ACM Unleashes Niche Expanding Tour De Force

The 3-hour 46th Academy of Country Music Awards was perhaps the best show this format has produced—ever.

Country superstars and rising newcomers were everywhere, blended with a liberal dose of off islander presenters to help drive ratings and exposure. Hollywood heartthrob Rob Pattinson, Nashville newlywed Reese Witherspoon, Idol icon Ryan Seacrest and more joined longtime host Reba McEntire and apprentice, Blake Shelton. This year’s telecast included two sold-out venues, the MGM theatre and Mandalay Bay. The sets were HD ready, with special kudos to the Emerald City-meets-Matrix backdrop which framed Sugarland and Jennifer Nettles’ heart stopping performance of, “Tonight.”

What makes a great award show? Arguably it should blend special moments, artistic performances, innovative ideas and snappy one liners in a momentum building mash that keeps viewers glued to the screen. So let’s break it down along those lines.

Special Moments
ACM’s team programmed five special moments into performance slots. Actually, there were six if you count the rerun of “Dysfunctional Family: The Judds” whose award presentation defied description, but was compelling like watching a trainwreck in slow motion.

Musically there was much to applaud. Alabama joined Brad Paisley (performing “Old Alabama”) whose incredible guitar picking prompted Blake Shelton to quip later in the show, “I wonder if Brad’s wife Kimberly is jealous of his guitar? If he plays that thang any harder he’s gonna get it pregnant.”

Zac Brown Band and James Taylor paired for a medley of “Colder Weather” and “Sweet Baby James.” Zac cites JT as one of his major influences, and that came across beautifully as the pair traded phrases and melodic turns.

Darius Rucker sang “Music From the Heart,” with 25 ACM Lifting Lives Music Campers, a place for children with developmental disabilities. The song, written by Brett James and Chris Young framed with the smiles, tears and obvious joy of the camper chorus was touching and authentic. Rucker made it sound beautiful while amplifying the song’s emotional message.

Jennifer Nettles joined Rihanna to sing the pop/R&B star’s latest single, “California King Bed.” The combination was eye catching, and Nettles slid into the role with little or no effort. The duo’s lack of chemistry kept this from bubbling to a full boil, but it was an inspired idea nonetheless.

And finally in the “Special Moment” department there was the ratings rocket surprise when Aerosmith’s/Idol judge Steven Tyler joined superstar/Idol alum Carrie Underwood to sing “Undo It” and Tyler’s signature “Walk This Way.” The chemistry here, could melt concrete and was like issuing any channel surfers in the crowd an official cease and desist notice.

Best Performances
It takes more than a half dozen or so special moments spread over three hours to keep a crowd’s attention, but that task was buoyed by an abundance of strong artist performances. In addition to highlights mentioned above, Taylor Swift, Ronnie Dunn, Keith Urban and Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” riveted attention.

Taylor Swift strummed a six string banjo using a backwoods Appalachian front porch as a setting to showcase “Mean.” Her band also played acoustic instruments and dressed “old timey.” The instrumentation and props gave the song a heavy traditional feel and altered a more edgy perspective from the CD recording. Swift, who won the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year later in the evening, is audaciously bold in her music and continues to surprise to the up side.

Innovative Ideas
The ACM deserves mention for exploring new ideas. Firstly, holding the event in two locations—MGM and Mandalay added scale, while allowing lots more Vegas ticket buyers to share in the event. Secondly, adding a co-host, if not a revolutionary idea in itself, was executed beautifully in the choice of Blake Shelton.

And let’s not forget the fan voting aspect of the show which ACM has pioneered for country music. The question must be asked, are these types of award shows about a sanctimonious body of industry voters handing down judgments? Or is it about engaging consumers more deeply across multiple channels while exposing the format’s best artists and music in a way that hopefully drives sales and excitement? You be the judge.

FutureCountry
“Someone said it’s been a great night for country music,” said Ryan Seacrest who presented the night’s top award. “I disagree. It’s been a great night for American music.” Seacrest, whose marketing expertise is self evident, framed the country format and Nashville’s issue nicely. To niche or not to niche, that is the question. Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and the ACM have already answered that question for themselves.