CMA's: Really? Fourth in Five Years?

...the title is my reaction to finding out that Kenny Chesney won his fourth Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year award in five years. And, skimming the list and comparing them to repeats from past years, it's no wonder people tend to think of country music as an old and stagnant form of music for Republican devotees. It isn't, but this isn't helping.

That said, I will readily admit that the most recent thing to get me excited for modern country music are is that one Carrie Underwood song where she's smashing up a car in the video. Oh, and I guess Hank Williams III's theme for Monday Night Football... But I think that has more to do with me relating to being ready for some football (!!!!!!) than actually liking the song. That is to say, I know little about country music after Willie Nelson* and Waylon Jennings' prime.

I almost wonder if it's possible that this comes down to a lack of choices; perhaps the genre has slowed down. I have to believe that there are more up and coming and worthy artists out there - and I also refuse to believe that the same artists came out with masterpieces in consective years. For any award show, it cheapens the award when this happens. Imagine if, I don't know, The Beatles** won a Grammy "Album of the Year" every year that they were together and the Rolling Stones won "Song of the Year" from 1964-1972. Makes things seem kind of cheap and predictable, I think. Also, c'mon, no one new has risen up over the past few years?

*Willie Nelson still puts out music seemingly annually (if not more). Is he disqualified from the Country Music Awards for being Willie f'n Nelson?

**Yes, you could make an argument that every Beatles album from A Hard Day's Night onward potentially deserves it. I really don't think that's true, but the argument's there.