What with the CMAs, ACMs, and CMT Music Awards, aren't there already enough award shows devoted exclusively to country music?  Fox doesn't seem to think so as it unveiled its new American Country Awards (ACAs) on Monday, December 6, 2010.  Broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and hosted by Trace Adkins, the show honors country artists selected by the public in the categories of music, video, and touring.  Like a lot of network-created award shows, the ACAs grant a unique prize to its winners rather than a traditional trophy.  In this case, the lucky honorees get a custom-made Fender guitar.  Seems better than a Moonman or a surfboard to us.

PERFORMANCES INCLUDED:

- Blake Shelton: "Kiss My Country Ass"

- Rascal Flatts medley: "These Days," "Bless the Broken Road," "What Hurts the Most," "Fast Cars and Freedom," "Life is a Highway"

- The Band Perry: "If I Die Young"

- Josh Turner: "Why Don't We Just Dance"

- Toby Keith: "Bullets in the Gun"

- Reba McEntire: "Turn on the Radio"

- Uncle Kracker: "Good to Be Me"

- Keith Urban: "Put You in a Song"

- Steel Magnolia: "Keep on Lovin' You"

- Alan Jackson medley: "Wanted," "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow," "Don't Rock the Jukebox," "Drive (For Daddy Gene)," "Remember When," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," "Good Time," "Chattahoochie," "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"

- Jason Aldean: "My Kinda Party"

- Trace Adkins: "This Ain't No Love Song" 

MULTIPLE AWARD WINNERS

Carrie Underwood: 6 wins

Lady Antebellum: 4 wins

Easton Corbin: 3 wins

Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins: 2 wins

Sunday, November 21, 2010 marked the 38th Annual American Music Awards, which recognize the most popular (not necessarily the best) artists and albums as voted on by the public at www.abc.com.  The nomination ballot was based on airplay information compiled by Mediabase and music consumption information provided by Big Champagne Media Measurement.

There are twenty American Music awards presented in total.  Thirteen of these are during the televised portion of the event, and seven award winners are announced off air.  Justin Bieber was the big winner of the night and won all four of the American Music Awards for which he was nominated.  Well deserved or sign of the apocalypse?  You be the judge.

In addition to the awards, the American Music Awards show is noted for its star-studded lineup of live performances:

 - Rhianna opened the show on a strong note as she performed "Love the Way You Lie, Part II," "What's My Name?," and "Only Girl (in the World)" from her new album, Loud, and earned a standing ovation from the crowd. 

- Miley Cyrus: "Forgiveness and Love" from Can't Be Tamed.  Miley appeared to be singing live with no lipsynching and was actually quite good here.

- Kid Rock: "Times Like These" from Born Free.  An acoustic performance that was one of the better, and more memorable, of the night.  It'll be interesting to see whose album debuts at number one as his latest and Rihanna's both arrived in stores on November 16.

- The Black Eyed Peas: "The Time (Dirty Bit)" from The Beginning.  At the end of the song, the Peas welcome us to "the future."  But why did they do it singing a track that's largely an autotuned remix of a 25-year old song?

- Katy Perry: "Firework" from Teenage Dream.  Katy sang this live.  Good for you, Katy, and we'll forgive the occasional bum note.

- Bon Jovi: "What Do You Got?," a new track from Greatest Hits and classic tracks, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "It's My Life."  Jon's voice was just-ok tonight.  Didn't even try to hit the high notes.

- Pink: "Raise Your Glass" from Greatest Hits...So Far!!!  Another enegetic performance from Pink.

- Ne-Yo: medley including "One in a Million" and "Beautiful Monster" from his concept album, Libra Scale

- Taylor Swift: "Back to December" from Speak Now.  Lots of gals using that dropping-in-from-the-cieling gimmick, but Taylor upped the ante by bringing a piano with her.

- Christina Aguilera: "Burlesque" from her upcoming film of the same name.  Great performance, and if this movie takes off, it could be a career course correction after some missteps in recent years.

- Usher: "DJ Got Us Fallin in Love" from his Versus EP.  Vintage Usher.

- Train: "Marry Me" and their megahit "Hey, Soul Sister" from Save Me, San Francisco got the crowd to its feet

- Kesha: "Take it Off" from Ke$ha and "We R Who We R" from her new EP, Cannibal.  We think these outstanding performances should silence the critics who dismiss her as just a Lady Gaga wannabe.

- Santana with Gavin Rossdale: "Bang a Gong" from Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time.  Santana and Rossdale demonstrated no chemistry on a track that could hardly be classified as a "guitar classic."  Carlos Santana was in his own little world playing his heart out as Gavin jumped around the stage and scream-sang in Carlos' ear trying to be noticed.

- New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys: medley of hits including Hangin' Tough, Step by Step, You Got It (The Right Stuff), I Want it That Way, Larger Than Life.  Well, after Justin Bieber won Artist of the Year, the only way to cap the night off would be a pairing of NKOTB and BSB, right?

Other performers included Enrique Iglesias with Pit Bull ("Tonight," "I Like It"), Sean Combs' new trio – Dirty Ditty Money ("Coming Home"), and Justin Bieber ("Pray").

The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmys were conducted Sunday night, August 29, 2010 and were presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).  The three-hour ceremony honoring the best in American television was hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

The tally for the awards is as follows:

Here is the complete list of Academy Award winners from the 82nd Annual ceremony held on Sunday, March 7, 2010.  In all, 24 awards were handed out in a star-studded parade of excess that lasted over three-and-a-half hours.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin served as dual hosts and did a fantastic job.  They had great chemistry, and we're sure a film starring the two of them together would be a big hit.  However, in spite of the Academy trying to improve television ratings by including a wider variety of nominees for Best Picture, the overall affair, while entertaining, proved to be one of the least suspenseful Oscar telecasts ever.

All of the actors that industry pundits had predicted to win did win: Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Mo'Nique, and Christoph Waltz.

The Best Picture winner was equally as predictable.  While some thought that James Cameron's record-breaking Avatar would take home the big prize, it was obvious to us in the run-up to the awards that The Hurt Locker would stage an "upset." It's just the kind of movie that Hollywood loves to award, while a scifi spectacle like Avatar is decidedly not.  To those who thought Avatar was a shoo-in: have you learned nothing from ET: The Extra Terrestrial ?

The tally of multiple award winners is as follows:

The Hurt Locker - 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay
Avatar - 3 Oscars including Best Visual Effects
Crazy Heart - 2 Oscars including Best Actor
Precious - 2 Oscars including Best Supporting Actress
Up - 2 Oscars including Best Animated Feature

MAIN AWARDS

BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Other Nominees: James Cameron (Avatar), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)

BEST ACTRESS: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Other Nominees: Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

BEST ACTOR: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Other Nominees: George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique (Precious)
Other Nominees: Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Other Nominees: Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)