As Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan win top CMA awards, the hosts joke that Taylor Swift’s defection to pop caused Barack Obama and southern Democrats to lose the Senate elections.
Miranda Lambert won four honours at the Country Music Association awards, including beating Taylor Swift to the coveted female vocalist of the year.
Swift wasn’t forgotten at the awards in Nashville, however, with co-hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley gently ribbing the singer (who is is Japan promoting her new album 1989) for her conversion to pop. “I’ll be the first one to say it: President Obama does not care about post-partum Taylor Swift Disorder,” said Paisley, with Underwood adding: “I’m pretty sure that’s why the Democrats lost the Senate.”
The quip, about the Republicans winning control of the Senate in Tuesday’s elections, brought laughter from the crowd.
It sounds like the pair were in comedy mode, with the Washington Post reporting that their monologue, possibly in bad taste, tackled Ebola (with a parody song called Quarantine to the tune of Jolene) and recent nude photo hacking (with a parody of I Walk the Line: “I take naked selfies all the time/I’m scared I’ll find/They’ve leaked online”).
Lambert, who had been nominated for seven awards in all, didn’t have it all her own way. She was beaten by Luke Bryan to the prestigious entertainer of the year prize.
Kacey Musgraves’s Follow Your Arrow, noted for its gay-friendly message and references to marijuana, won the songwriters’ award song of the year. She shared the accolade with fellow songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. This award means so much because our genre was built on strong, simple songs about real life, said Musgraves, 26. The fans and people who connected with it took it farther than I thought it ever could go.
CMA 2014 WINNERS IN FULL
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan WINNER
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban
Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert WINNER
Martina McBride
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Male Vocalist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton *WINNER*
Keith Urban
Vocal Group of the Year
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town WINNER
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
Vocal Duo Of The Year
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line WINNER
Love & Theft
The Swon Brothers
Thompson Square
New Artist Of The Year
Brandy Clark
Brett Eldredge WINNER
Kip Moore
Thomas Rhett
Cole Swindell
Album of the Year
Crash My Party by Luke Bryan
Fuse by Keith Urban
Platinum by Miranda Lambert WINNER
Riser by Dierks Bentley
The Outsiders Eric Church
Single of the Year
Automatic by Miranda Lambert WINNER
Drunk On A Plane by Dierks Bentley
Give Me Back My Hometown by Eric Church
Meanwhile Back At Mama’s by Tim McGraw, featuring Faith Hill
Mine Would Be You by Blake Shelton
Song Of The Year
Automatic Miranda Lambert (written by Miranda Lambert, Nicolle Galyon and Natalie Hemby)
Follow Your Arrow Kacey Musgraves (written by Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally) WINNER
Give Me Back My Hometown Eric Church (written by Eric Church and Luke Laird)
I Don’t Dance Lee Brice (written by Lee Brice, Dallas Davidson and Rob Hatch)
I Hold On Dierks Bentley (written by Dierks Bentley and Brett James)
Vocal Event Of The Year
Bakersfield, Vince Gill and Paul Franklin
Meanwhile Back At Mama’s, Tim McGraw, featuring Faith Hill
Somethin’ Bad Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
We Were Us, Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert WINNER
Can’t Make Old Friends, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
Video Of The Year
Automatic Miranda Lambert (directed by Trey Fanjoy)
Bartender Lady Antebellum (directed by Shane Drake)
Drunk on a Plane Dierks Bentley (directed by Wes Edwards) WINNER
Follow Your Arrow Kacey Musgraves (directed by Kacey Musgraves and Honey)
Somethin’ Bad Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert (directed by Trey Fanjoy)