*******Commentary: CMAs ‘Should've Said No’ to Taylor Swift*******

[Carrie Country]

Commentary: CMAs






Each year that Taylor Swift walks away with awards for Entertainer of the Year or Female Vocalist of the Year at the Country Music Awards, I start to question the judgment of the voting members of the Country Music Association.
So when she again took home the Entertainer of the Year award Wednesday, I was less than thrilled. While she was beaten out by Miranda Lambert in the female vocalist category, it infuriates and confuses me that she took home top honors. Again.
Before you jump down my throat, let me say that I can certainly appreciate that Swift writes her own songs, a rarity in the music industry today. I appreciate that she plays an instrument instead of just standing there. And, I can appreciate her loyalty to her fans.
But that's pretty much where my appreciation for Swift stops.
I was a big fan of her self-titled first album, so when I saw less-than-stellar performances from her on award show after award show, I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. But when I saw Swift open for Carrie Underwood in 2008, I realized that her shaky performances had nothing to do with the acoustics in the awards venues or with awards-show nerves.
It simply came down to the fact that she is not a good live performer.
Underwood made a name for herself by proving she was talented onstage, not just in a studio. Swift, on the other hand, seems to be off-key each time she performs live, a fault that is almost unforgiveable to me, seeing as she writes her own songs. If you know a note is out of your vocal range, why not leave it out of the song rather than straining to squeak out a pitch that you realistically can't hit? Even when she does hit the tough notes, it sounds forced.
Compare that to the effortless sounds of Underwood, Lambert or Martina McBride, and, to me, there is no contest. This should eliminate Swift from the vocalist category, a group in which I feel she should not even be nominated.
But it also should eliminate her from contention in the entertainment category because while Swift certainly puts on a show with elaborate sets and staging, none of that matters if you can't do the one thing people came to see you do: sing.
Swift can't sing live.
I'm not sure which show the voters were watching, but it certainly wasn't the same performance I've seen from Swift because, as likeable as she is, her inability to sing her own songs on key means she is not a good live entertainer — let alone the best live entertainer in country music.
I have my own issues with the content of her songs, which I feel have become almost childish in nature. But one could argue she simply is writing to her audience, which mostly consists of young girls. So I can even cut her some slack for that one.
I wouldn't take issue if the voters handed her awards for songwriting. It's that she's winning awards in categories in which she clearly is not the strongest candidate. Just as I wouldn't argue that Underwood should beat Swift in a songwriting competition, Swift never should beat Underwood in a vocal contest, and Swift certainly should not be given top honors at a music-awards show.
Oh, and Taylor, before you go off and write a nasty hit song about me for writing this column, please make sure you pick up a thesaurus and come up with a more creative adjective than "Mean."

 

[ohlove]

If you know a note is out of your vocal range, why not leave it out of the song rather than straining to squeak out a pitch that you realistically can't hit?

Probably because every note is out of her range.

I'm glad there are actually people out there that don't think she's the second coming of Christ, I was genuinely starting to think something was wrong with me for a second.

 

[Carrie&Taylor]

And no mention that she sings pop and not country. Love her pop music. But who is it that decides when they are pop or country when they release an album?

 

[rainbow1]

Looks like this was from a College newspaper, so ALL the young people don't think that she's the Second Coming!!!

 

[DizzyDollyDee]

WOW! Someone had the nerve to tell the truth!! Like Ohlove said, sometimes you think its just yourself that feels this way when she is receiving award after award after award and you don't think she can even sing!!

 

[Ann055]

Looks like this was from a College newspaper, so ALL the young people don't think that she's the Second Coming!!!

Thank goodness!!

 

[DizzyDollyDee]

I don't think her CD's are that bad as they are autotuned so if the industry wants to accept those thats fine. But not to receive awards for singing songs that are only acceptable if they are autotuned.

 

[judes]

Well, singing and entertaining is what the entertainer award is about and you could say a dancing bear is entertaining. What did she get the award for? Not getting #1's at country radio?, not being able to sing? not writing great interesting songs ? rather strutting around a stage flinging her hair while attempting to sing while circus and Broadway acts, Usher and Minaj performed to hold people's interest - it's obvious that Scott Borchetta campaigned big time to get this award for her-most people except her fans know she is not very good, even the audience at the CMA's gave her lukewarm applause after she performed - The CMA should do like the Oscars did - not allow campaigning for the awards because it gets out of hand and it's not fair to the ones who really deserve it - you could almost hear the groan go up from the CMA audience when they announced her name for entertainer

 

[buckeyecarriefan]

Pretty sure this came from The Lantern!

I'm proud of Ohio State once again. Glad to see some of my fellow Buckeyes are with me that she just isn't that good.

 

[conorlovescarrie:)]

I love reading these articles, it's always nice to know there are other people out there that agree that she isn't the second coming

 

[Carrieflattsfan]

I completely agree with this article. I just don't understand her appeal, at all. I'm barely out of my teenage years, and it amazes me that so many teenagers/young adults claim she's so amazing, when her lyrics are so juvenile most of the time.

She can be a decent songwriter, but I don't understand how critics fall all over EVERYTHING she releases. Just because she writes her own music doesn't mean everything she writes is genius.

And, don't even get me started on her voice. I have thought the same thing about her not being able to sing her OWN songs, despite the fact that she should be able to write them in a key that she actually sing in. It's actually kind of amazing to me that people think she's the second coming because she has had SOME good moments as a writer, but yet it never crosses their mind that this SONGWRITER cannot sing her own songs. In my mind, that should be part of her artistry, but most people overlook it time and time again.

This reminds me of something Miranda Lambert said: "You can write a song, but it's nothing if you can't sing it." To me, I read the comment as saying if you cannot at least sing your OWN songs on key, the impact of your lyrics is going to be diminished.

I really wish that the ETOY voters would consider the whole package when they are decided who has represented country music in the best way possible. People can tell me Taylor wins this award based on her album sales and touring numbers; while that may be true, I don't like that people are sweeping her horrid vocal performances under the rug. Anyone who is considered the BEST OF THE BEST in country music should be at least a decent vocalist.

 

[Mirasa45A]

Compare that to the effortless sounds of Underwood, Lambert or Martina McBride, and, to me, there is no contest. This should eliminate Swift from the vocalist category, a group in which I feel she should not even be nominated.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: is the writer a member of this site ? :rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

[teesharky]

Awesome awesome brave person to write this article! It is high time someone told the truth about taylor!

Love it!

 

[teesharky]

Oh man I just read some of the comments from the Taylor swift Rabid Fandom-- and it is hilarious! lol One said something like "Taylor is more talented, artisitc, and has more wisdom" then Carrie Underwood. lol Wow. Just wow.

Carrie graduated magna cum laude honey. Taylor was home schooled and didn't even go to highschool much less college. lol LMAO

Yep. she is "wise" alright, singing about fairytales and enchanted castles, pretending to be 12 years old forever, and lashing out at her critics like a baby in "mean." lol

 

[Gator]

^^Isn't TS the same age Carrie was when she was on Idol? What differences....

 

[epicamends]

^^Isn't TS the same age Carrie was when she was on Idol? What differences....

And the same age as Adele is now. The maturity levels are just so glaringly different.

 

[Gator]

Wow -- unbelievably different in many aspects.

 

[Carrieflattsfan]

Oh man I just read some of the comments from the Taylor swift Rabid Fandom-- and it is hilarious! lol One said something like "Taylor is more talented, artisitc, and has more wisdom" then Carrie Underwood. lol Wow. Just wow.

Carrie graduated magna cum laude honey. Taylor was home schooled and didn't even go to highschool much less college. lol LMAO

Yep. she is "wise" alright, singing about fairytales and enchanted castles, pretending to be 12 years old forever, and lashing out at her critics like a baby in "mean." lol

Wow. I usually don't use jealousy as a reason to be nasty, but I honestly think many of Taylor's fans are jealous of Carrie's talent. There seems to be no other reason for them to always bash Carrie when she isn't relevant to the conversation. I don't even understand their reason for picking on Carrie; Taylor has gotten plenty of opportunities Carrie has not, because she has been very successful in country and pop. If anything, you would think they'd use the opportunity to build Taylor up even more than they already do. Most of the arguments from her fans don't even make much sense, let alone enough to sustain a logical argument without stating the same things over and over.

I'm not saying Carrie fans are innocent in all of this, but Taylor's fans aren't exactly making her look good, either. If anything, most seem to reinforce the idea that most of her fans are young and immature enough to the point where they cannot accept other opinions, nor do they know how to form a logical one.

I do believe Taylor is smart in a business sense; she's obviously very savvy and knows what her fans want. But in terms of overall intelligence, Carrie has her beat. She's articulate and very self-aware in terms of knowing her weaknesses. She's also a very hard-worker, and she works her butt off to better herself, whether it be in live performances, albums, or anything in between. Taylor, I'm afraid, is just as awkward onstage as she was when she started out in 2006- she uses the same old tired tricks of swinging her hair, awkwardly dancing, and standing onstage pretending to be awestruck by the applause of her own fans.

Taylor's fans can think Taylor is the Second Coming if they chose, but I think Taylor herself makes them look kind of silly. She hasn't improved as a live performer or singer, and she certainly hasn't increased her maturity level. That's a scary thing to say about a 22 year old woman. The only thing that sets her apart are album sales and concert tickets. Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez sell a ton of tickets, but I don't hear anyone calling them the best things since sliced bread. Plenty of people write their own songs, and plenty of artists were quality writers at her age. People can tell me what Taylor has accomplished all day if they want to, but I don't think it sets her apart from many of the big stars who have set the same records and accomplished the same things. If anything, I think tooting the horn about all TS has accomplished just makes her seem all the more inferior to those who have accomplished the same things, and had more maturity, written better songs, and made better albums in the process.

I think it's laughable Taylor's fans even have the guts to compare Taylor to other country artists, especially Carrie. She won a singing show based on her talent and because all of America voted for her. Taylor's dad financed her record deal, and she's now famous because of little girls. Carrie just started writing and performing six years ago, yet she's already a much more polished performer and individual than Taylor, despite the fact that she has been in the music business most of her life.

I feel bad for Carrie and Rascal Flatts, being compared to someone like Taylor Swift. Do they not know the difference between country pop and pure pop music? Taylor may have been country when she started out, but now it'd be an insult to compare her musical style to any other artist in country music. Rascal Flatts and Carrie have immense respect for country music and they don't pretend otherwise. They thank country artists for influencing them, and they're humbled by the acceptance their peers have given them. They don't pretend to be country artists when it works for them; they've been proud to carry the banner of contemporary country music, even when it wasn't the "cool" thing to do.

Taylor? She doesn't care about being a country artist, and she obviously has more respect and love for her pop artists friends than the country artists who have given her so many opportunities. She's not humbled by the success she has had, and she doesn't care if she's only a country artist when it works for her. THAT is the difference between the artistry of Taylor and every other country artist, IMO. They may not be accepted as being very "country," but they have never backed away from it or attempted to change themselves to fit in. They're proud to carry the banner and humility of country music, even when they themselves are looked down upon for various reasons. When you have artists who are told they don't fit in a genre, but yet they're still willing to do everything they can to make the music they love, they deserve to be accepted in the genre much more than an immature artist who only loves country music when they reward her with something.

 

[diva101]

omg =)))) this article is so straight to the point, no sugar coating at all! and I love every single word of it! =))) the writer is brilliant =)))))


when is Taylor gonna write good songs, and become a good performer? that only song I appreciated from her is Teardrops On My Guitar... then the rest



meh.

 

[AdamJ]

Pretty sure this came from The Lantern!

I'm proud of Ohio State once again. Glad to see some of my fellow Buckeyes are with me that she just isn't that good.

Yep------this is my almamater's newspaper. I was going to post it here but someone got to it first---thanks. Swift nor Lambert is popular here on campus. I was proud of Jami for telling it like it is. Hope you all got a kick out of it like we did. See Ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!