The 45th Annual Country Music Association (CMA) awards, which are dubbed as country music’s biggest night, are expected to take place on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, where they will be televised live on ABC at 8 PM EST.
This year’s nominees for “Female Vocalist of the Year” include Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
Analysis: It is great to see Martina McBride nominated in this prestigious category again this year. With the exception of 1997, McBride has been nominated here since 1996, thus garnering her fifteenth nomination; however, it is unlikely that she will win especially since she is facing tough competition from her fellow nominees. Taylor is the sole “Female Vocalist of the Year” nominee, nominated for “Entertainer of the Year,” an honor which she has previously won in 2009; at the time, Swift was the youngest female artist to ever win that accolade. Underwood has won this honor three years consecutively, and she is hosting the award ceremony with Brad Paisley again this year, however, the CMAs may think that she has won this category too many times, and too soon. They may save it to award Underwood another time. If Underwood were to win again this year, she would tie McBride and Reba McEntire for the most wins, with four.
This year, the honor should either go to Sara Evans or Miranda Lambert. Lambert won this category last year, however, with her ability to write and record quality radio singles consistently, she may garner it again.
Evans is the only female that has yet to win this award, and is the most overdue. Her song “A Little Bit Stronger” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts for two weeks, making her a true threat for the win. It was a stunning vocal performance, and if this were to happen, she would be very deserving for the win.
Tune in on November 9 on ABC to see which of these songstresses will be crowned “Female Vocalist of the Year” at this year’s CMA awards.