Knoxville.com readers want Taylor Swift to win the Country Music Association Awards Entertainer of the Year honor over East Tennessee native Kenny Chesney.
An unscientific poll on Knoxville.com as of Monday evening had Swift in the lead for the entire time - but just barely.
Swift, whose "Fearless" CD is one of the year's biggest selling albums, earned 51 percent of the vote by press deadline on Tuesday. Chesney lost to her by three votes at deadline.
Of the five entertainers going for CMA's top prize (8 p.m. Wednesday on WATE, Channel 6), Swift and Chesney are considered the nominees who have a clear shot at receiving it, most country-music insiders are speculating.
The other nominees include Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and George Strait.
For Chesney, a 41-year-old native of Luttrell, the trophy would be a record breaker. No one has won Entertainer of the Year five times. Chesney has won four of the last five times he has been nominated. He currently ties with Garth Brooks as having the most wins in that category.
His album sales are still very strong. He gets plenty of airplay, and there's no denying his concerts are a hot ticket.
Chesney's publicist says the singer would not consent to an interview about this year's CMAs and his thoughts on winning the Entertainer of the Year award.
Swift has a definite mass appeal in her favor. She brings a youthful audience to country music, huge record sales, a successful record tour and accessibility.
Her recent stint on "Saturday Night Live" cemented her as a likable star. And few can forget how she was a victim of embarrassment at MTV's Video Music Awards when Kanye West rushed into her acceptance speech.
Chesney and Swift are set to perform at tonight's show. Besides Entertainer of the Year, Chesney is nominated for Male Vocalist and Musical Event with Mac McAnally for "Down the Road."
Terry Morrow may be reached at morrowt@knoxville.com or 865-342-6445. His blog can be found at http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/telebuddy/. He contributes to "Live At Five At Four" on WBIR, Channel 10, and "The Marc & Kim & Frank Show" on WWST-FM, 102.1.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 2
dandyseniors#546965 writes:
Swift may be a good entertainer --- but she CANNOT sing!
All_Vol_Girl_84 writes:
I know it's a little late to post a reply, seeing as she already won the award, but I tend to agree with you. She has an amazing talent and I can't wait to see what she does with it as she matures. Her songs speak to people, especially females, of all ages. But her voice is not so strong.
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