45th Annual CMAs Announce Nominations

Country music for much of America is the ignored genre compared to pop, R&B, and hip hop, but I have always had a soft spot for it. It is perhaps one of the last genres not touched by the unstoppable autotune/danceified juggernaut, and relies heavily on strong songwriting and even stronger talent. I may not cover it very much, but I am a fan! So I am excited to see most of my favorites from the last year get the nominations they deserve in the upcoming Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley hosted Country Music  Association Awards, which will air on November 9th. See the nominees below!

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
"A Little Bit Stronger"
Sara Evans
Produced by Tony Brown
RCA Nashville

"Colder Weather"
Zac Brown Band
Produced by Keith Stegall and Zac Brown
Southern Ground Artists/Atlantic Records

"Don't You Wanna Stay"
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
Produced by Michael Knox
Broken Bow Records

"Honey Bee"
Blake Shelton
Produced by Scott Hendricks
Warner Bros. Nashville

"If I Die Young"
The Band Perry
Produced by Paul Worley
Republic Nashville

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
All About Tonight
Blake Shelton
Produced by Scott Hendricks
Warner Bros. Nashville

My Kinda Party
Jason Aldean
Produced by Michael Knox
Broken Bow Records

Speak Now
Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift
Big Machine Records
This Is Country Music
Brad Paisley
Produced by Frank Rogers
Arista Nashville

You Get What You Give
Zac Brown Band
Produced by Keith Stegall and Zac Brown
Southern Ground Artists/Atlantic Records

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Colder Weather"
Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Levi Lowrey, and Coy Bowles - songwriters

"Dirt Road Anthem"
Brantley Gilbert and Colt Ford - songwriters

"If I Die Young"
Kimberly Perry - songwriter

"Mean"
Taylor Swift - songwriter

"You and Tequila"
Matraca Berg and Deana Carter - songwriters

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Band Perry
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
The Civil Wars
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
Thompson Square

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
"As She's Walking Away"
Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson
Southern Ground Artists/Atlantic Records

"Coal Miner's Daughter"
Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow, and Miranda Lambert
Columbia Records Nashville

"Don't You Wanna Stay"
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson
Broken Bow Records

"Old Alabama"
Brad Paisley featuring Alabama
Arista Nashville

"You and Tequila"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter
BNA Records

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Sam Bush – Mandolin
Jerry Douglas – Dobro
Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Dann Huff – Guitar
Mac McAnally – Guitar

The Saturdays Spill Some Deets About Their Upcoming Album

The Saturdays, one of my personal favorite girl groups, have always been somewhere between being underdogs (especially when compared to their recent ancestors, Spice Girls and Girls Aloud) and being huge. They certainly have had some hits, but somehow have never nabbed a #1 in the UK just yet. Many wonder whether it will happen for them, what with them about to release their 3rd LP and never quite gaining massive support. However, I continue to keep my fingers crossed for them as I find them to be quite talented, likeable, and driven.

In a recent interview with entertainmentwise.com, the girls talked their first 2 singles (Notorious and All Fired Up), as well as what we can expect from their upcoming album. The one thing that bothers/worries me is that they said that there will "lots of ballads." While I am always up for a ballad or two on an album...it is my opinion that the girls could have much more success if they picked a more upbeat direction for most of the songs, and using the ballads as more of a tool for album variety rather than the backbone of the album. One of the main problems for the Sats is that they have not piqued the public interest the way past girl groups have, and singing ballads is not exactly going to make them pop, despite Adele's recent success with songs like Someone Like You. I am hoping that when they DO finish selecting the songs for the final cut, they err on the side of the big fun that Notorious and All Fired Up has given us.

Paris Hilton Readies World Music Takeover

We all know that most music is simply a placeholder. The place it is holding is for the one true Queen of Music. That Goddess of Smash Hits. The Siren of Song.

I am talking of course about: PARIS MOTHA FUCKING HILTON.

We have all been having to deal with lessers like Beyonce and Lady GaGa ever since Queen Paris' eponymous debut came out in 2006, garnering a slew of smash singles and universal critical acclaim. I think Stars Are Blind won a Nobel Peace Prize...I would have to look that up and that is a little too much journalistic work for me!

Ever since then she has been teasing us about returning to the top of the charts, first citing Gay Jesus herself, Kylie Minogue, as the main inspiration for the next album. Recently she changed her tune and announced that she would be conquering the dance genre instead, and has hooked up with mega-DJ Chuckie to produce her upcoming first single, which is her deeply personal and autobiographical "Going Out To The VIP", which surely will remind all of you Adele lovers what songwriting is REALLY all about. I for one, am not at all prepared for the upcoming Paris takeover!!

Mohombi Has A New Single...Generic and Spectacular

So Mohombi is sort of what you would get if you threw 2011 JLo and Kat Deluna in a blender and popped out a man. By this I mean he uses all RedOne beats, has an ambiguously ethnic persona (he is African who is from Sweden who produces distinctly tropical and Latin sounds), and puts out whole albums of relatively same-sounding, generic drivel. However. I have yet to meet a Mohombi song that I don't absolutely adore and wish they would play in every club I go to forever. They all have huge drums, big vocals, and an insatiable dance sensibility. Is it low-brow dance music? Sure. But is it as terrible as the ever-looming LMFAO and Pitbull? NO.

So this champion of "good" generic music has put out a new single called Maraca. It is just like all of his other music. And that is why it is amazing and you should all listen to it and prepare your weekends for this RedOne fueled party starter. Summer ain't over yet, folks.

Nicki Minaj For Glamour

Her Minajesty has graciously accepted a spread in the October issue of Glamour, and it is a gorgeous one!! None of that disgusting GaGa-goes-heroin-addicted-Sesame-Street shit she was wearing at the VMAs. She is showing off all of her fake curves, and has never looked better!! Check the pics out below and be sure to pick up a copy of the magazine when it hits newsstands!

Soooo....this fuckery is happening

Why am I even covering this? I don't even know. The real question is, why are you reading this post? I told you this was fuckery. Whatever. Here goes.

Benni Cinkle, of awkward terrible dancing fame in Rebecca Black's YouTelevised abortion of a song, Friday...she has a song now. Not only did someone give her a song. They have her a video. And she looks like that ugly stripper in an Atlantic City stripclub who is acting like she is above stripping because she is probably just doing it to get some money for a bus home after gambling all her cocktail waitress money away in a game of blackjack but all the other strippers know she ain't goin' anywhere. That. That is what she looks like. Oh, and similar to Friday and the other shit song Rebecca Black put out, this song too is a sonic abortion. Watch at your own risk, chill'ren.

Letter to the Queen

So recently my Queen has been sort of busy, no? Just today Madonna could be seen at the Venice Film Festival to promote her critically lauded film W.E. that is sure to be her biggest film hit since Evita. No, she isn't acting in it...but it still her movie, and you can believe that people are more interested in talking to her about it than the lead Abbie Cornish.

Additionally, she has been hard at work on her next album these last few months, with rumored producers Martin Solveig and William Orbit. Madonna usually goes into her album recording with a good idea of who she will work with and what will come out of it, so there is even a possibility of a single out by the end of the year. The album will certainly be out by the first of 2012, and nothing could make me happier. I just hope she brings it to the next level as she usually does. While I loved Hard Candy...it was not the most beloved album in her discography and I don't like to see people naysay my flawless Queen.

On top of all of this, Madonna has partnered with Smirnoff to find dancers for her next tour which is sure to be the event to be at in 2012. Global Nightlife Exchange uses social media to find the best unknown dancers across the world. Madonna had this to say about the partnership:

"What attracted me to the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project is the combination of participating in the celebration of nightlife around the world and the opportunity to discover the world's best unknown dancers," said Madonna. "The best dancers are always in the clubs looking for the most original experience, just like Smirnoff is doing."

All of this points to another takeover by the Material Girl, and it's about time. With Britney turning into a singles artist, Lady GaGa taking her self-importance to rarely before seen levels, and Beyonce about to fall out of the spotlight and into motherhood...it is time for the original pop queen to return and show the lessers exactly what the fuck to do!