NASHVILLE — It’s good to be Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.
It’s also not too shabby being George Strait, who surprised some with his Entertainer of the Year award at Wednesday night’s 47th Annual CMA Awards.
Not that the legend didn’t deserve it, but the assumption was that Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean, who both enjoyed a tremendous year, would nab the coveted trophy. Instead, the two guys with Georgia family roots were shut out at the ceremony.
But who could begrudge the sweetly humble Strait, who said backstage that, “I thought there was an outside shot (of winning), but not really.”
He last won the award in 1989 and 1990. “I’m just glad I can come to these things and still be kind of relevant,” Strait said.
Shelton, who won Entertainer of the Year last year and a pair of awards on Wednesday (Album of the Year, his first, for “Based on a True Story” and fourth consecutive for Male Vocalist of the Year), expressed his admiration for Strait backstage.
“He’s not just entertainer of the year, he’s entertainer of the last three decades, four decades. He’s King George. I couldn’t be happier with how this night turned out,” Shelton said.
Shelton was among the acts who nabbed two trophies – Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Taylor Swift (we’re not counting her specialty Pinnacle Award) also joined the duo club. But this year’s CMA Awards, voted on by 6,000 members of the industry, showered attention on veterans and newcomers alike.
Lambert tied Reba McEntire’s mid-’80s run of four consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year wins with her latest.
Little Big Town, whose Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild have area ties, took Vocal Group of the Year for the second year, denying Atlanta’s Zac Brown Band a win.
“The vocal group category is really fierce,” Fairchild said backstage. “Some great music is being made from all these bands. We just want to live up to this.”
The heralded Kacey Musgraves, who, like Swift, was up for six awards, won Best New Artist, and joked backstage that she didn’t even know they were announcing the category until she heard her name called as the winner.
“This year has been pretty indescribable. It’s amazing what 52 weeks can do to a person,” said Musgraves.
There was also cause for celebration for Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard (from Monroe) and Brian Kelley. Sporting vests, jeans and tattoos, the duo spoke energetically about their success that launched with the now-ubiquitous “Cruise.”
“Country music is alive and well and we’re humbled and excited to be a part of it,” Kelley said.
They’ll hit the road with Aldean in 2014 and begin work on a new album.
Florida Georgia Line helped open the three-hour telecast with Bryan; both acts appeared later in the show for a second round of performances.
Taking a cue from the Grammys, the CMAs presented some combo performances including Zac Brown Band storming through the new “Day for the Dead” with Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters. Others, such as Swift’s nicely textured “Red” featuring Alison Krauss and Vince Gill haunted. There also was a well-intentioned, but awkward pairing of Hunter Hayes and Jason Mraz on “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me.”
Other highlights included a tribute to the late George Jones by Alan Jackson and Strait on “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and a fun pat on the back to Kenny Rogers – who received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award – which included a duet with Jennifer Nettles on “Islands in the Stream.”
Backstage, Rogers said he loved singing with Nettles so much that he’s already looking for a new duet for them to record.
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