Leading all nominations with seven is ... wait for it ... not Taylor Swift, but trio Lady Antebellum.
Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert had six each, Swift had five and Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley received four nods. Once again, the Entertainer of the Year winner will be determined by fan votes. Chesney, Underwood, Swift and Paisley are up against Toby Keith, Keith Urban, the Zac Brown Band and George Strait.
The whole fan voting thing is kind of odd because it becomes a popularity contest more than anything. Underwood is the reigning Entertainer of the Year.
Speaking of Miss Underwood, did you catch her on Monday’s “How I Met Your Mother”? Not to be mean — I do love Carrie — but in the scene with the pig, I think she was upstaged by the little guy.
On Thursday night, Rascal Flatts appeared on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” In an episode called “Unshockable,” the guys played themselves in concert, and bassist Jay DeMarcus was electrocuted on stage. Da-da-da! No worries, Jay recovered and all is well. After all, it is television, you know. While this is not Jay, Gary and Joe Don’s first foray into acting (they appeared on a 2006 episode of “Yes, Dear” and on “Hannah Montana” last year), it was a little stiff ... no pun intended.
This brings me to Taylor Swift. The country sweetheart made her debut on “CSI” around the same time last year, playing a murder victim. Taylor described the experience as “life changing,” while MTV.com rated her performance as “enthusiastic, if not Emmy worthy.” Tay Tay caught the acting bug then, next appearing as Miley Cyrus’ BFF in “Hannah Montana: The Movie” and bringing that same enthusiasm to her role as former boyfriend Taylor Lautner’s girlfriend in “Valentine’s Day.”
The kudos from Variety were not as gracious as MTV’s: “Some teen viewers may be drawn by the lure of the two Taylors, but their time onscreen together arguably reps the film’s low point; Swift, especially, seems entirely undirected, as she jumps around, makes faces and jabbers on inanely.”
Ouch. I know I get annoyed when actors think they can sing. Some can; most can’t. Outside of a very few, Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw namely, perhaps the only “chops” country singers should try should come from a pig.
Contact Nancy Wilson, a morning-radio personality at WHKO-FM (K99.1), by e-mail through the Web site at k99online.com.
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