The Farr Side: Hotly contested competition at CMAs

If someone had asked me if I ever thought American Idol winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood would go head-to-head at the CMAs for Female Vocalist of the Year, I would have said, Its possible.

If someone were to ask me if I thought Darius Rucker and Lionel Richie would be nominated together for a CMA, I would have said, It could happen.

But if someone had told me Snoop Dogg would be nominated for a CMA one day, I would have had to ask them what they were smoking. Really? Snoop Dogg?

Luckily we wont have to ponder these life-altering questions because well know the answers tonight, when the 46th Annual CMA awards are presented. Yes, rapper Snoop Dogg really is nominated in the Musical Event Of The Year category for his collaboration of Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson. Need I say, the CMAs will never be the same again.

The night is packed with numerous performers including the return of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and the new duet of Dont Rush featuring Clarkson with 18-time CMA award winner Vince Gill.

Congratulations to singer Eric Church for garnering five nominations, including Single and Song Of The Year nominations for Springsteen.

I believe the nights most contested category will be Female Vocalist, in which both Clarkson and Underwood are up against Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, and Martina McBride.

Id love for Clarkson to win, but I think Lambert could pull off a repeat. Shes the most in line with the genre. Swifts latest album, Red, is too pop to win this award.

As for the guys, I think Blake Shelton is most deserving again for Male Vocalist. However, Church is seriously going to give him a run for his money. And, off to the side is Jason Aldean saying look at what I did this year!

Snoop Dogg has some major competition, going up against Stuck On You (Richie and Rucker), Dixie Highway (Alan Jackson and Zac Brown), Feel Like A Rockstar (Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw), and S! afe And Sound (Swift and Civil Wars).

Although Swift has gone pop for Red, you cant deny her success. She arguably is the biggest star on the planet right now which should get her the Entertainer of the Year award for a third time. For me, the only other nominee in the category consisting of Aldean, Chesney, Brad Paisley and Shelton who could perhaps foil her attempts might be Shelton. Not only is he scoring big hits on the country charts, hes also giving country music a voice on The Voice.

David T. Farr is a Sturgis, Mich., Journal correspondent. Email him at farrboy@hotmail.com. You can also find The Farr Side on Facebook.