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  • Chesney, Brooks and Dunn Lead ACM Awards

    Perhaps putting the telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards up against American Idol was thought to be a way to neutralize the television juggernaut. Instead, country music fans simply waited to flip from Fox to CBS to watch the coverage of same old, same old.

    Pop singer hiding under a cowboy hat Kenny Chesney won a third straight award, and perhaps the second he deserved, for Entertainer of the Year. George Strait and Brooks & Dunn also were honored with the country duo winning their 14th consecutive award as best duo. That means the last time someone else won the award was in 1993, and if you think country hasn’t changed since then, it’s worth noting that Billy Ray Cyrus notched song #11 on Billboard’s year end country charts. Yes, Billy Ray was still relevant…or at least still moved units.

    Former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood was appropriately honored for her smash Some Hearts, while Underwood wannabe Kellie Pickler was frozen out. The clock is ticking on Ms. Pickler, and she appears to be at minute 16 of the 15 she was allotted. Buh-bye, Kellie and remember to take your red shoes.

    Country is on an up cycle again, and if you find your joy in cool beats or in alt-guitar pop, you might want to listen to some country going on. Gretchen Wilson (out this month with a new album) rocks as hard as Melissa Etheridge, with just a twang’s difference, while Chesney channels everyone from 1970s singer-songwriters to Jimmy Buffett. Country is mainstream and worth a listen.

    Spinning In the CD:

    I am grooving to Maroon 5’s new single, Makes Me Wonder. Little Adam has grown up since his Kara’s Flowers days and is showing the world that the band was no one-hit wonder. You’ll be listening to Makes Me Wonder for the rest of the summer if you go near a radio dial.

  • Ben Folds + Boston Pops = Fistfight?

    Pity poor Ben Folds who has been traveling the globe for two years now, playing with orchestras from Australia to the US. Elton John’s old arranger, Paul Buckmaster, has even signed on, giving the prolific composer his own seal of approval.

    And Folds is due some respect as he is quietly becoming this generation’s Randy Newman. On tour now with John Mayer, Folds helped the famed Boston Pops open their concert season last week when a fistfight broke out in the upper rows.

    Cameras captured the image and spun it all over television and the web. One half expected the fight to have been caused by Folds’ fans well-known tradition of singing along with every line of every song. Orchestra members seem astounded, and sometimes a bit overwhelmed, by the attention. But in the end, the fight was simply one guy talking through a song, another telling him to shush and ratting him out to an usher, followed by shoves and punches and posturing.

    In the most delicious of ironies, Folds was not playing his sentimental favorite Boxing, but rather, Jesusland, when the brou-hahaed.

    Spinning In The CD:
    Forget that Taylor Hicks won season 5 of American Idol. We’ll also stipulate that McPhee can sing almost as well as K.T. Tunstall and looked pretty darn pretty sprawled on a stage singing Over The Rainbow. Elliot Yamin has turned in the slickest release of all of Season 5’s contestants. Daughtry will undoubtedly sell more. Playing your single to 30 million people every week will do that for an album. Just ask Daniel Powter. But Yamin, who producers kept on a short vocal leash, shows that his is a voice that will be releasing ballads, soft rock and smooth jazz for another generation. Now if we could just get him a duet with Stevie…

  • Delp Death Ruled Suicide Say NH Authorities

    New Hampshire authorities are ruling that Boston leader singer Brad Delp, 55, whose death last week sent shock waves through the rock world, was a suicide caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

    The small town of Atkinson, New Hampshire where Delp had settled had made no official comment on its web site — indeed, its police blotter dates back to only last year. Multiple media outlets are confirming the report, however, although not indicating whether Delp left a note or had apparent reason to take his own life.