one who talked about her own beginning and how people saw talent in here, but at the same time said to her that she is no Reba. Cringe is real. Okay, what else? Sean Combs (Puff Daddy or P. Diddy) is probably not the most known musician named Combs anymore these days. Or maybe he still is. But there is stiff competition. There was a lot of fire at Blake Shelton's perfomance, but I liked it. Country music, even (or especially) when it is about God (also when one of the most defining artists has the last name Church), does not need to be restrained. It just shall not move too much into pop territory. But Shelton did a fine job there. He's been around for a long time too. Same applies to Keith Urban, who brings Australia (or actually New Zealand) to American country music. And also as always, Nicole Kidman was with him. I really wonder if those two will stay together forever and also if Kidman really likes country music as much as it seems when she is grooving along in the audience or if se is just acting and does it for her man. Pretends, I mean. Okay, I think this is pretty much all then. Still a bit sad that they do not include Musician of the Year during the broadcast. They really should. Who cares if this is a category for non-singers. Actually, it is fairly disrespectful to them because they are almost the only ones who are left out. They could really ditch one or two songs performed live on stage to include those fellas. I shall do it here instead. This time, fiddle player Jenee Fleenor won over Paul Franklin (steel guitar), Mac McAnally (guitar), Ilya Toshinsky (banjo/guitar) and Derek Wells (guitar). And what was up with Kris Kristofferson? Where was he? He sure would have deserved a better inclusion if he received the lifetime achievement award or was he too old for audiences? Really disrespectful. Makes me wonder if I should take away one or two more stars indeed. He is still younger than Nelson by the way and I am mentioning him because he is the one whose name they used for this lifetime achievement award. To end this review on a genuinely positive note, I find it nice to see Kacey Musgraves receive some awards recognition. "Rainbow" is a song I like. And also good to see to see "Old Town Road win an award too. This one I can also listen to a 100 times. So there are definitely some uplifting moments from these otherwise underwhelming over two hours. Still, they are not frequent enough for a positive recommendation. I give this one a thumbs-down and I hope that the quality can rise again for future editions. Most important this is that they preserve the core country music here and do not also get lost in generic pop music with minor country elements. This would be such a shame. Oh and by the way, people, stop saying you're (best) friends with everybody. This really feels kinda pathetic by now. Instead of using this term in such an inflationary manner, go value your true friends. Also, of course, not a problem here only. Actually, a far bigger problem on other awards shows indeed. Now, that is really it. Maybe indeed a better choice that, with the overall quality here (or lack thereof), I am ending this review with a reference to something that certainly needs to be improved in the future.
