The Napster Blog

Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift Dominate AMAs

It was a big night for many artists at the American Music Awards, whether they were performing or nominated, but in the end, the awards show was dominated by just two people: Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift. The late and great Mr. Jackson took honors for Favorite Male Artist in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories, while his hits collection, Number Ones, was Favorite Album in those categories as well. Swift had similar success, taking Favorite Female Artist awards in the pop/rock, adult contemporary, and country categories and earning Favorite Country Album honors for Fearless. And then, Swift managed to trump the King of Pop by taking home the Artist of the Year award. What a night. Other winners included Green Day, Jay-Z, Keith Urban, Beyonce, and Rascal Flatts, but the biggest thrills came with the performances: Janet Jackson (pictured) opened the show and was followed by over-the-top live performances from the likes of Shakira, Black Eyed Peas, Whitney Houston, a laser-shooting Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez having a slight fall, Lady GaGa playing a piano covered in glass and fire and an eye-popping closing number from Adam Lambert.

Big Kenny, The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy

Kenny Alphin (better known as Big Kenny) has long had an artistic flair for taking his music in unexpected directions. The Big half of Big & Rich (John Rich being the Rich half, of course) actively defies genre labeling, and his new album, The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy, finds his rogue tendencies intact, if not growing. This is an odd record. Like his 2005 solo album, Live a Little (which was actually recorded in 1999, long before Big & Rich became famous), Big Kenny veers wildly from influence to influence. Quiet Times features modern pseudo-country mixed with arena-rock anthems and Kenny's quavery crooning. And quirks. Plenty of those. Describing the album with such words may not sound very appealing, but Kenny makes it all hang together somehow. Perhaps it's not his best work, but the more adventurous of his fans will still enjoy the ride.

Taylor Swift Wins Big at the CMAs

The 43rd annual CMA Awards show took place last night, and it was a great one. Looking more like a super-high-end variety show, the broadcast was actually light on awards presentations—the three-hour extravaganza averaged just three awards per hour—but it was jam-packed with great performances. Taylor Swift opened the show with a furniture-flinging version of "Forever & Always," Darius Rucker performed "Alright," Miranda Lambert did "White Liar," Brad Paisley sang "Welcome to the Future," and Zac Brown served up the most kick-ass rendition of "Devil Went Down to Georgia" ever—it probably even had Charlie Daniels himself sitting up and taking notice. All this in just the first hour of the show.

 Other great performances included George Strait doing "Twang," Jason Aldean with "Big Green Tractor," Carrie Underwood (one of the show's hosts—Paisley was the other) cranking out "Cowboy Casanova," Daughtry and Vince Gill doing a duet on a fine "Tennessee Line," Keith Urban with a soulful "'Til Summer Comes Around," Swift performing for a second time, singing "Fifteen" with help from the audience, and Sugarland doing "Keep You." And then Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews sang "I'm Alive" and the soon-to-be-defunct Brooks & Dunn performed "Honky Tonk Stomp" with ZZ Top's legendary Billy Gibbons.

Wow. This was a great event. Very entertaining and no dreary moments... ummm, except when Patricia Heaton (and whoever that other guy was) were blatantly plugging their new TV show... totally bad, weird and uncomfortable (seriously, why were they there???). As was expected, the evening was sprinkled with references to Swift's unfortunate VMA incident, and Little Jimmy Dickens pulled off one of the best Kanye busts of all time... OF ALL TIME. And, of course, the evening did belong entirely to Swift. She won every award she was nominated for, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year. A full list of winners is available here.

Cyndi Thomson, This Time

In 2001, Cyndi Thomson was blowing up and appeared to have a very bright future in country music: She had a #1 country single and her debut album, My World, was in the Top 10 of Billboard's Country Albums chart. In 2002, however, she walked away from it all. "Becoming a recording artist...has been an overwhelming, life-changing experience," she wrote in an open letter to her fans, and went on to explain that she felt she could not commit to the obligations that go along with such a career.

Having thus shunned her major-label commitments, she's back eight years later with This Time, a gentle, acoustic, self-released EP of new material. These tracks are not going to burn up commercial radio, which is fine, because that's clearly not the goal. Thomson is in complete control of her artistic output and is indulging her love of music in her own way. The tracks are gorgeous, basic country-folk, and Thomson's effortless, expressive vocals are the sole star of the show. This Time strikes us as the perfect way for her to ease back into releasing her music, and we hope to hear more from her very soon.

Carrie Underwood, Play On

The release of Carrie Underwood's third album, Play On, is likely to earn her the title of "Top-Selling American Idol Winner." Currently, Kelly Clarkson occupies the top sales spot, a position she holds after moving in excess of 10 million albums. Underwood's sales are just shy of Clarkson's, but Play On is poised to be a massive crossover hit. Underwood was the first country artist to win AI, but she is expanding her horizons on her new album and appears to be aiming at the pop charts and an even bigger sales bonanza. Play On's production is light on traditional country feel and instrumentation, but big on powerful, hooky ballads and big pop-rock tracks that sound like they would fit well under the closing credits of big Hollywood movies. This kind of production would consume most singers, but Underwood's amazingly strong voice and hometown personality sustain her through the more bombastic moments and make this a strong album, and one that even her country fans can enjoy.

Taylor Swift, Fearless (Platinum Edition)

According to Billboard, Taylor Swift's Fearless, which was released about a year ago, has sold over 4 million copies (Swift's total sales, including Fearless and her self-titled debut album, now exceed 10 million records). Amazing sales numbers, especially considering that Swift hasn't yet reached the age of 20 (she will do so in December). Out this week is the expanded Fearless (Platinum Edition), which appends six previously unreleased tracks to the original album. (We previously posted some thoughts on the the original Fearless ; it's good.)

Despite some recent unwanted attention stemming from photos taken at Katy Perry's birthday party, Swift has had an incredibly promising start to her musical career (she has even branched out into acting, guest-starring in an episode of CSI). At this point, the sustainability of this kind of success has got to be a concern for Swift and her management team, but the artist herself appears to be smart enough to navigate the twists and turns of a big show-biz career and seems pretty well positioned to do even bigger things in the future.

Joe Nichols, Old Things New

Old Things New is Joe Nichols' fifth studio album. Nichols has one of the best voices in country music at the moment, and the new album puts that voice to great use on some fine compositions. The album contains some of Nichols' most heartfelt tracks ("Old Things New" and "This Bed's Too Big") but skillfully navigates between these quiet, intimate moments and the more fun, infectious rousers like "Cheaper Than a Shrink" and a live version of "Let's Get Drunk and Fight" (a song originally released on Nichols' previous album, Real Things). Old Things New is a thoroughly modern record, but one that proudly showcases the tradition and rich heritage of country music. Vince Gill and Mac MacAnally lend some fine backing vocals and guitar to the mix. This album should make Nichols an even bigger star than he already is.

Lyle Lovett, Natural Forces

Calling Lyle Lovett a country artist is inaccurate. Certainly, country is his main frame of reference and is what he's best known for, but his musical palette extends well beyond the boundaries of that classification, even in this modern country era, and his unique amalgam of blues, country, jazz and gospel influences has always been admirably difficult to pigeonhole. Natural Forces, his latest album, is excellent. That comes as no surprise, since Lovett is one of those artists who seems incapable of making bad music.

Forever finding fresh sources of inspiration and perspective, Lovett has thus far avoided any sense of staleness, which is remarkable for an artist with a catalog that reaches back well over 20 years. On this outing, he wrote only a handful of the album's 11 songs (one of which, "Pantry" is repeated in full band and stripped-down acoustic arrangements). Nevertheless, Natural Forces features impeccable song choices and ends up being Lovett's most satisfying effort since 1996's The Road to Ensenada.

Gretchen Wilson, Work Hard, Play Harder

To be honest, I've never really been a fan of Gretchen Wilson. That may have to change if she puts out more stuff like her new single, "Work Hard, Play Harder." Great song, great production, and it may be just what the doctor ordered for Wilson's career, which is in need of a re-boot: After a strong debut in the middle '00s, her popularity has waned somewhat. And while her albums have all seen the top of Billboard's Country Albums chart ('04's Here for the Party, '05's All Jacked Up and '07's One of the Boys all hit #1), a chronological chart of her sales numbers has begun to look like a trip from Detroit to Tallahassee, and she hasn't had a Top 20 single since "Homewrecker" in 2005. Hopefully, this new song will light up the singles chart, and she'll release many more of this caliber. Interesting side-note: this is the song that the Black Crowes sued Wilson for, alleging copyright violations over similarities with their song "Jealous Again". What do you think?

Thad Cockrell, To Be Loved

I first became acquainted with the vintage country songwriting of Thad Cockrell after completely falling for Begonias, an album he recorded in 2005 with the excellent Caitlin Cary (late of Whiskeytown), and subsequently delving into his 2003 release, Warmth & Beauty. Cockrell glides effortlessly through his records, combining clever, beguiling lyrics and unforgettable melodies with warm, sometimes dreamy, pop-flecked Americana production. After a considerable wait, it's a huge treat that a new Cockrell release, To Be Loved, is finally available. The new album is a departure of sorts for the North Carolina native; with To Be Loved, Cockrell has taken a few measured steps outside the traditional countrified sounds of his previous efforts and created an set of music that embraces all its influences, feels unmistakably honest, and easily takes its place as a completely cohesive part of his catalog. And ultimately, that's the best endorsement of of it: that it sounds exactly like a Thad Cockrell record. Very highly recommended.