Open Letter to Jake Owen, or Why I Still Love Country Music

It's nights like this when I find myself believing in traditional media again. I find myself believing in country music again, mainstream or not. I find myself laughing and crying and loving and hoping and wishing. Why? Because I watched a couple hours of TV.

GAC, actually.

I fell out of my music television habit long ago. I mean, I used to live on CMT or GAC, whichever our cable provider was carrying at the time (and oh, it was Heaven when it finally carried both). I was flipping back and forth between GAC and CMT Pure tonight and happened to catch Sammy Kershaw's "National Working Woman's Holiday," and I was taken right back to, Lord, I don't even know when. I'll bet I hadn't even hit double digits yet, and I was dancing around the living room singing every word to that song, cheesy video and all. It was back in the days when CMT and GAC still played music all the time. It was so wonderful. Those channels were like oxygen to me.

As I grew, both channels still managed to play some role in my life, but over the last two years as my relationship with mainstream country itself has fallen apart and these channels went the route of MTV and started programming ridiculous shows instead of music (although I do have to admit I'm a recent convert to My Big Redneck Wedding. If you ever need to feel normal, just watch an episode of that show. Oh my goodness). I can't honestly tell you the last time I sat down and meant to turn on one of the music channels. I can't even tell you when I ended up watching one on a whim as I surfed through. It doesn't happen anymore.

But PBS was supposed to be showing a Faith Hill Christmas special this year, and I searched and searched our listings, trying to find play times, unable to find anything. The other night, I was spending time with a friend whose roommate had left GAC on the TV in the background, and at some point the Faith Hill special came on. I didn't really watch it then, but I realized that if it was on once, it would likely be on again, so I made a mental note to watch out for it when I got home and set it to record. Tonight, when I finally remembered to do so, it was just starting. So I watched it.

First of all, Faith Hill is the classiest lady in country music, hands down. There are some other classy ladies, for sure, some of whom can even sing, but Faith Hill, folks, is the reigning queen. She treated those Christmas songs with the respect and reverence such classic songs should be treated with, and when the two originals came out, her "Where Are You Christmas," from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and her new "A Baby Changes Everything," we really got to see the singer in her. And yes, the second brought me to tears. It was that good.

But then, because I watched the concert rather than recording it, I got sucked into what was programmed next. A live talk show kind of show from the CMA Festival. Obviously a rerun, but nothing I'd ever seen before. I got to see interviews with Sara Evans, who looked stunningly beautiful, seemed immensely happy, and was seriously hilarious. Joe Nichols knocked the damn socks off of me with his wit and silliness, and even the Jake Owen-Bucky Covington matchup was entertaining to watch. Something I really realized, or maybe just remembered tonight, is that this is what country music is about. It's why I always loved it. It's not just about the music, and believe me, sometimes I wish country radio had much higher standards, but it's about the people behind the music. It's about the down home, down to earth, genuine people singing the songs. You don't have to be from a ranch, or raised in the rodeo, you don't have to wear a cowboy hat, you didn't have to be a member of 4H or the FFA, you don't even have to be from a small town to get country music, for it to belong to you. That's what I've always loved about it. It's not an exclusive little club. It's for everybody, if they'll just take it.

And, um, anything that'll put Jake Owen in front of me a little more often? I'll take it. He's pretty.

Dear Jake Owen,
Be my boyfriend? I'll be in Tennessee soon!
Love,
Courtney

Grammy Nominees are in...

And does it come as a surprise to anyone that I'm completely thrilled about Jason Mraz's nomination for the song of the year Grammy?

Well, then you just don't know me very well.

I'm a little torn because Sara Bareilles is also nominated in that category, and it's (as far as I know) the only nomination for each of them, and she's definitely my girl, Sara is, but I think I just gotta go with Jason on this one. I've loved "I'm Yours" since the moment I downloaded the mp3 of someone's cheap live recording in 2004, and every version I've heard since has made me fall even deeper in love with Jason and with the song. He finally put it on an album because his fans kept asking him to. That's a great reason for whoever makes the Grammy choices to choose Jason-- this song isn't just song of the year, it's possibly song of his career. It has taken on a life of its own.

Way to go, J.
Will you be mine? 'Cause I'm yours.