NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fletcher Foster, co-producer of the American Country Awards, has heard the question over and over the past few weeks: Do we really need another country music awards show? “I think it’s interesting that that’s become a question from several people,” Foster said. “When you look at how many award shows there are in other genres like R&B, you’ve got the Soul Trains, you’ve got BET, you’ve got tons of other award shows in other formats. For some reason in country music, I think it’s become more of an industry question than a consumer question. Consumers just want to see their artists on TV, I think.”
They’ll get a heavy dose of that when the inaugural awards show airs Monday night on Fox from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There are 18 performances crammed into the two-hour show — so many they’re only giving out a third of the show’s 15 awards on air.
The show will feature today’s stars — Rascal Flatts, Reba and Keith Urban — but also has a heavy dose of young talent, like lead nominee Easton Corbin, The Band Perry and Steel Magnolia. Foster hopes that leads to something special.
| On TV |
| American Country Awards |
| » When: 8 p.m. Monday |
| » Channel: FOX |
| » Info: Fox.com |
“Hopefully we’ll be able to break an artist through this show,” Foster said. “That’s the goal. I call it ‘The Ricky Martin Moment’ because I remember exactly where I was at the Grammys the year he performed ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca,’ and that moment totally changed his career. At that moment it was the watercooler conversation that everybody was having.”
The ACAs drew the ire of CMT when organizers announced it as the only entirely fan-voted show. CMT’s country video awards have long been determined by fans and the Academy of Country Music also has fan-voted components. While the method may have been debated, there’s no question the ACA approach is a little different.
Traditional categories like artist of the year are broken into several components, like male artist and female artist of the year. and the ACAs also hand out awards for things like touring.
