Country Music Is My Guilty Pleasure...well, one of them

When I was younger I was always adamant about despising country music. I thought it was all hillbilly twang that got on my nerves and was very uncool to listen to. Well either I've broadened my horizons or the genre has evolved because I now admit (if still a bit sheepishly) that I'm in love with some country artists and it's far more than cowboys rockin' out on banjos. And after watching the Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS last night, I realized I like even more country than I thought I did.

Two of my favorite and most played iTunes artists are Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Their songs are personal, tell a story and are relateable. They're catchy and I think I'm on the verge of overplaying them. At last night's award show, Taylor Swift won two awards she didn't see coming at all. She was given a crystal award for selling the most albums in a year and also secured Top Country Album. She was absolutely adorable, in shock, hugging her mother, jumping up and down on stage and she totally deserved it. Carrie Underwood won Top Female Artist and was nominated for Entertainer of the Year--the only female to make the category since 2000. SHE WON! She's still the same old small-town girl that won American Idol four years ago and you can tell she's genuine and still in awe of her own success. She cried, admitted she never expected to win, got a kiss on the cheek from Matthew McConnoughy (!!!) and spun around in a circle because she didn't know what to say or do. Love her.

It's refreshing to see two artists who really appreciate what they have and get giddily excited over awards they honestly don't expect to win. I stood about 5 inches from the television, beaming like a proud parent. Can you say, LOSER! If you think you're against country, give it a try. YouTube or imeem my girls and see for yourself that country's not that bad. Chelsea Handler likes Carrie and she gave Taylor Swift "her blessing" (a HUGE deal). You know that anytime I find something else the two of us have in common, it's not only 100percent okay in my books, but borderline amazing. =)