For our fourth prediction and preview article about tomorrow’s 43 rd CMA Awards telecast, we present the Single of the Year and Song of the Year categories. These two award categories are separate as Single showcases the industry’s favorite single of the year while Song celebrates the best-written song. Therefore, Song only goes to the songwriters of the award. So, unless the singer is also the songwriter of the song, they do not get the award, which is why George Strait has never won this award before (and won’t again this year). Also, only three out of the last 9 years have seen the same song win both awards. The last time this happened was in 2006 when “Believe” got the award. The other two times it happened were with “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” and “Live Like You Were Dying.”
We’ll start the debate with the Single of the Year. This year’s category includes Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried,” Lady Antebellum’s “I Run To You,” Jamey Johnson’s “In Color,” Billy Currington’s “People Are Crazy” and Brad Paisley’s “Then.” All of these songs except “In Color” were #1 singles but that doesn’t mean that Jamey’s single will not get the award here. In fact it was a near unanimous critical choice as one of 2008’s best singles. It is a front-runner for this category which, in my mind, may be the strongest and toughest category of the year. “I Run To You” is the ‘weakest’ choice here and it’s one of my personal favorites. In fact I like all of the songs here quite a bit but if I were voting, “Then” would be the least-likely one to take home my vote. However, I have a feeling that I am one of the few people who feels that way w/r/t Paisley’s first single from American Saturday Night.
I really don’t know how the voters are going to choose this category except for what I said above, that Lady Antebellum’s great song likely isn’t the winner here. I do think if you take ‘block voting’ into account here, Jamey Johnson and Billy Currington’s singles kind of cancel each-other out thus leaving Paisley and Zac Brown Band to fight out for the award with Paisley likely to take it home because he’s a co-host, a CMA favorite, the traditionalist and part of the bigger record company, Sony Nashville. So even if it’s my least-favorite single in this group of songs, I still see it winning, by a thread or two. Note: the award goes to artist, producer and record company.
Single of the Year
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown Band
Produced by Keith Stegall
Homegrown/Atlantic Records
“I Run To You”
Lady Antebellum
Produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley
Capitol Records Nashville
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson
Produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys
Mercury Nashville
“People Are Crazy”
Billy Currington
Produced by Carson Chamberlain and Billy Currington
Mercury Nashville
“Then”
Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois
Arista Nashville
The Song of the Year category is slightly easier to predict than Single of the Year mostly because it’s the same group of songs with “I Told You So” replacing “I Run To You.” In the rundown. We’ll start with that song. Recorded by Carrie Underwood for her Carnival Ride album, “I Told You So” was originally a hit in 1987 for songwriter Randy Travis and it was actually nominated for this award back then. Still, it didn’t win the award then so it can be eligible here, particularly since a great song is still a great song and it was newly recorded by a different artist. Unlike Lady Antebellum’s song, I actually think this song has a strong chance of winning this award and it’s top contention is likely to be previous winner Jamey Johnson’s “In Color” (he won for Strait’s “Give It Away” in 2007) and “People Are Crazy.” Bobby Braddock is one of country music’s most cherished songwriters so I can easily see him winning this award. I don’t think “Then” is as strongly written a song as it is purported to be and while I love “Chicken Fried” as a single, I think it’s kinda outta place on this list of songs. In the end, I don’t see how anything but “In Color” wins this award.
SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Chicken Fried”
Zac Brown/Wyatt Durrette
“I Told You So”
Randy Travis
“In Color”
Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto
“People Are Crazy”
Bobby Braddock/Troy Jones
“Then”
Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Ashley Gorley
Tomorrow is “Country Music’s Biggest Night” and we will round out our prediction previews with the Album and Entertainer of the Year award categories.
Check out part one of the series by clicking here.
Check out part two of the series by clicking here.
Check out part three of the series by clicking here.
Check out part five of the series by clicking here.
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