Issue #76: Grammy and CMA Awards Nomination Jubilee
Whither Ye Here Mitchell Tenpenny?
So. It’s been a hard week. We understand if you don’t have the space in your life for talk about awards shows and country music right now. But, if you do - if you need the distraction or take real joy from talking about and of course listening to music, like we do - then we welcome you here. And today, we’re talking about the Grammy Awards - nominations were released on Friday - and the CMA Awards, which airs November 20th. Some welcome stuff, some confusing stuff, some enraging stuff, some batshit stuff. We hopped into the Don’t Rock the Inbox Slack to hash it all out.
Natalie: So, where to begin....the world as we know it lowkey disintegrating, but as per usual the CMAs and Grammys persist.
Marissa: Indeed! The more things change...
Natalie: Feels like the major difference between the two this year comes down to one Beyoncé Knowles Carter.
Marissa: Yup. One allowed that album to be defined as country for awards purposes, and the other said, very predictably I think, no thanks. I know I have said this before and I have no proof, but I think Beyoncé knew that Cowboy Carter would never make CMA ranks, thus further proving the points she was expressing on the record.
Natalie: Yeah, I would be interested to learn if she even bothered submitting (you have to submit, right....?).
Marissa: I think she did submit, from what I heard! I do think it's interesting though, after "country music's big year" or whatever, that no "country" album, as defined by Nashville at least, made it into the top Grammy categories.
Natalie: That's a really good point — it feels...specific, given just how enormous Wallen/Combs/Jelly Roll and of course Shaboozey have been. The Grammys tend ever so slightly less towards commercial might as indicator of success than most of the country awards shows do, though.
Marissa: For sure. But it always feels like they stop short of recognizing something Nashville country at that level, not that this year I'd even argue that this year there's anything really worth including there (was Lainey eligible?). Always the parallels from how country music is perceived to what happens politically, but we don't have to talk about that right now!! Anyway, seeing Cowboy Carter in the top categories of course wasn't a surprise and if she wins....there's a whole lot to say about her finally getting album of the year for doing something country.
Natalie: That would be wild - a long overdue makeup call. I think Shaboozey getting no non-genre noms is probably the biggest snub. I can see like...it's a song that lifts heavily from a previous song, but in a way that's smart and good imo.
Marissa: Yeah for sure - happy to see him in Best New Artist, but of course he will lose to Chappell Roan. Which, I agree with. I lover her and think that award is hers personally. So many layers here though, finally giving Beyoncė an overdue award for working in a genre where whiteness is prioritized!
Natalie: 100%!! And on the other hand, if Shaboozey doesn't win Best New Artist at the CMAs......................Preemptively ready to rage and also expecting to, LOL.
Marissa: The fact that he could lose to Mitchell Tenpenny!
Natalie: Or Nate Smith!! Yikes.
Marissa: He's been around for like 15 years? Made his debut with a song calling women "Bitches"?! Fuck this town sometimes, in so many ways! I really hope Shaboozey can take New Artist at CMAs but I have zero faith in the voters.
Natalie: Do you have any CMA entertainer of the year thoughts? Feels like it's Wallen's to lose but also kind of a tight race.
Marissa: I really think it all things point to Jelly Roll. I could be wrong, but that's my gut. Though Wallen winning would definitely track with the final lap of the We Forgive You tour.
Natalie: Yeah, I can see that too. It would be kind of funny, like Wallen's only real consequence being just never winning entertainer of the year. Lemme get out my tiny violin....It's kind of of a piece with the country music as mafia-type "family" thing, though. "You've brought dishonor to our name" etc. lol.
Marissa: Yeah that could very well be it. Maybe it will take a few more years. My money is on Jelly but we shall see. I will need to take a strong gummy to watch his acceptance speech where he talks about a career entirely built on things Black Women would be shunned for immediately.
Natalie: What do you think about Kacey suddenly being welcomed back into the fold?I guess she won AOTY and female vocalist of the year in 2019 for Golden Hour, so not that long of a departure....some deeper Nashville ties than she's touting at the moment lol. Both Grammy and CMA recognition for an album that was...mid at best imo.
Marissa: The lone woman in Album of the year somehow. I would have loved to see Sierra Ferrell come into the mix into the CMAs. Just shows how narrow the voting body - and nominating rules - are. But, Grammy to the rescue on that one.
Natalie: “Americana” of course.”
Marissa: Meanwhile, Best Country Album at the Grammys is pretty bizarre. I happen to love Cowboy Carter, but it's such a weird category. Post Malone over Luke Combs, even?
Natalie: Yeah, hard to get a read on that one besides Beyoncé being the frontrunner. Post Malone really has some people in the industry gunning for him....I also need someone to explain to me why "YA YA" is Americana and "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" is country. One of them has Rhiannon Giddens playing banjo on it, and it isn't the Americana one lol... "YA YA" has Beach Boys and Nancy Sinatra references...two Americana legends ?!?! lol.
Marissa: It's amazing what you can do when you are a man and you play by the rules! Honestly if Post Malone wins I give up. (again). As for YA YA, that is TRULY confusing to me and makes no sense - does any thought go into this? YA YA in Americana....I do not understand!
Natalie: Apropos of nothing look at Dan + Shay sneaking into the field with their underrated little song...Country Duo/Group is kind of a made up category but the whole thing is a farce so shrug."We Should Get Married" was better though.
Marissa: Another bizarre little category where Post Malone will probably win? Beyoncé gets the big awards this time, and the country categories go elsewhere?
Natalie: Yeah, that sounds right to me - although maybe she'll pick up one of the country ones to kind of send a "we are not the CMAs" message? Idk that might be overly optimistic.
Marissa: Yeah I could see that. I could also see her sweeping all the country categories and someone else (white) taking the top categories, as is what tends to happen with Beyoncė.
Natalie: There's a lot to like in the Americana categories - huge props to friend of the newsletter Charley Crockett for securing his first nomination, though I think Visions of Dallas was actually the better of the two albums (!) he put out this year. I just noticed Pitchfork reviewed them as one which...ok. Beyoncé having the most Grammy noms ever and potentially not getting an AOTY would really be....something in the most predictable possible way.
Marissa: Sounds about right! There are some really fun surprises in Americana - Sierra Ferrell, Charley, Maggie Rose, Waxahatchee.
Natalie: Honestly I'm a little biased but gonna say Hurray For The Riff Raff got snubbed. [Who do you think got snubbed? Comment below!].
Marissa: But how transformative would it be if you put Sierra and Charley up for COUNTRY Grammys? And for me, Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson. That's one of my favorite albums of the year. But I guess you could also make an argument that Country is broken so why would anyone even bother trying to squeeze in, like a Sierra. You can argue both sides for sure.
Natalie: Yeah, that's kind of surprising too. It's like, we write about so much great music over here that it's hard not to get protective! Is there anything on the country country side that you think should have been included? Is Kacey getting country radio play? Just really an outlier in those categories....
Marissa: Kacey isn't, far as I know. But she's still connected to Nashville writers and the systems here.
Natalie: For sure - I was just not at all expecting this to be received as "country" but shows what I know! Intrigued to see what her CMAs vibe is like (if she attends?)...hope she tells everybody to kick rocks lol.
Marissa: There is so much gaming of the categories. Not blaming artists here, you do what you gotta do. More looking at how this is all constructed. The goalposts are constantly moving. But yeah god I hope Kacey wins and she says some SHIT up there.
Natalie: Best case scenario!
Marissa: I am bracing myself for horrible CMA monologue jokes. Like, epic proportions of bad political jokes about policies that will actually kill people - how fun (vomits)! I know Luke Bryan was toasting the election results with Jason Aldean per instagram. But "no politics in country music"! Also the whole Zach Bryan not submitting to Grammys thing....what an eye roll.
Natalie: I did not even know that was a thing...yeah man you're super anti-establishment! I just saw you on the ACMs red carpet but go off king.
Marissa: As for Grammy misses, don't know if Adeem the Artist submitted to Grammys, but Anniversary is a great album. I also would have love to see Kaitlin Butts. I really like the tradition of the Grammys awarding what Music Row has rejected. Aside from Cowboy Carter, I would have liked to see more of that spirit this year in country categories.
Natalie: Yeah I was thinking about Adeem too! Really just tons of gems this year, EOY lists are going to be very tough. An aside, but this has to be one of the weakest ever CMA song of the year categories. "White Horse" is pretty good but far from Stapleton's ceiling. If the genre is about songwriting and this is what you're saying is the cream of the crop....buddy we're in trouble.
Marissa: And I am confused why Kacey/ “The Architect" didn't make that one.
Natalie: Yeah, what in the world. I am not like fundamentally anti-Cody Johnson, but "The Painter" is extremely generic to me.
Marissa: I would love to see the shortlist for that category but jesus christ. This is where you need to change the submission requirements. Let smaller, "americana" artists have a shot at that award!
Natalie: Yes please! It's all so incredibly arbitrary and frustrating, honing in on divisions as if they matter rather than just celebrating good music
Marissa: It is. I don't understand what happened to Carly Pearce here also, RE CMAs Hummingbird was an excellent album.
Natalie: A fun game: are there any CMA categories besides Female Vocalist of the Year that have more than one woman artist nominated in them....
Marissa: Good question. I don't think so!
Natalie: Not in the big four! Musical Event of the year and music video of the year, bc of course...
Marissa: Country music has regressed, as has the nation. I still can't get over Mitchell Tenpenny in New Artist
Natalie: In contrast - Jessie Jo Dillion and Jessi Alexander getting nongenre songwriter of the year Grammy noms!! The Megan Moroney effect I guess lol.
Marissa: Yeah that was cool! Yeah Grammy recognizes country songwriters in a general category, but it always seems to stop there. I hope somehow the Chicks get to present a Grammy to Beyoncė. Not Ready to Make Nice full circle
Natalie: That would be sick. Anything else we want to note vis a vis the statue races? Besides the fact that none of it matters, really...(but it does as far as who makes the most money and so we continue paying attention).
Marissa: They just all feel a little batshit to me with sparks of good, which I guess is how it goes. But I often look to Grammy to course correct CMA, and with the exception of Beyoncė, that didn't happen this year - and the Grammys are using Beyoncė here to course correct, most likely, their refusal to award her Album of the Year for Lemonade, etc. It all feels like using artists as pawn pieces and I hate that. But I also I have always loved awards season because it's more time to talk about music. So I dunno! I'll still be watching it all and paying close attention of course.
Natalie: Yeah, it's always frustrating but it also does matter a lot to the artists — especially the ones who aren't already filling stadiums etc. So hoping we get some vindication in Americana or something — T Bone, my man, you've had your moment (s x 1000)! But we love you! (I'm seeing him Thursday!!)
Marissa: I know!! Love him but...the man does not need another.
Natalie: We gotta give out our own awards. Don't Rock The Inbox award for best politically subversive honky-tonk tune goes to....Maybe next year .
Marissa: Gotta have something to look forward to!
I pulled up a list of Grammy nominations and cntrl-F'd "hurray" and was disgusted that they weren't nominated for anything. That's a great album and Colossus of Roads is a stunning song.
But at least Waxahatchee was recognized.
Hurray for the Riff Raff's The Past Is Still Alive is an incredible album, which I believe will be recognized as a masterpiece in future years. The lyrics, music, and singing are all amazing. It should have been nominated for at least one Grammy.