Was the big story of the CMA Awards Brad Paisley's first win in the top category, Entertainer of the Year? Or was it Miranda Lambert finally getting her first three wins all in one night, including the prestigious Album of the Year contest? The nation's headline writers couldn't quite agree which of these was the real news flash.
It was both, of course. Long live Braranda! (With apologies to Kimberly and Blake.)
Yahoo! Music and Ram Country's cameras were on the scene backstage at the CMAs to get Lambert's and Paisley's immediate reactions from their respective triumphs. Click on the video to see and hear what these two had to say:
Given how credible the CMAs have become, maybe we should all join Miranda in church, too.
So, were 2010's CMAs the least controversial ever? Seems like you have to look long and hard to find someone who's not mad about Brad or crazy as hell about Ms. L. They've got country traditionalists wrapped around their fingers; witness the mutual lovefest that Paisley has going on with comic sparring partner Little Jimmy Dickens, or the mutual appreciation society Lambert has with Loretta Lynn. Yet they're favorites of the rock crowd, too, between Brad's guitar solos—a combination of Don Rich, Mark Knopfler, and Eddie Van Halen—and Miranda's ability to put an almost punk-rock spin on things, as she did on her barnburning CMAs performance of John Prine's "That's the Way the World Goes 'Round." Throw in some sex appeal, swagger, and humility, and there is absolutely nothing to hate about either of them. And don't you just hate that?
There are still "bigger" superstars in country music. Last year, Taylor Swift won the top trophy, and for years before that, Kenny Chesney had a lock on it. This time, mysteriously, neither of those two was so much as nominated for Entertainer. Maybe there's a simple explanation. As massively popular and deserving as Swift and Chesney are, they're polarizing, for any number of reasons, with massive numbers of detractors to match their vast armies of defenders. Not so Braranda—our universally adorable avatars of progressive country authenticity.
But someone out there must hate one or both of these winners, even if we have yet to meet them. Could it be you? Or do you sip from the same pro-Brad 'n' Miranda Kool-Aid as the rest of us? Either way, weigh in on whether you think the CMAs finally got it right this year or not.