ACM COUNTRY AWARDS 2013 HIGHLIGHTS: little big town/ kelly clarkson/ tim mcgraw, taylor swift, keith urban/ hunter hayes/ miranda lambert/ blake shelton/ carrie underwood/ the band perry

i love the ACM country awards! every year i not only discover new country tunes to quench my secret love of country music, but it's a joy to see a community get together and honestly love performing with each other on stage. with the new pairing of luke 'tight pants' bryan and blake 'the voice' shelton, the guys definitely offered up a fun evening for all! here are some of the highlights of last night!


little big town - your side of the bed
easily the most moving performance of the evening. this beautiful song by the vocal country group of the year, had me in tears. throw in the fact that LBT are my fave country band and you've got something special for all.



kelly clarkson - don't rush
performing a lovely number co-written by vince gill, i can seriously watch kelly sing a phone book and still gush!



tim mcgraw feat taylor swift & keith urban - highway don't care
yeah, this song is destined to be a huge hit for tim mcgraw. throw in a dramatic performance by taylor and keith, and you've got a highlight of the evening.



hunter hayes - i want crazy
though he's still got to hone his vocals for live performances, the kid's debut album just churns out hit after hit.



miranda lambert - mama's broken heart
female vocalist of the year is just wonderful to watch live, and watching her cry on stage just really endears me to her even more.



blake shelton - sure be cool if you did
yeah. i secretly like this guy...



carrie underwood - two black cadillacs



the band perry - done



luke bryan wins entertainer of the year
i actually have yet to fall in love with any of his songs, but the guy himself seems like such a nice guy that his win is a genuine 'awwwwwww' moment. shame that you don't get to see what happens afterwards as luke continuously thanks co-host blake shelton with kisses on the cheek. so sweet!

new video monday: taken by trees, tim mcgraw & faith hill, the concretes, jack penate, guru feat common

taken by trees - lost and found [link 2]
[fans of victoria bergsman (aka ex-concretes lead singer and the female voice behind "young ones" with peter bjorn & john) will be pleased to find that she's created this side project to tap into her mellow chanteuse side. it definitely works! the debut album open field is out now.]


tim mcgraw & faith hill - i need you [link 2]
[scoff at me all you want, but i've been in love with this song ever since i've seen the husband and wife perform this at fashion rocks last year. now as an official single, my cheeseball sentimental side still got a bit choked up when i saw this. oh well, you can deal!]


the concretes - oh boy [link 2]
[when lead singer victoria bergsman announced that she was leaving the swedish indie pop band last year, people wondered if the concretes would be able to continue. well, their current album hey trouble proves that life does go on just fine... definitely my favorite track off their album! thanks to ifmv for the tip!]


jack penate - torn on the platform [link 2]
[i've been seeing jack penate's name thrown around with wongie favorite kate nash and it turns out that this boy is just as quirky and individualistic as his labelmate.]


guru feat common - state of clarity
[gosh, i still remember the 1st jazzmatazz back in 1993! well, guru is back again with a whole new collaborative effort that features damien marley, caron wheeler, bobby valentino and even dionne farris. go and get jazzmatazz vol 4 now.]