Could This Be Brad's Year?

Posted by amyclark on 08/15/2008
Keywords:

8/24/2007 Stephen L. Betts   In less than a week we'll know which artists have received nominations for the 2007 CMA Awards. But Minneapolis Star Tribune music reporter Jon Bream insists he doesn’t need to wait to hear the results. “I don't even need to wait to see Rascal Flatts or Keith Urban in concert later this fall,” he writes in a review of Brad’s recent Minnesota State Fair concert.  “I already know who should win entertainer of the year from the Country Music Association come November: Brad Paisley.” Bream calls Brad’s Aug. 23 performance “probably the best country combination of music and spectacle ever staged at the grandstand. “Musically, Paisley's performance had range, depth and humor. He not only demonstrated his first-rate songwriting, but he produced more guitar fireworks than John Mayer and his multi-screen visuals were as exciting as U2's.” Bream adds that even if Brad’s voice “wasn't as pretty as Urban's or as forceful as Toby Keith's, and his energy didn't quite measure up to Kenny Chesney's, [he] was just as fun as all three of those superstars -- and funnier.” He also states that several of Brad’s songs were “as sincere and sentimental as George Strait. ‘She's Everything’ had almost everything -- a lovely melody and message that had couples cuddling and a climax with an eloquently expressive guitar solo that sounded like [Eric] Clapton meets Santana in Nashville.” We’ll find out on Thursday, Aug. 30 just how many CMA nominations Brad, the 2000 Horizon Award winner, will receive this year.