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These aren't free."
See photos: Kenny Chesney
Still, Chesney was cheerful, not churlish, and had sympathetic words for
another country superstar with recent heartbreak, Shania Twain. Asked what advice he
would have for Twain, making her first awards appearance since her divorce, he
replied, "Relationships are hard anyway, for anybody -- especially when it's a
spectactor sport. I just wish her the best. She can do anything she wants to
do." (He also freely confessed that, yes, he definitely was flirting with her as
she presented his award.)
'Play' date: Co-host Brad Paisley earned his stripes in
more ways than one. Apart from sharing emcee duties with Carrie Underwood, Paisley kicked off
the show with a live performance of his hit single, "Start a Band," alongside
Keith Urban. But even with multiple wins and news that his new album, "Play,"
debuted at the top of the country charts, Paisley admitted the evening's most
memorable moment for him came with "the first joke I landed."
See photos: Brad Paisley | Carrie Underwood
Still, he admitted the chart-topping performance for the new set, built
primarily around his formidable instrumental prowess, didn't initially invite
such lofty expectations. "But we didn't want to make this a record people
wouldn't listen to," added Paisley. "I call it audio ginger. It goes between
bites in a Japanese restaurant, to cleanse the palette."
As for the blazing guitar duel with Urban, Paisley said the two
guitar-slinging stars were definitely considering sharing the concert stage at
some point. Their new music video toys with Guitar Hero worship, but Paisley
drily noted that "girls dig the real thing, too, I understand."
Sweet success (and revenge): Carrie Underwood's most vivid
CMA memory came early in the proceedings: "[It was] Brad's quick [costume]
change after the first song. I've never seen so much of Brad Paisley before!"
She struck a more somber note when asked about the meaning of her third win as
Female Vocalist and fifth CMA award overall. "It means so much," she said,
visibly tearing up. "We've worked so hard this year, and there are so many
people that are behind there, pushing albums, pushing singles ... When somebody
wins an award like this, it's a victory for everybody who works on it."
The erstwhile "American Idol" deflected tabloid-conscious queries about her
penchant for revenge songs, however, noting, "I didn't actually write any of the
revenge songs ... Dudes wrote those. But I enjoy acting them out onstage."
Premature old-timers: In a genre (and awards show)
noteworthy for longevity, there's no small irony in hearing Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney fret
that, despite their recent wave of platinum hits and their nod as Best Group,
"It keeps getting scarier ... with these kids, these new acts coming up, getting
better all the time." From a band that's only broken through in this decade,
Rooney's fears sound more like future-tripping than any immediate threat.
Born-again country: For Darius Rucker, riding the wave of his
successful crossover from rock band lead singer to solo country star, his solo
CMA performance was "surreal" after looking down in the audience and seeing George Strait watching him. Rucker
went on to gush about his new career focus: "I wanted everybody to know I'm in
this for keeps. I couldn't believe I got the bid to play -- I'm not nominated.
Last year, I felt like an outsider just walking around. Now I feel like part of
the family." (Rucker would also be name-checked by label mates Lady Antebellum when Lady A lead
singer Charles Kelley reported, "I sent Darius a videotape of me when I was 12
years old, singing Hootie and the Blowfish songs.")
Mothers and daughters: Rookies Lady Antebellum may have
snagged the Best New Artist award (previously tagged the Horizon Award) their
first time out, but singer and Music City native Hillary Scott recalled past CMA shows
she attended with her mother, Linda Davis, who paved the way with
award-winning performances of her own. "I didn't get to go with her the year she
won with Reba [McEntire], but I've been her
date at more than a few CMAs. So it was great having her with me this year as my
date."
Professional ears: Veteran producer Tony Brown, who guided George Strait to the Best Album win,
minimized the challenges of tailoring the right songs to the right stars, even
when delivering the bumper crop of records he's produced this year: "You can
listen to 900 mediocre songs, and when you get to the chorus [on a good one],
you just know it." (Brown did confess that tracking Strait at Jimmy Buffett's studio may have added
some useful vibes. "Maybe this Key West thing is working out.")
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