Nominees' list shows blend of style, genres

Country's stars are embracing the pop and rock influx.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anyone who hasn't been paying attention for the past year or two might be scratching his or her head over the nominations list for tonight's Academy of Country Music Awards.
Among those in position to possibly win trophies are classic rock band Bon Jovi; Van Zant, consisting of the lead singers from Southern rock staples Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special; rapper Cowboy Troy; and newcomer Carrie Underwood, who gained her foothold on the TV show "American Idol."
For added emphasis, consider some of the more usual suspects among the finalists: Toby Keith affixed a horn section -- generally frowned upon in the genre -- to his recent hit "Get Drunk and Be Somebody"; Rascal Flatts' bass player Jay DeMarcus produced the new album by veteran pop act Chicago; Kenny Chesney's live show has all the hallmarks of an arena rock concert; and Brooks & amp; Dunn sewed up multiple nominations for "Believe," a single with more Mahalia Jackson gospel influence than Merle Haggard country.
It all begs an age-old question.
"What is country music?" Jennifer Nettles asks rhetorically. She is the Sugarland vocalist who teamed with Bon Jovi on "Who Says You Can't Go Home."
Influencing factors
"You have bluegrass influence, you have Southern rock influence, you have gospel influence, you have pop -- all of these things, and especially being a Southerner and a girl, all of those elements are part of that culture in the Southeast."
"Not to be clich & eacute;," ACM president Bob Romeo says, trying to sort out his own definition of country, "it's sort of American music. I'm convinced if Bon Jovi was ... a newly discovered act, I think he'd be in that same category as Rascal Flatts."
In fact, defining country has been difficult for ages. A headline in a 1974 issue of music-trade publication Billboard asked the same question, "What Is Country?" The story noted that pop stars such as John Denver, Elvis Presley and Olivia Newton-John had invaded the charts, Tom T. Hall's band had incorporated horns and Haggard had cut a jazz-inspired live album.
At that time, Nashville acts rallied against perceived outsiders by creating the Association of Country Entertainers, a short-term conglomeration that insisted it was trying to promote Music City performers but in practice appeared defensively provincial.
This time around, country's artists seem to be embracing the pop and rock influx. Acts such as Kid Rock, Huey Lewis, Uncle Kracker, James Taylor and Sheryl Crow have all earned country nominations in recent years, and even country artists who feel increased competition are more perplexed than angry about the development.
Fiddle and steel remain
"There's nothin' really uncountry about [the Bon Jovi/Nettles duet] in today's genre," Clint Black observes.
Black, in fact, well represents the backgrounds that influence today's country business. Though he's generally regarded as a traditional singer, he recalls listening to acts like Yes and the Marshall Tucker Band on '70s rock radio. And when Black made his national debut in 1989, he had the same manager as ZZ Top.
Today's country executives "grew up listening to rock 'n' roll -- hip, cool people, and they want a little more hipness and coolness in country," Black theorizes. That "may be a problem for me, because my latest single is about as country as you can get, and I'm kind of optimistically pessimistic.
"When you've got Bon Jovi havin' a No. 1 [country hit], you know, I might be too country, and I never thought I'd be sayin' that."
To be accurate, though country may be moving more in a pop direction creatively, it hasn't entirely abandoned its fiddle-and-steel foundation. ACM finalists include traditionalists George Strait and Lee Ann Womack, and the leading nominee is Brad Paisley, who's grounded so solidly in country's past that his latest album features George Jones, Little Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson and Dolly Parton.