Rihanna live perform in 2011 46th MCA Awards: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (NEWSTABULOUS) – The starting point for the exciting and glamorous 2011 46th MCA Awards was with Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire co-hosting.
Reba was a great choice, and Shelton was a perfect balance. The show brought in notable performances and a wider variety than many country music shows have done lately, though the promotional timing of the various artists probably had a lot to do with it too.
Big stars included Brad Paisley, entertainer of the year nominee, Alabama, Taylor Swift – who played her banjo doing “Mean“, Zac Brown Band with James Taylor performing a medley, Ronnie Dunn singing without Kix Brooks and, Darius Rucker doing a new number “Music From The Heart” – the chorus of which was comprised of developmentally disabled songwriters.
Sunday’s 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards hype and expectations in preparation for the show, gave an excess of attention to the upcoming roster of exciting moments, personalities and musical collaborations – two of which were central to the pre-show chatter. A duet with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and non-country diva, superstar Rihanna. Then, secondly there was the incomparable Carrie Underwood collaborating with an unnamed, secret “surprise” partner, who would be the other half of her duet.
Suffice it to say, only one of the duet-type performances was able to live up to the considerable expectations and hype. Pop diva Rihanna’s duet performance with Nettles, which missed its mark, was a sadly lackluster rendition of Rihanna’s ballad ”California King Bed,” had a sense of being heavy and overly elaborate.
This has us asking what would possess her team of experts to go along with such an idea. Nettles has successfully done duets with a diverse number of artists, with great results. Rihanna should have been able to perform well and easily gained impressive appeal to a country audience. The song didn’t even get to be performed at the awards proper; it was just part of a new feature “fan jam,” the highlights of which were forwarded into the ACM’s telecast.
Diva, Rihanna’s input was less than professional – one could say she fell flat. Needless to say, there isn’t much more to be said, except that it didn’t work. Had they tried to incorporate more dance-type movements with the onstage performance, together with the duet, there might have been more audience appeal and appreciation.
What did immensely appeal to the audience, and what did gain the audience’s appreciation? A versatile, true superstar diva. Carrie Underwood was an absolute hit as a rocker chick with pink hair – and her surprise partner and other half of the duet - the fabulous Steven Tyler. The two of them, performing Underwood’s “Undo It“ and Aerosmith’s ”Walk This Way“ gave it all vocally, beautifully performing their hearts out, as they dynamically stamped their boots to the two numbers.
Though Carrie left without an award, after her huge success last year winning the ”Entertainer of the Year” award, but without a doubt Carrie Underwood, ”the superstar diva” with Steven Tyler’s ever cool input, stole the show, and was the high point of the evening, which is not an easy feat since the 2011 ACMs were the best show that the Academy has produced in some years.
What a long list of performers – the awards themselves brought fewer surprises than the performances. It is no surprise that “the girl of the moment,” Miranda Lambert was up front and center leading with four wins, which included Top Female Vocalist and more wins for her single, “The House That Built Me.”
The shocker? Miranda lost Entertainer Of The Year to Taylor Swift. This award is entirely determined by the fans, surprising Swift, who was very touched and to say she was happy, would be an understatement.
Although both Lambert and Swift had their moments, Brad Paisley was voted the “Top Male Vocalist” for the fifth consecutive year. “Album And Vocal Group Honors” were taken by Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry was awarded with “New Artist Of The Year”.
There were some great to watch performances, sad losses, awesome wins enjoyed at the ACM Awards, and the show was well worth watching. Congratulations to the winners and it was the best ACM Awards show ever!