The fallout from last week's CMA awards is very heated here in Music City, and people are taking sides! The debate really centers on the landside victory for Taylor Swift and her four major awards, including the big kahuna, Entertainer of the Year. My last blog post received a number of very heated comments, with the vast majority falling squarely in the "Taylor Swift isn't country!" camp.

So I ask you: Just what the heck is country music anyway?

There has been debate for many years about the blurring of the lines between country, pop and rock-and-roll. In the more modern country era, many point to Shania Twain's meteoric rise to superstardom as a moment when country music lost its identity (I say "a" moment instead of "the" moment because throughout the history of country music, there have been a number of "moments" where some believe country lost its identity. More on that in a bit.)

So, should we blame Shania? Virtually all of her music crossed-over onto the pop charts regularly. Perhaps more of the blame should be shouldered by her husband at the time, Mutt Lange, who was also her producer and co-songwriter. Mutt came to country music through Shania, but his credentials were pure rock-and-roll. He produced some of the biggest names in the business, including AC/DC, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard, who apparently are the new darlings of country thanks to Tim McGraw appearing on their latest album, as well as their highly-watched CMT Crossroads special with Taylor Swift.

Fast-forward to today, however, and Taylor Swift's cross-over appeal easily trumps Shania's. Every one of Taylor's eight country singles has crossed-over very high onto the pop charts. Her cross-over appeal is unmatched in the modern era.

So the debate rages on. Just what is country? Is Rascal Flatts country? What about Keith Urban or Faith Hill? And just who determines what the definition of country music is anyway?

Back when country legends like Eddy Arnold and Ray Price traded their blue jeans for tuxedos and started crooning like Frank Sinatra, people cried "foul!" To combat the smooth orchestrations of this new Nashville Sound, along came the hard-driving Bakersfield Sound with its loud drums and twin Fender Telecaster assault on the ears. People cried "foul!" then, too, saying it was too rock-and-roll to be country. And that was over 40 years ago!

So I ask you: Just what in the world is country music anyway? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Photo © Mercury Nashville

Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Julianne Hough and a host of other Nashville celebrities worked the red carpet for Tim's upcoming movie with Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (release date: Friday, November 20, 2009). Based on Michael Lewis' 2006 best-selling book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, the film details the true-story of Michael Oher, a large, homeless and under-educated African-American kid who is taken in and adopted by a rich white couple, portrayed by McGraw and Bullock. Early reviews have been excellent for Tim, and there's even some serious Oscar buzz for Sandra's performance.

Oher eventually became an All-American offensive tackle for the University of Mississippi football team, and the fairytale became complete when he was taken in the first round of the 2009 N.F.L. draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Of the movie and Tim's performance, his wife, Faith Hill, said, "It's a great film, and he does a great job."

Other celebs on the red carpet included Randy Travis, Barbara Mandrell, Kix Brooks, Rodney Atkins and Wynonna.

Tim's movie career continues to move along nicely, but he made no bones about his preference for music over film-making. "I love being onstage," he said. "I think every kid grows up wanting to be onstage, slinging your hair around and sweating and playing music. It doesn't get any better than that."

Photo © Curb

Wow! Some people saw it coming, while others, including myself, predicted that Music City's political machine might make Taylor Swift pay a few more dues before giving her the big tamale, the CMA for Entertainer of the Year. How wrong I was! But I was happy for her, and there's simply no denying that based on sales, radio airplay, concert sell-outs, television appearances, you name it, she's definitely at the top of the heap in country music.

Taylor's big night started early when she took home the coveted Album of the Year award, which Nashville insiders really hold in high esteem as the one award given for true artistic integrity. When Taylor won that trophy, I had an inkling that she was in for a landslide victory. Oh, and how great was it when Little Jimmy Dickens crashed the stage ala Kanye West and dissed Brad Paisley on his way to fawning all over Taylor! Classic.

At age 19, Taylor became the youngest person ever named the CMA Entertainer of the Year. "In this moment, everything I have ever wanted just happened to me," a stunned Taylor told the crowd. She then invited her band onto the stage and recognized each of them by name, which was a nice touch.

The other big surprise of the evening was Lady Antebellum taking home a couple of major awards, including Single of the Year and an upset victory in the Vocal Group of the Year category, a trophy that was in danger of being re-named the Rascal Flatts Award after their six consecutive victories before last night.

Beyond the hilarious Little Jimmy Dickens poke at Kanye West, my personal favorite moments included the Zac Brown Band's performance of Charlie Daniels' classic song, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," as well as Jamey Johnson's acceptance speech where he meekly admitted that he "didn't think they even let people like me into places like this." Another performance I really enjoyed was Lady Antebellum singing "Need You Now" with snow falling from the rafters of the Nashville's Sommet Center.

I'd love to hear what your personal highlights were for the show, as well as how you thought Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood did as co-hosts.

Photo © Big Machine Records

Taylor Swift, Kris Kristofferson, Brooks and Dunn and others were honored last night at the 57th annual BMI Country Awards. The invitation-only black-tie event was attended by a who's who list of Music City swells and industry big-shots.

Swift received top honors for her wildly-successful single, "Love Story," which was named BMI's Song of the Year. To date, "Love Story" has racked up just about every major award and achievement possible, including being the year's best-selling country song and the most-downloaded country single in history. We'll know in a few hours whether she takes home Best Video honors at tonight's CMA awards show. Swift is also up for the Female Vocalist of the Year award, Album of the Year, and the big kahuna, Entertainer of the Year. No word yet on Kanye West's where-a-bouts.

In addition to honoring the songwriters, producers and publishers behind the top 50 songs of 2009, Brooks and Dunn, who have won more Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards than any other act, took home the BMI President's Award for their influence on country music.

The evening's shining moment, however, went to Kristofferson, who was named a BMI icon. Willie Nelson, Patty Griffin and Vince Gill all took turns performing Kristofferson songs, who later admitted telling Willie before the show that he wasn't looking forward to all the commotion in his honor. Willie fired back that the joy in watching Kris squirm at all the attention was all the motivation he needed to attend the event.

What's your favorite Kristofferson song? Mine's always been "Sunday Morning Coming Down." Feel free to write in your favorite down below.

Photo © Big Machine Records