Is it necessary at this point to announce that Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are hosting the Country Music Association Awards? This is their ninth year hosting and not only do people love them together on stage, they have fallen into a comfortable groove with each other that allows for their one-liners and song parodies to usually hit their mark. The pressure is on, however, because this year is a pretty big year for the CMA Awards. Not only is it their 50th anniversary but, just six days after the CMA Awards take place on November 2, we elect a new President of the United States. Country music has many artists and fans who identify as conservative. So hosting duties could be tricky when taking on the current political climate. How does Carrie plan to approach this dilemma? She doesn’t. Carrie is opting to simply leave politics out of it.
Carrie Underwood is set to co-host the 2016 CMA Awards with Brad Paisley for the ninth consecutive year on Nov. 2. This year’s celebration marks 50 years of the awards show, and while the hosts are likely planning a banner opening monologue, the “Dirty Laundry” singer insists politics is one topic she won’t be tackling.
“I prefer to stay away from politics,” Underwood told journalists at a recent press event, according to the Boot. “This is country music, and we have 50 years to cover. So I feel like we’ll have lots to talk about, but I think it will be more geared to just us and what we do and all these legends that we have and people that have incredible talent that we have in our genre.”
It’s a safe answer but it’s also true. Carrie and Brad have been topical in their openings but generally politics only get a passing mention. Given this particularly contentious election, I am sure Carrie is thanking her lucky starts that this happens to be the 50th anniversary so they can stay the hell away from anything political. Instead, Carrie is focusing on highlighting the last 50 years of country music and pulling out all the stops – all of which are a big secret, of course. The event will be so big, Brad claims he will wear a tux. Since I have never seen Brad in anything but jeans, as Carrie said, “We’ll see.” Many performers have been announced to perform at the CMA Awards with more expected. It should be a great show.
Like most of you, the election has taken its toll on me. Election years are usually my favorite but I need a break from this one. So if Carrie is telling me that I can watch the CMA Awards and be spared any political rhetoric for the evening, I may just watch them.
But just to clarify, Brad and Carrie walk the political tightrope but I doubt they will leave them out entirely:
I am loving Carrie’s hair lately
Photo credit: Fame/Flynet Photos and Getty Images
I automatically assume that country music caters to the Republican base . Maybe I shouldn’t assume that.
This election has been brutal . I’m sick of it and I want to vote and get this whole mess done with . I’m seriously up to my eyeballs with the gross misogyny , ignorance , name calling . It’s so absurd .
No, you are correct. Country fans as a whole (or at least enough of them) are rabidly conservative. I remember when The Dixie Chicks were essentially forced out of country music because they voiced their negative opinion of George Bush and said they did not support the war. It always makes me so incredibly angry because those same fans who basically ended their careers for those comments felt absolutely no qualms about throwing out every disparaging comment they could think of when President Obama was elected… and have continued to do so over the last 8 years. So it’s okay when they’re maligning a democratic commander and chief, but if you go after a republican, they will circle the wagons.
Which is why, even if a country singer doesn’t agree with the republican candidate, they will not speak out against him. The Dixie Chicks are a cautionary tale.
+ 1000
I am a country music listener, and you’re right – it does cater to the republican base bc the majority of country music listeners are more conservative than liberal. But I also have to say that even though I identify as a conservative – I ABHOR everything Donald Trump stands for, and so do the majority of my conservative friends.
I think when you’re talking about the Dixie Chicks, you are talking about an entire generation ago – that was almost 20 years ago. I couldn’t even drink then and now I have three kids, one of whom is almost old enough to vote herself. So I don’t really think it’s fair to equate all country music fans today with what our parents generation did before us. Not all of us are redneck racists who believe that a misogynist pig should run the country just bc he has an R in front of his name…..
While I usually like showbizz awards shows to be as poltical as possible ( it’s always better and funnier than boring mellow humour ala Ellen) you can’t really do that at a country awards show. 90% of the crowd is probably republican, most of their fan base is probably republican so it’s best that they stay away from politcs.
No country acts these days or past tense, had the courage and conviction of the Dixie Chicks.
What’s so hypocrotical, is that *the same crowd* that attacked and deep sixed the Dixie Chicks, burning their albums, canceling shows and threatening their lives over them being anti Bush and anti Iraq War….
….now support and regale Donald Trump who screams his hatred for all things Bush, and insists he was against the war (lie), and that same crowd loves it and sees it as a reason to vote for him.
They also have no problem with anyone slurring President Obama in worse ways than the Chicks ever did with Bush.
Hypocrites to the nth power.
Carrie Underwood on hosting CMAs: ‘I prefer to
stay away from politicskeep working in Nashville’That means she’s not about to say anything to piss off the Republicans.
I must say, this is really the first election of this calibre and with more news and information and comments coverage than ever before.
It’s quite entertaining for the rest of the world to find out what Americans are REALLY like!
What is that thing she’s wearing in the first picture?!
That’s the first smart thing she ever said. I absolutely don’t care what celebrities think about politics. I think and understand issues for myself and then vote
Celebrities talking about politics doesn’t influence my opinion about politics, but it does infleunce my opinion about them.
She’s a moron.
My money is that the tux will be THE CANADIAN TUXEDO.
Did she get her nose done? She looks different.