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Everyone looks at awards shows differently, but when you’re the recipient of an award, you sometimes have to realize who got you to the dance. The Academy of Country Music (ACM) aired its yearly ceremony last night on CBS, and for the first time, they let the fans decide who would receive the top honor of the night. Of all people to complain, it was the recipient, Kenny Chesney.

Kenny Chesney stated after winning the Entertainer of the Year Award, decided by internet fan votes, that the award is supposed to represent “heart and passion, and an amazing amount of sacrifice, commitment, and focus.” Is he saying fans don’t have the wherewithall to make these decisions? Chesney tried to cover after, saying his complaint is against the industry, not the fans, and that the method of voting amounted to a “total disrespect” of the artists, by turning the award “into a sweepstakes to see who can push people’s buttons the hardest on the internet.”

Alrighty. Let’s discuss. The people that spent hours pushing that button on the internet, because they enjoyed Chesney’s music so much and thought he deserved to win, were wrong to do so. They should be quietly supporting him, apparently, only by buying his CDs, not by going online and hitting a button, as it’s not their right. The award doesn’t mean as much to him as his peers didn’t decide it, but his fans.

But the truly odd thing, is that the vote would have most likely ended up the same either way. This is Chesney’s fourth time in a row winning the award, tying him with the amount of times Garth Brooks has won the same one, and one away from the recordholder, Alabama, winning it five times. So from the way it looks, the ACM voters agree with the online fans that buy his records. Everyone thinks he deserves it, but he feels only ACM has the right to tell him so.

On the other side of the spectrum, Carrie Underwood, after winning the female vocalist of the year award for the second year in a row, stated, “I know I don’t deserve it, but I’ll take it. Fans got me everything I have, and I owe everything to you.” Although, we have to realize she has a clearer picture of what got her to the dance. She was voted to be the American Idol in season four, then quickly made her way up the country music charts. She won that show with fans pushing buttons on a phone. She has a very clear picture of why she’s there and who’s responsible, unlike Chesney.

Photos Courtesy of hitzonly.com and askmen.com

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