Wednesday, February 7

First Things First

First Things First

The theme of this year's Country GRAMMY nominees seems to be "Firsts."

To begin with, (or should I say, 'First off’ ?) there are all the first time nominees. Dierks Bentley and Josh Turner, both double nominees, are competing against each other for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Miranda Lambert is in the running for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Little Big Town also has two chances for their first GRAMMY trophy, and their competition for Best Country Duo or Group includes fellow first time nominees The Wreckers.

Then there are the potential winners. If George Strait wins Best Male Vocal Performance, it would be his first GRAMMY win ever. Ever! How crazy is that? Even more mind boggling is the thought that Bon Jovi could win their first GRAMMY this year – and it would be in a country category. A win for Bon Jovi also means a first GRAMMY trophy for Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Their competition for Best Country Collaboration includes Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood. Although it wouldn't be their first joint GRAMMY, it would be the first award they've won as husband and wife. (Ok, so that might be a little stretch to our theme.)

The first country music winner of American Idol is also making her first trip to the GRAMMY awards – as both a double nominee AND a performer, no less! Carrie Underwood has already brought home armloads of awards from organizations both inside and outside the country stratosphere. If she wins the all-genre "Best New Artist" award Sunday night, it will be the first time a country artist takes the category this century. In case you're dying to know – LeAnn Rimes was the last country artist to win it, in 1996.

I could go on and on about GRAMMY firsts this year, but there's one more that all of us at XM are particularly excited about. For the first time ever, the Pre-Telecast Awards – where many of the country trophies are given out – are going to be broadcast live – right here on XM. So tune into GRAMMY Radio Sunday night, and learn if YOUR favorite artist wins their first GRAMMY award at the same time they do!

Joyce Rizer
Executive Producer
XM Satellite Radio

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

It will be great to hear Dierks win his first grammy!!!!! xm rocks!

Pam said...

I think it's GREAT that country artists have so many chances to win a Grammy. I won't be watching the show however, can't sit through all the other "music" to get to the few country awards that are actually given out on air.

Sharon said...

The FIRST thing on my weekend 'to do' list is to listen to XMRadio's Grammy show! Wouldn't miss it!

Love all the firsts!

Anonymous said...

Im very excited for all the nominee's ! Hopefully they will all have a great time, no matter who wins! Can't wait for Carrie's performance too!

Anonymous said...

I was so surprised that George Strait has never won a Grammy.

I love Carrie Underwood and hope she does well.

sandi said...

Great "firsts"! One thing I'm curious about--is Rosanne Cash's nom. for "Black Cadillac" in the Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album a first as well? Or is that technically a country category?

Good luck to Little Big Town, and Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. :)

lish said...

Lovin' the first - cool stuff. I'm still floored about Strait too... huh.

Lookin' very forward to the show. :)

Bring it home, Brooks family... :D

Anonymous said...

I will be tuning in to the show to see the DIXIE CHICKS perform. Do you know which of their awards will be given out on tv????

Anonymous said...

Rosanne is a previous GRAMMY winner!

Be sure to check out X-Country's GRAMMY special which airs again Saturday night at 9pm ET and Sunday morning at 11am ET for more nominees from the Folk / Americana categories.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Pam. I don't usually listen to or watch the Grammys because I don't want to listen to most of that other "noise." Maybe I'll just have the TV on while I'm doing something else and pay attention when one of the country performers are on.

I can't believe George has never taken home a Grammy. You didn't say, but I assume he has had nominations in the past...at least I hope so.

Go Garth and Trisha!

Paula

CarrieNEWS.com said...

Alright! Another cool blog from J! Thanks for keeping us up-to-date and in the know!!

Anonymous said...

who do you guys think will win?

my picks for the big winners

Carrie Underwood - BNA & CF
George Strait - CM
Little Big Town - GROUP & ALBUM
Bon Jovi & what's her name - COLLABORATION
Jesus Take the Wheel - SONG


hope the Ditzy Chix leave empty handed!!!

Kellie
Athens, AL

sandi said...

Great Grammy show on Hwy 16, J!

Also, fantastic show that Marty hosted. :)

CarrieNEWS.com said...

I was never a fan of country music until Carrie Underwood came on the scene. Thanks to Producer Joyce and her interaction with listeners on her blog, I decided to sign up for the free trial and I'm really enjoying XM and the GRAMMY coverage. Keep up the great work! Spreading the word about XM...

sandi said...

This live Grammy coverage ROCKS!!! And I absolutely LOVED the medley from Musicares. :)