What we have here are the "57th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards" and the title is pretty self-explanatory and a good summary. You see this show has been in existence for over half a century now and the focus is on country music. I must say I am getting a bit confused with the several country music awards shows these days, but this is definitely among the biggest. I guess the quantity of those shows how much people appreciate country music still to this day. At least in America. It's maybe nowhere else as big as it is in the States. The duration of this event was slightly under two hours if we exclude commercials. Otherwise, they easily made it past the two-hour mark. This aired originally in early March 2022, so already two months ago now almost. One of the biggest nights in country music. Maybe it was overlooked by some because of other awards shows taking place back then at the same time and over the course of the last months. Then again, I cannot say it went under the radar because it really should not have been seen by many because of how poor it was. If you look at the people who made this, you will find names that may sound familiar if you are into awards shows. Best example is director Glenn Weiss, who is like the definite number one name in high-profile awards shows productions (Oscars etc.), but also of course this applies to the writers. Well, to two out of three I'd say: Adelman with his huge amount of Emmy nominations, but just can't seem to win and Boone who has actually won. Multiple times even. But both have impressive bodies of work, at least in quantity. Same cannot be said about Rita Brent. Not sure how she became a part of this, but I guess diversity helped in her case.
In any case, you could see how during this show they were definitely focusing on making clear that Black people also have their place in country music. Just look at the very end, the final performance of the night. A real classic tune (These Boots) and they picked an African-American to sing. A female, just like somebody praised females in an acceptance speech and just like the final award of the night also went to a female. Guess what, I definitely still prefer the Leningrad Cowboys version. There were others too, not just the performances, but also when they introduced acts. Other African-Americans I mean. So, politics are definitely a big part of country awards shows now too. Which I personally do not like, but it's okay I guess. Opinions differ. Needless to say that there was also a pro-Ukraine comment very early on during the show. That one came from Dolly Parton and she was the host that night. She did not have really many inclusions though. But she doesn't have to. She's an icon anyway. Her outfit was pretty self-explanatory. All about the glamour. Near the end, she is featured more frequently again. I'd say she was among the more memorable aspects of the evening, but I am not sure if in a particularly good way. Definitely not in a great way. The key reason why I gave a pretty low rating here is basically that this show completely missed the point. Like so many other awards shows did too. The focus is no longer on the awards, but fully on the music and performances. That's not how it should be. Not at all. It's like when you are supposed to write an essay on film history and instead simply elaborate on your favorite directors. Then again, why would this ceremony get it right if even the Grammys have messed up for years in that department? Rhetorical question. Admittedly, I must say that I watched another recent country music awards ceremony not super long ago and they handled things better. In general, the overall quality there seemed higher over there. Also in terms of music. If we cut out all the filler singing here, this would have not even gone on for an hour. Maybe half an hour. Admittedly, I liked Maren Morris' performance. Maybe the best of the night. And it was also only okay, which says it all about the rest.
Kelly Clarkson deserves a mention too. From a positive perspective, her performance of "I Will Always Love You" was good, especially in terms of vocals and seeing that the song came from Dolly Parton originally also explains why it is a part of this show here. Not all about Whitney, even if you may think so initially just like I did. However, it also makes me sad to see Clarkson the way she is now in 2022 compared to how she was back in the day when she had her breakthrough. On American Idol I think. See what the industry does to people. I mean it is totally fine she has aged, but come on. All her creativity is gone. Sucked out basically. She has that unwatchable daytime show and her own music has been absolutely soulless for a decade at least now, maybe longer. But with her cover here she shows us that she still has the talent to pull off challenging songs. She just does not want to go for it and sits comfy in her (career) seat while not taking any risks. Okay, enough about her. A few words on the awards: I think it was pretty fitting that the winner of the final category was not even there to accept the award. She was in London instead. Touring apparently and that is perfectly fine, but also says a bit about this show. Apparently, they handed her the award earlier and prerecorded an acceptance speech. Definitely better than not showing up at all. But it also shows us that Parton knew about the winner because she had to announce the video they were showing. Which also means that at least the director probably knew about it too and maybe the writers too and maybe many others. Where is the surprise element? Oh well. For the biggest category of the evening, it is a bit embarrassing. This should have been a highlight of course, especially with all the constant interruptions. The performances I mean. Instead, it added further disappointment. As for the performances, it was pretty telling when on one occasion a singer had finished her number and she herself announced the next performance that followed only seconds later. Sigh. I think it was the newcomer of the year winner that followed and yeah this number was as forgettable as everything else basically.
With the country music industry we know that it is many times the same artists there every year, so it is especially nice to see some at least mildly talented new faces like Morris a few years ago, but from what I saw here in 2022, the future does not look too bright either. At least maybe also not as bad as it looks with mainstream music. Please don't let forgettable R&B take over here as well! Take the guy who, as we find out, was number one on all Billboard rankings at the same time. You'd expect better from somebody who achieves this. Just shows us that mediocrity is rewarded for sure nowadays in the music industry. As for those who have been around for a long time, maybe Eric Church was the biggest disappointment for me here. Unworthy of the name. His performance felt so gimmicky from start to finish and also I felt like he did some serious overacting. So, how can you summarize it all? This ceremony was in Vegas and the saying is "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." and guess what? This one here definitely stays in Vegas. I am pretty sure no other place would want it with this really poor quality. Oh well, they do maybe. But they should not want it. Can add to that Parton kept putting focus on the fact that this was broadcast on a big streaming website and honestly that is a bad thing because those who decided to watch there (and it was probably quite a few) will maybe never return to this show. Especially awful how Parton rushed in the name of the streaming website after announcing the key category. Really blatant advertising there. Apart from that, you can surely discuss if it is good to have women and men in the same category at an awards show. I don't mind the idea, it's alright. But a music awards show should be able to come up with a better category than "Best Entertainer" as the highlight of the night. I said earlier I am not sure if I thought Parton was okay, but looking at her fishing for praise for her dress it was I think early on and her little wordplay linked to shrimps and other unfunny moments, I would certainly say that she was just as much of a disappointment as everything else linked to the 2022 Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Country music deserves better. Much better in fact. This is one you wanna skip at all costs. Highly not recommended.
In any case, you could see how during this show they were definitely focusing on making clear that Black people also have their place in country music. Just look at the very end, the final performance of the night. A real classic tune (These Boots) and they picked an African-American to sing. A female, just like somebody praised females in an acceptance speech and just like the final award of the night also went to a female. Guess what, I definitely still prefer the Leningrad Cowboys version. There were others too, not just the performances, but also when they introduced acts. Other African-Americans I mean. So, politics are definitely a big part of country awards shows now too. Which I personally do not like, but it's okay I guess. Opinions differ. Needless to say that there was also a pro-Ukraine comment very early on during the show. That one came from Dolly Parton and she was the host that night. She did not have really many inclusions though. But she doesn't have to. She's an icon anyway. Her outfit was pretty self-explanatory. All about the glamour. Near the end, she is featured more frequently again. I'd say she was among the more memorable aspects of the evening, but I am not sure if in a particularly good way. Definitely not in a great way. The key reason why I gave a pretty low rating here is basically that this show completely missed the point. Like so many other awards shows did too. The focus is no longer on the awards, but fully on the music and performances. That's not how it should be. Not at all. It's like when you are supposed to write an essay on film history and instead simply elaborate on your favorite directors. Then again, why would this ceremony get it right if even the Grammys have messed up for years in that department? Rhetorical question. Admittedly, I must say that I watched another recent country music awards ceremony not super long ago and they handled things better. In general, the overall quality there seemed higher over there. Also in terms of music. If we cut out all the filler singing here, this would have not even gone on for an hour. Maybe half an hour. Admittedly, I liked Maren Morris' performance. Maybe the best of the night. And it was also only okay, which says it all about the rest.
Kelly Clarkson deserves a mention too. From a positive perspective, her performance of "I Will Always Love You" was good, especially in terms of vocals and seeing that the song came from Dolly Parton originally also explains why it is a part of this show here. Not all about Whitney, even if you may think so initially just like I did. However, it also makes me sad to see Clarkson the way she is now in 2022 compared to how she was back in the day when she had her breakthrough. On American Idol I think. See what the industry does to people. I mean it is totally fine she has aged, but come on. All her creativity is gone. Sucked out basically. She has that unwatchable daytime show and her own music has been absolutely soulless for a decade at least now, maybe longer. But with her cover here she shows us that she still has the talent to pull off challenging songs. She just does not want to go for it and sits comfy in her (career) seat while not taking any risks. Okay, enough about her. A few words on the awards: I think it was pretty fitting that the winner of the final category was not even there to accept the award. She was in London instead. Touring apparently and that is perfectly fine, but also says a bit about this show. Apparently, they handed her the award earlier and prerecorded an acceptance speech. Definitely better than not showing up at all. But it also shows us that Parton knew about the winner because she had to announce the video they were showing. Which also means that at least the director probably knew about it too and maybe the writers too and maybe many others. Where is the surprise element? Oh well. For the biggest category of the evening, it is a bit embarrassing. This should have been a highlight of course, especially with all the constant interruptions. The performances I mean. Instead, it added further disappointment. As for the performances, it was pretty telling when on one occasion a singer had finished her number and she herself announced the next performance that followed only seconds later. Sigh. I think it was the newcomer of the year winner that followed and yeah this number was as forgettable as everything else basically.
With the country music industry we know that it is many times the same artists there every year, so it is especially nice to see some at least mildly talented new faces like Morris a few years ago, but from what I saw here in 2022, the future does not look too bright either. At least maybe also not as bad as it looks with mainstream music. Please don't let forgettable R&B take over here as well! Take the guy who, as we find out, was number one on all Billboard rankings at the same time. You'd expect better from somebody who achieves this. Just shows us that mediocrity is rewarded for sure nowadays in the music industry. As for those who have been around for a long time, maybe Eric Church was the biggest disappointment for me here. Unworthy of the name. His performance felt so gimmicky from start to finish and also I felt like he did some serious overacting. So, how can you summarize it all? This ceremony was in Vegas and the saying is "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." and guess what? This one here definitely stays in Vegas. I am pretty sure no other place would want it with this really poor quality. Oh well, they do maybe. But they should not want it. Can add to that Parton kept putting focus on the fact that this was broadcast on a big streaming website and honestly that is a bad thing because those who decided to watch there (and it was probably quite a few) will maybe never return to this show. Especially awful how Parton rushed in the name of the streaming website after announcing the key category. Really blatant advertising there. Apart from that, you can surely discuss if it is good to have women and men in the same category at an awards show. I don't mind the idea, it's alright. But a music awards show should be able to come up with a better category than "Best Entertainer" as the highlight of the night. I said earlier I am not sure if I thought Parton was okay, but looking at her fishing for praise for her dress it was I think early on and her little wordplay linked to shrimps and other unfunny moments, I would certainly say that she was just as much of a disappointment as everything else linked to the 2022 Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Country music deserves better. Much better in fact. This is one you wanna skip at all costs. Highly not recommended.
