point counterpoint

A strong showing on The Voice or other singing reality television competitions can be a metaphorical steroid shot for an artist’s career, but like real-life performance enhancers, the cost eventually supersedes the gain.

A debate between Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris for the Best New Artist trophy at the 2017 Grammys could be cast as a debate between "Peter Pan" and "My Church," but it's not that simple. Both artists will admit that without those singles they wouldn't be included in the conversation. This Point/Counterpoint is also framed by how one views what the award represents.

Keith Urban has created an exception. Like the sun and stars, you can count on a lousy album when someone says “There’s something for everyone,” but with Ripcord Urban finds a sonic thread that leaves very few out in the cold for long.

A good waterboarding would be more welcome than the endless loop of “Wonderful Christmastime” that’s sure to come this holiday season. Paul McCartney’s holiday “classic” is ubiquitous, seeping into every crevice of the radio dial. Like glitter, cigar smoke or Pauly Shore jokes, there’s no way to fully cleanse once you’ve been infected.

In the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins' character Andy Dufresne opines that one should "get busy living, or get busy dying." Country music and country music awards shows got the message in about 2005.

“Shut up and sing!” Roll around in that concept for a moment. We’re literally asking someone to bury an impulse to make use of a first amendment right because, “That’s not what I paid for.”