CMA reflections
Back at home in Northern Virginia, our country music man Dennis McCafferty is reflecting today. Forty eight hours in Nashville surrounded by country musicians, their entourages and the press pack following them can do that to a guy. The backstage press room where the CMA award winners were interviewed was a whole new and surprising experience, Dennis says.
"The country music press openly gushed about and literally applauded each performer who came out. 'Boy,' I remarked to a magazine writer I was seated next to. 'I guess the sports press box rule doesn't apply here.'
'What sports press box rule?' the writer replied.
'The one about not cheering or otherwise looking like a homer for the people you're covering,' I said.
'Oh no,' the writer said, laughing. 'That certainly doesn't apply here!'
There were too many breathless '(Insert first name of CMA winner here), you've clearly achieved a great milestone in your already brilliant, groundbreaking career. Describe for us the very emotions that you're experiencing right at this moment?' questions. And, among other lowlights, one scribe asked Kenny Chesney if he would consider not cheering for his beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers and switch to the scribe's 'Bama Crimson Tide instead. (You can imagine the awkward silence that followed. The rest of us in the room couldn't get to the next question quickly enough.)
Overall, I'll remember that Chesney and the other performers fielded all questions with grace and wit. And seeing a clearly emotionally overwhelmed Tracy Lawrence after winning his first CMA touched everyone in the room. There was no crime in being a 'homey' at that moment."
November 08, 2007
Eagles drummer flies home
Sometimes you just get lucky. That was the case for our country music writer Dennis McCafferty, whose quote-filled posts from the CMA Awards can be read below. Dennis gets on his plane to come back to Washington from Nashville and what happens? He sits next to Scott Crago, drummer for the Eagles. Dennis says Crago is a very nice guy. "He told me he didn't have much of a chance to meet any of the CMA performers. Unlike the country stars, the Eagles didn't share dressing rooms with other acts. 'That's what the country stars do?' he asked, when I explained the CMA tradition. 'Wow. They're closeknit in that industry. It's a bit different with rock music.' Crago turned out to be the biggest NASCAR fan, so I was able to give him some dish on drivers there, given our regular Daytona cover packages." Dennis will be attending the annual NASCAR awards show and media events on Nov. 29 and 30 and promises us live blog feeds then.
Brad Paisley, Jamie Foxx and Carrie Underwood chat
The press room started heating up at the end of the night as the big winners came in to talk. Our tired Dennis types these final reports from the 2007 CMA Awards:
"Brad Paisley closed the press conferences part of the evening, and started it in praise of … Jason Alexander? Yep. The Seinfeld actor directed Paisley’s smash video for Online, which won a CMA. 'He directs like someone who was in the greatest sitcom of all time,' Paisley said. As for his reaction to winning Male Vocalist of the Year? 'I really don’t remember it,' Paisley said. 'It’s very surreal. I’ve watched this show as long as I can remember as a country fan who grew up with a love of this, and this was the award I always wanted to win.' Many eyes misted up during Paisley’s acceptance speech, in which he thanked his father, who went on the road with his son early in his career to provide sound engineering. 'Now, he’s the grandfather of my child and he’s here tonight,' Paisley said. 'He doesn’t miss this (show).' ”
"Jamie Foxx charmed the crowd, not missing a beat when asked the inevitable ‘So why exactly are you here?’ question. It’s the kind of question that leads to the equally inevitable ‘Hey, I’m more country than YOU are!’ answer. But Jamie made it work, explaining that he grew up in Texas on George Strait, Vince Gill and Mel Tillis. 'That’s where I’m from,' he said. He performed a compelling number with Rascal Flatts, and the group’s Gary LeVox and Foxx were once roomies in a studio apartment. 'Tonight is so special,' Foxx said. 'When I texted my homeboys and told them I was doing the CMAs, they were like ‘What?!’ I told them to check it out. It’s great to have a moment like that with Gary and have everything come full circle.' ”
"Carrie Underwood was asked the ‘how does it feel?’ question after winning her second straight Female Vocalist of the Year. 'Amazing,' she said. 'I didn’t think I was going to win it once.' She said she’s still a work in progress, trying to perfect the more subtle graces of the best country music stylists by becoming a different character in every song. 'I want to give that character a look and feel and sound,' Underwood said. 'Hopefully, I’ll keep getting better at that.' ”
November 07, 2007
Kenny Chesney on Springsteen, Willie Nelson
It's late, but Dennis has more from the stars: "Kenny Chesney brought a party spirit toward the end of the night, beaming over his Entertainer of the Year award. He was asked whether he’d keep working so hard — he tours all the time, selling out stadiums. Doesn’t sound like he’s gonna stop anytime soon. 'My life is like a baseball season,' he said. 'It’s been six months on and six months off. But three or four of those months off, I’m spending preparing for the six months coming.' He was asked whom his heroes were, and came up with an eclectic list: 'I’ve always looked up to the singer-songwriters. Springsteen is one of them. Roger Miller is one of them. Willie Nelson is one of them. I got a lot of heroes, to be honest with you.'"
Taylor Swift is 'freaking out'
Dennis is still searching for dish backstage. Here's his latest: "After three hours in closed quarters with each other and not having benefit of a deodorant refresher, the music press gets a bit antsy. So when Horizon winner Taylor Swift showed up, it took a while before anyone asked a question. Finally, some guy from the U.K. asked the obligatory 'What does this award mean to you?' question. 'I’m freaking out!' Swift said. She meant that in a good way. She was also asked about being a role model to so many young girls. 'It governs my life,' she said. 'You can either accept that you’re a role model or choose to ignore it.'"
Josh Turner is quotable
Did you hear Kimberly Williams-Paisley just refer to Josh Turner as someone who's said that "Country music began as soul music"? Well, that quote is from our cover story. We told you Dennis knew country!
George Strait and Sugarland
More from Dennis in the media room: "The scribes covering the CMA Awards gave a warm round of
applause for George Strait after he made a quick stop to discuss his
album of the year win. Much has been written about Strait’s approach
--- how it never changes, yet still sounds fresh and he makes it all
look so easy. But he confesses it’s not always like that and he ends up
dumping songs after working hard on them. 'You think something’s going
to work and it doesn’t,' he said. That wasn’t the case with It Just
Comes Natural. 'We ended up with 15 songs. I never intended to put 15
on a record. But there were no songs I wanted to take off.' He says he
has no intentions of retiring to his Texas ranch for good. 'I still
feel great and I love to sing,' he said. 'I love to tour. To get
started (on a tour) is kinda hard, but once I get out there, it’s a
blast.'
Sugarland was elated after winning duo of the year, breaking the near-monopoly on that category that Brooks & Dunn have held. 'We were just on the road with Brooks & Dunn last year and those guys taught us a lot,' says Kristian Bush, the male half of the duo, 'about how to carry this moment. Those guys have so much class.'
The duo insisted they weren’t going solo. Why break up a good thing? Oh, and by the way, they’re not involved with each other – except when it comes to music – no matter what fans and media speculate. 'Half of them want to break us up and half of them think we’re married,' said Jennifer Nettles, the female half. 'Neither is the case.'
(George Strait photo by Sid Farbstein/ courtesy frontpagepublicity.com)
(Sugarland photo by Marc Baptiste/courtesy Universal Music Group Nashville)
Kenny Chesney and Tracy Lawrence
Dennis reports from backstage: "It took a while, but Kenny Chesney was the first big star to come out to the media room, with Tracy Lawrence after winning Musical Event of the Year. While that was going on, Sugarland won for duo and Kenny got some kudos on stage there from the group. (They toured together.) 'They thanked me?' asked Kenny, clearly surprised and pleased. 'What did they say?'
'They just said you were one hot dude,' Lawrence said.
Lawrence has gone through some tough times, as many country acts are getting dropped from major labels. He told us he’s never won a CMA, and tears were nearly in his eyes when he told us how much this meant to him. He couldn’t thank Kenny enough for supporting him when support was needed the most. 'We’ve been through a lot of stuff, man,' he told Kenny.
'On both ends,' Kenny replied."
Backstage at the awards...
Dennis is backstage at the Sommet Center in Nashville waiting for the winners to come back and talk. He reports that he's squeezed into a room with about 200 other reporters and, no, there are no big piles of shrimp. "Turkey and ham sandwiches," says Dennis. "I'll wait for the party."
Along with his laptop and cellphone, Dennis has his digital camera and is the photographer who snapped all the photos in the earlier posts. But who snapped this one of him?
Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley was one of the last on the red carpet. He's up for Album of the Year and he told Dennis he is proud to be in that category. "Album is the biggest category," he said. "I wrote every song on the album. I realize it's a single-driven market but albums are still important."
Sheryl Crow listening for The Eagles
Sheryl Crow is in town for the big night. She told Dennis she's looking forward to seeing The Eagles perform. "Their music was the soundtrack of my youth."
Sara Evans wanted to be a drummer
Sara Evans walks the carpet wearing a short, strapless black Romona Kaveta dress. She's co-hosting with Kate Walsh and James Denton and she's "excited to be doing this. I sat next to James last year -- they're a lot of fun." She's tells Dennis she's seen Brad Paisley's rehearsal of Online dozens of times and loves the marching band on stage. She also spilled that "one of my secret fantasies as a child was to play drums in a marching band."
Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman and Kate Walsh
Dennis reports that Keith Urban just walked by with Nicole Kidman: "Keith was very playful with a reporter who had the guts to ask whether they were making a baby at this point. Keith just answered, 'Are you?' with a smile on his face and a wink in his eye."
Then co-host Kate Walsh came by. She grew up in Tucson, Ariz., and told Dennis that "one of my fondest memories was I went to go see Johnny Cash with my mom at the House of Blues in Los Angeles and he actually came over and kissed my hand. It was the most exciting night of my life." Today she watched Martina McBride and Keith Urban rehearse and that's where she gets "all giddy and dorky."
Martina McBride is cool
Dennis made sure to hook up with Martina McBride - she's really the one to beat tonight. Asked how it will be if she does win her fifth Female Vocalist of the Year award, Martina, wearing white Rachael Roy, told Dennis, "I'm not gonna lie to you about it. It would be cool." Don't you love honesty on the red carpet? Martina, who was on our cover last weekend, has said that one of the things she loves about the award shows is sharing the dressing room with her country companions. So, does she know who's sharing with her tonight? "Yes, I do. Alison Krauss, Reba McEntire, Sara Evans and LeAnn Rimes. We all know each other. It's gonna be fun."
Josh Turner and John Amos on the red carpet
Josh Turner arrives in his Givenchy suit and Calvin Klein shoes, told us he loved our USA WEEKEND cover but at the time he did it he hadn't yet been nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year. He told Dennis that all the nominees know each other. "I spoke with Brad (Paisley) earlier this week; I've talked to Alan (Jackson). We wish each other well." John Amos also walked red carpet. Turns out the former Roots and Good Times star is putting out a country album with Johnny Cash's cousin, Eric Cash.
The Carrie and Kellie show
Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler arrive around the same time and Dennis describes it as "like two stars colliding. Suddenly, the paparazzi and the microphones went crazy for both." Carrie exhudes lots of down- to-earth charm, says Dennis, and she told him she still carries a photo i.d. with her because she still can't believe people will know who she is. When she won Female Vocalist of the Year last year, Underwood says, she walked off stage and called her mom.
Kellie Pickler says she hopes more than anything to see Dolly Parton tonight. "I've met her before but Dolly has always been idol," says the former American Idol contestant.
Country comedy legend Ray Stevens
Dennis is off to chase after Ray Stevens, who is celebrating 50 years in music tonight. Before he goes he and I get into a little back and forth about Ray's work. I don't recall it, but Dennis very well remembers The Streak, a parody song about the 1970s phenomenon of streaking, and tells Ray "my parents made me turn of the car radio when it would come on because it was a little naughty." Would it even get noticed in today's culture? Steven says no. "Today it wouldn't be anything."
Jewel is a presenter
Dennis spots Jewel, "she looks gorgeous" and Ty Murray, her rodeo star boyfriend, and finds out from Jewel that she grew up on country music. "Loretta Lynn, Meryl Haggard...my dad loved cowboy songs. Country music is storytelling at its best." She said she made five of her six albums in Nashville. "I love the town. I love the community. This town is more about the songwriting than it is about the celebrity stuff." Nevertheless, she's a celebrity and a presenter tonight. And just last month she told our Kathy Rowings that she's working on her own country album, which she hopes will be out next summer.
James Denton is out of work for awhile
Never one to let a BIG celebrity get away, Dennis hangs up on me (he's filing by cell phone) to chase down Desperate House Husband James Denton. He's at the show as a presenter; he talked about the writers' strike and how it's affecting the entertainment world. "It's terrible. We're shut down." Desperate Housewives finished shooting its last script today. Asked about the band he's in with Hugh Laurie, Greg Grunberg, and a few other Hollywood types, Denton allowed as how the strike will give them more time to devote to practice. They do classic rock music, Denton says. Among the best stuff is "a Joe Cocker version of The Letter and a reggae version of You Can't Always Get What You Want."
Jason Aldean is up for the fun
Dennis is moving like lightning to get quotes from arriving stars. Jason Aldean, up for the Horizon Award tonight, shares a funny story about touring with Rascal Flatts. Seems that throughout the tour he kept waiting for the boys from Rascal Flatts to do something awful to him, in a practical joking kind of way. He thought he'd gotten through it when on the last night "they grabbed me, threw me on stage for the last songs, and duck-taped me to a bar stool." They used pink duck tape so he'd looked "girlie." That's how he sat to listen to their last songs. All in good fun, of course.
Miranda Lambert lands
Dennis reports that Miranda Lambert is the first of the big names to arrive, looking very elegant in a "Christmasy green" David Meister dress. A nominee for Female Vocalist of the Year, Lambert told Dennis, "We all know each other. The really cool thing about all of us being nominated is we all represent different styles of music and the association recognizes and appreciates that."
It's high school musical for Brad Paisley
The latest from Dennis on the streets of Nashville:
"I went to get my credentials for the show and, outside the arena, everyone on the street was doing double takes as a school bus pulled up and unloaded an entire high school marching band! ‘Ummmm, hey kids, did you show up at the wrong place? There’s no high school football game going on at the Sommet Center tonight …’ Well, they
were in the right place, because they’ll be onstage tonight to perform Online with Brad Paisley. It’s a funny, quirky song, so the marching band from nearby Brentwood High fits right in. Check out the photo. The tuba player, Alex Levy, 18, says, unlike other country music stars tonight, it only took him a minute to get properly ‘styled’ for the event. But that doesn’t make him any less excited. 'It’s definitely THE musical highlight of my career,' he told me. 'So far, at least.' His folks will be TiVo-ing from home. With Alex, to the left, is Nicole Negrete and, center, Daniel Bradley.
Brad Paisley could be CMA big winner
Who are favorites for the big CMA Awards tonight? Before he left, I asked Dennis for his picks, which he happily supplied with the caveat that they aren't based on anything but his own gut. His gut is better than mine, so here is a look at what may happen on stage tonight:
SONG OF THE YEAR: Everyone loves a recovering somebody, which makes Keith Urban’s Stupid Boy a strong pick here. But don’t count out Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats because those who counted her out last year for female vocalist were making funny faces and getting posted on YouTube in a non-flattering way.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR: The Dixie Chicks are nominated after getting snubbed in recent years. Funny how both the Chicks and Toby Keith have fallen out of favor with CMA voters, when they’re on opposite sides of the same feud, huh? Anyway, Rascal Flatts is the flavor of the year; they’ll win this one.
HORIZON AWARD: Go with Rodney Atkins here. Watching You is a throat-choker.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Brad Paisley has a Hollywood wife and knows his way around the camera. 'Nuff said.
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR: George Strait, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett for Hey Good Lookin’
C’mon. Strait, Jackson AND Buffett? Just getting them together is worth an award. George doesn’t really do incessant hookups with other stars. Really, like, does he have to?
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: King George (Strait) will step aside for Brad Paisley's 5th Gear, as a Paisley train will continue rolling on.
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR: Brooks & Dunn will continue winning this award until they officially retire it.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Martina McBride is going for a record here, so why not pick her? Carrie 
Underwood got her award last year (too soon for a certain star’s taste, clearly). Miranda Lambert’s got a lot of spunk, and who doesn’t like her "Hell YEAH!" shout-out? But it’s too early, and she lacks a diverse portfolio (musically, that is … dunno what she’s doing with all of her money). So Martina is the pick here.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Josh Turner is a first-time nominee and the "just-happy-to-be-here" guy. The others are stiff competition, but it’s Brad Paisley's night.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR: Thanks to Ticks, great songwriting and very under-appreciated guitar skills, Brad Paisley will take this, too, and make it a night to remember.
Want to check out some other predictions? Here are the best guesses from TV Guide, USA TODAY, The Seattle Times and Country Universe. What do you think of their picks and ours? Who do you think will go home a winner? Let us know in the comments below.
(Martina McBride photo by Rick Diamond/courtesy frontpagepublicity.com)
Big & Rich do GMA
While I was bleary-eyed and writing our daily Over Coffee round-up at 7 a.m. this morning, our Dennis was already bright-eyed and working on the streets of Nashville, checking out the free mini-concert by Big & RIch for Good Morning America. Here's what he found.
"Some folks apparently turned out for the concert at 3:30 a.m. 'Man, I wouldn’t get up this early to see Elvis,' one groggy band member groused. There were lots of handwritten signs expressing props for the band. My favorite was one being held up by a family of four that said, 'We Are Skipping School for Big & Rich.' 'Big' Kenny Alphin and John Rich showed up just before 7:30 a.m., to the crowd’s
delight. From GMA, Robin and Diane were MIA, but weatherman Sam Champion was there to officially bring out the band. Big Kenny had a lot of fun with this. 'I’ve just been informed that the new lyrics to our first song will be Save a Horse/Ride a Weatherman,’ he told the crowd. Sam loved it. (Kenny is the designated character of the group.) With that, they launched into their signature hit, Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy), followed by Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace. In between songs, Champion asked the fellas about their style, which is pretty outlandish and eclectic, mixing barstool-kicking country with classic rock — they do AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long on their new album — and even hip-hop. Rich gave the weather guy a quick lesson in music history, about how blending rap with country is nothing new, that legends like Johnny Cash did it all the time. 'They called it recitation back then,' Rich said, 'when you’d talk in the middle of a song, like in A Boy Named Sue.' Well, enough of that, because the crowd wanted music, and Big & Rich gave them a great concert-kicker with Radio. 'Now, y’all can take a nap,' Big Kenny said before leaving. Sounded good to me. The red carpet thing starts in late afternoon, and I’ll need to have my A game on."
(photo by Marina Chavez)
The fun continues in Nashville
Dennis was still out and about into Tuesday evening, and things only got more fun. Here's his report:
"By dinnertime, downtown Nashville was really quite a scene! The main drag is Broadway, and there was a live, free concert going on right in front of the Sommet Center there, where the CMAs will be held. Emerson Drive and Phil Vassar were the headliners, and a the biggest buzz was about special ‘surprise’ guest Sara Evans — even if you don’t dig country, you know her from Dancing With the Stars. Phil was great, too, with a bouncy take on Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer) and a soulful rendition of America the Beautiful. Everybody loved it, especially two guys in the crowd who were apparently trying to out-‘man crush’ each other:
'I LOVE YOU, PHIL!' one screamed.
'I LOVE YOU MORE, PHIL!!' the other said.
Phil was clearly amused. 'Hey, even if you don’t think much of the music here,' he said, 'you can’t beat the price.'
On to a media-only party at Rippy's on Broadway that the nice publicity folks at the CMAs were hosting. Boy, let me just say that I’m totally lame-o for even THINKING about being tired, because the CMA folks start the day at 6 a.m. and end at midnight. The excitement of the show clearly was fueling them, because they were all abuzz about the day's rehearsals and events. There were 50 radio stations from across the country in to do live remotes. There were videotaped interviews with performing stars to send out to TV stations everywhere, a
nd, for the first time that CMA publicist Scott Stem could remember, George Strait actually agreed to do one. (That's Scott with some friends, pictured at left.) Strait, as anyone who loves country music knows, rarely gives interviews. (I hounded him for two years to get ours. Maybe he thought that the easiest way to get rid of me for good was to finally give the damn interview already …) Scott was thrilled. 'He was terrific!' Scott said. 'He talked about how much he loves doing the awards, especially last year, when he was inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame at the CMAs.'
DVR alert: During rehearsals, Brad Paisley apparently did a killer version of Online, with Kellie Pickler and even members of the Brentwood High marching band. That said, even this late in the game, much of the fine details of this evening are still TBD. 'We know Kid Rock, who is a presenter, will do the red carpet,' Scott told me, 'but we’re still awaiting word on Jessica Simpson. Will she or won’t she? We’ll know soon enough.' Meanwhile, Scott thinks Taylor Swift is going to be huge. She’s only 17, but she’s a Horizon nominee and knocked people dead at rehearsals. 'And she really is quite the Internet star, on MySpace and all,' Scott said. 'She'll sit on the tour bus and e-mail all of these fans individually, answering all of their questions. Watch out for her …' OK, Scott, you convinced me. I will.
Ahhh, that’s the beauty of the CMAs. So many established stars want to make the party (Strait, Paisley, Evans, Simpson, Kid Rock), and so many other, newer stars (Pickler, Swift) are promising to make a grand entrance as well. And we'll be on top of covering them all."
The mood in Nashville is festive
Dennis McCafferty knows country music better than anyone on our staff. He's our go-to guy when it comes to interviews with country stars. He even got the ever-elusive George Strait for the magazine's cover earlier this year. He started soaking up the atmosphere in the country music capital the minute he got off the plane Tuesday. Let's let Dennis tell you all about it:
"Even if you didn’t know where you were, you’d know this was Nashville. (Waitaminute. My first sentence of the CMA blog coverage starts with a Yogi Berra-ism?) Anyway, as soon as you exit the terminal, there was a nice, small band with the singer doing fine justice to Merle Haggard’s If We Make it Through December. Considering the festive mood here, it’s a fairly depressing song. (It’s about a family where the dad gets laid off from the factory, and they need to get through the cold winter, and he doesn’t know how he’s going to face his little girl without being able to put presents under the tree … OK, I’m getting a bit of a catch in my throat.)
Anyway, the singer did a great Merle, with all the appropriate inflections, and it got me right into the spirit of this week’s events.
Later I stopped by the offices of Country Music Television (CMT). In the last year, USA WEEKEND launched a partnership with the big kahuna of country music cable networks to make sure we get our readers the very best stars in Nashville today. CMT's on-camera pros Katie Cook and Lance Smith contribute covers and inside features for us. This past weekend, Katie and Lance scored a coup by landing our cover subjects: superhot Martina McBride –- going for a record fifth win in Female Vocalist of the Year –- and Josh Turner, who is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year for the first time ever. CMT wanted no less than 65 copies of last weekend’s issue because their entire sales team was coming to town and, armed with our Katie/Lance tag-teaming of Martina/Josh, execs think this could be a big feather in CMT’s cap to promote. Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly, so lugged all of those magazines to CMT’s offices for the dropoff.
The highlight of my visit? Seeing the really cool CMT "beer" billboard stripped across the hallway. It used to be proudly displayed on Times Square. I had to get my picture with it. Check it out, at right.
Folks at CMT seemed pretty calm, given that this is the biggest week for Nashville and CMT live coverage. They tell me that Lance and Katie will be busy all night tonight, starting at 4 p.m. ET on the red carpet and then going right on to post-speech interviews. The red-carpet coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on CMT. I’ll be doing the red carpet thing, too, after either a late lunch or an early dinner. So if you see me on TV, let me know if I spilled rib sauce or something on my blue blazer."
November 06, 2007
CMA Awards coverage begins today
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Our country music writer Dennis McCafferty, pictured here, is making his way to Nashville today, ready to soak up the atmosphere and excitement surrounding the Country Music Association Awards tomorrow night. Once he touches down, Dennis will be filling us in regularly, so stay with the Who's News Blog to find out what's going on. Tomorrow, Dennis will begin his night out on the red carpet, where he should see a whole galaxy of country music stars — from Josh Turner and Martina McBride, our cover subjects last weekend, to Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and more. Then, Dennis will move backstage at the awards show to talk with award winners when they come back and as many others as he can get. We'll post it all right here on the blog, along with photos and other tidbits.