Urban, Underwood, Stapleton, Musgraves garner key wins at CMA – Variety

If one thing is generally certain about the rewards of the Country Music Association is that whoever wins the first prize, the Artist of the Year, will be someone who will not have won another prize All night long. It was still the case this year, despite the uncertainty that prevailed because it had displeased Keith Urban, who had not chosen the competition since 2005. "I am shocked at the highest point," said Urban , speaking for most of the tipsters, too.

Co-host Carrie Underwood, winner of the Best Singer Award, after giving the award to Miranda Lambert in seven of the previous eight years, is perhaps the only veteran so visibly surprised to be back. "Thank you, my God," said Underwood, a tearful, on television. Behind the scenes, she later admitted, "I would be lying if I said that during the recording of this album (" Cry Pretty ", recently released), I did not want a price." She mentioned her pregnancy very visible by adding, "I hope. I can be a source of inspiration for my children and other working mothers. Because we have that.

Kacey Musgraves' first win in the Golden Hour album of the year was another surprise for some (if only because Chris Stapleton did not win again). This category tends to be a pole of attraction for "cred" wins, and it is no exception, the rave reviews and media attention having largely surpassed the radio play for an album involving Musgraves over- beyond any kind of country box. "I musically imagined this land where it was possible to keep those country elements that are intrinsic to my music, like pedal steel and banjo," she said backstage, " but I wanted to explore this new frontier with electronic elements … I think this album far exceeded country music, but I also wanted to give something to people who love country music. "

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No surprises, then: the three trophies for Stapleton, the best of all for the night. Although he had to give up the category of albums that had been his first year and that of his sophomore, he more than made up for it by winning divisions that were not there. not his before, with "Broken Halos" winning both the single and the band's song. year. In addition, for the fourth consecutive year, he was named best male singer, a category that any other competitor should probably forget for at least the next decade.

As expected, the best new artist turned to renowned singer Luke Combs, with strong competition from Midland and Old Dominion, groups that, as bands, may have canceled. Before being taken over by Sony Nashville, Combs enjoys goodwill and built its own success in the world of streaming – and, as he pointed out in the press room after his victory, he's not the one only. "I think guys like me, Kane (Brown), Dan + Shay and Brett Young have the chance to be part of a wave of artists who have started alone and who have been adopted by the system. Nashville, "he said.

Combs's comments raised a controversial topic: his girlfriend Kane Brown was not named; if he did, one would expect him to be a serious contender for Brown. While being excluded from the nominations, Brown did what other national stars in similar circumstances should do and graciously made an appearance anyway, as he did as presenter. (He's not the only one to be overlooked, superstar Jason Aldean was curiously forgotten by the CMAs for years before coming back and being nominated for the Artist of the Year this year.)

The Osborne brothers are not at all surprised in the duo category, again. "I do not know why we continue to win that – if it was in Florida, there would definitely be a recount," said John Osborne in the newsroom. They have repeatedly referred to a surprise Dan + Shay surprise that never happened, based on the top sales statistics of this other duo. "We work very hard and try to be respectful to everyone around us," TJ Osborne said behind the scenes. "Dan + Shay, it's the same, but they also have some really big songs on the radio." He said when he asked his brother if he had an acceptance speech in mind, "John says," I do not know but I congratulate Dan + Shay for his tweet on hold.

John Osborne said the only thing they were sure they would regret if they lost was the opportunity to come back behind the scenes and "miss our press friends". The duo, known for having espoused non-conservative social and conservative values. political opinions, then gathered the reporters gathered in the room: "Free Press! You are not the enemy of the people! Use your voice and use it loudly. "

Garth Brooks, who has won the Artist of the Year Award in the last two years, made his debut with a new ballad written for his wife, Trisha Yearwood. "The first time I played it for Trisha, it was five minutes ago," he said backstage. It was reported that the producers of CMA were not totally in favor of it making the agreement originally. Asked about it behind the scenes, Brooks said he understood the point of view: "Make a ballad and a new song was not necessarily a good television" from their point of view – but said he had convinced them. As if Garth always ended up losing a loss on that one.

A series of superior performances have made these CMAs a winner in their own right. Luke Bryan opened the show by calling on many younger artists to help her in "What Makes You Country," including two acclaimed women, Ashley McBryde and Lindsay Ell. The power of the girls increased as Miranda Lambert guided Pistol Annies in "Got My Name Changed Back", which marked for the first time for a long time already the word "whores" in a CMA song. Musgraves sang "Slow Burn," a song that you may have thought was far too slow for a fast paced TV … but for the fans, at least, it was a captivating highlight of the third hour.

The frenetic medley featuring new Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs, touring both the country and bluegrass parts of his career with the help of Urban, Brad Paisley, co-presenter, and the young Sierra prodigies Hull and Carson Peters (who is a mere 14). Even at its most acoustic level, it was the most rock ensemble of the night.

But CMAs did a good job this year with their star stars. Stapleton was joined by Mavis Staples, Maren Morris, Marty Stuart and the Nashville Urban Choir for a mix of his "Friendship" and by Staples "I'll take you there." "Mavis in particular, we owe him all a lot musically. Some of us may not even realize it. But she has electricity in a bottle and she is so inspiring to be a person and a musician. If we can use a little of our time to put it in the foreground, that's exactly what we should do. "

If you only watched this show, you would think that the country never existed and that the genre has always been the kind of peace, love, spirituality and uplifting social consciousness. It was not just the borrowing of a classic Staples Singers or Stapleton singing the art of giving. Brooks elevated femininity in general and Miss Yearwood by singing: "She is stronger than me". It may not be one of his classics all the time, but it's a way to put a girl in a country song that Maddie & Tae could appreciate.

It was in Musgraves that he explained the less perverse and serious philosophy behind his latest album: "It was important for me to give people a kind of hiding place with this record," she said. "We are living in a tumultuous time. People may be expecting a social comment from me … and that's it. But I was inspired to write about this wonderful world in which we live … For me it was this really open and positive period, and the music is directly inspired by that. "

And it was at Underwood that he adopted the other choir of the night singing "Love Wins," a pro-tolerance hymn; Behind the scenes, she stated that her Christian morality had led her to write about the need for greater acceptance. In other words: yes, she is a snowflake. On Wednesday night, if only for a carefully chosen night, country music was snowflake-like and proudly in love. And this charge was led by Underwood, who traditionally plays Grace Allen to Paisley's George Burns in the first part of the comedy, but then did his best to make country music an amazing grace before the end of show.