This article was originally featured on Grammy.com/blogs.
When country music meets the Grammy Awards, it’s always interesting to see the “family” commingled with artists of other popular genres. Even when you drop Taylor Swift into the mix, it seems to bring the best “country girl” out of her. While the country performances might not have had the dripping water like Pink or worn outfits like Gaga, all in all, the genre still walked away with some of the evening’s most prestigious awards and introduced “today’s” country to the world.
On the award front, Swift, after missing out on “Song of the Year” for You Belong With Me and “Best Female Pop Vocal” for You Belong With Me, the country crossover artist picked up “Album of the Year” for her sophomore release, Fearless. Overall, Swift won four Grammy awards out of her eight nominations. Only R&B artist, Beyoncé, left with more hardware (six awards out of her 10 nominations). In addition to her “Album of the Year” award, Swift garnered “Best Female Country Vocal Performance, “Best Country Song” for White Horse and “Best Country Album” for Fearless.
The Zac Brown Band grabbed the overall “Best New Artist” Award, a seemingly surprise win for the Band and for country music. The moment was all the sweeter because country superstars Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert announced the band’s win.
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On the performance side, while being a little slim, the country showcase offered an excellent taste of some of Nashville’s hottest new faces. First to the stage was Lady Antebellum for the performance of its latest hit, Need You Now. Aside from the minor curtain snafu, the trio really exemplified awesome harmonies. Prior to the televised award show, the trio picked up their first Grammy for “Best Country Group or Duo” for, I Run To You.
The Zac Brown Band performed snippets of America The Beautiful, their debut single Chicken Fried, and Dixie Lullaby, a collaboration with legendary artist, Leon Russell. Zac Brown, donning in his signature beanie cap, concluded the performance with some aggressive acoustic guitar-picking.
One of the most sought-after performances of the evening was, of course, Taylor Swift. After singing Today Was A Fairytale, Swift joined Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks for a so-so duet of the classic Rhiannon. The two ended with a banjo-infused version of Swift’s You Belong With Me.
Carrie Underwood took the stage when she joined in on the 3D tribute to Michael Jackson and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles joined rocker Bon Jovi to perform Who Says You Can’t Go Home and then back him on the classic, Living On A Prayer.
In the country field, Keith Urban picked his third “Male Country Vocalist” for Sweet Thing. Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis won for “Country Collaboration” for I Told You So.
During the show, The Recording Academy honored country legends Loretta Lynn and Harold Bradley with Special Merit Awards.
All in all, country music had a pretty good night “kickin’ up its heels” at the 52nd Grammy Awards, proving that country’s still cool.
About Scott Winterroth, Editor
