http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/arts/music/luke-bryan-and-miranda-lambert-take-top-honors-at-the-2014-country-music-association-awards.html 2014-11-06 17:26:45 Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert Take Top Honors at the 2014 Country Music Association Awards The 48th Annual Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday featured pop stars like Ariana Grande but largely failed to reflect the current state of a genre in flux. === For the last 11 weeks, a country songwriter has held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 – three of those weeks belonged to Taylor Swift, whose cheeky “Shake It Off” is a nail in the coffin of her relationship with Nashville, and the other eight belonged to Meghan Trainor, whose song These are strange, opportunity-filled times, and a reminder of the increasingly porous walls around Nashville, with influence oozing both in and out of town. The genre is in flux, something that seemed likely to influence the 48th Annual Country Music Association Awards, which were broadcast live on ABC on Wednesday night from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. And indeed, early in the night, there was Ms. Trainor, singing her song as a duet with the country star Miranda Lambert. Ms. Trainor’s song may have nothing to do with country, but Nashville loves to find a way to bask in the refracted cool of a pop star willing to show up for a country crowd. It wouldn’t have been even a tiny shock if that collaboration had set the tone for the night. By all rights, this should have been the rowdiest and most open-eared C.M.A. ceremony in recent memory. Most of the genre’s rising stars are brawny dudes with arena-rock instincts and hints of hip-hop attitude. Luke Bryan, the chief of that movement, won entertainer of the year — the night’s biggest award and generally a bellwether, albeit a couple-of-years-late one, of major shifts in the genre. But instead this show was the most tepid it’s been in years, a reminder that the genre police are still in full force, even if they’re operating in the shadows. The one other big-name pop collaboration was a mismatch: Ariana Grande performed with Little Big Town, though maybe performed And the bros were largely docile. Mr. Bryan’s performance, of “Roller Coaster,” was pleasant enough. Florida Georgia Line, which won vocal duo of the year, opted for an unplugged take on their recent hit Perhaps all this abundance of caution — or mandated caution — is because the genre’s conservative wing isn’t quite ready to let go. For the fifth year in a row, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert (who are married to each other) won male and female vocalist of the year. Ms. Lambert was the night’s big winner, with four awards, including one for her largely outstanding But even Ms. Lambert, long a reliable firecracker, has been tamed somewhat. She gamely performed with Ms. Trainor and later in the show alongside Little Big Town, which won vocal group of the year. She is both a preservationist and a rebel, but at events like these her rowdy side takes a back seat. The role of disrupter has been passed along to Kacey Musgraves, who in 2013 won new artist of the year (this year it was Brett Eldredge, a far duller choice) and this year won song of the year for “Follow Your Arrow,” a galloping ditty about tolerance and acceptance with an emphasis on sexual orientation. She shared the award with Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, her fellow songwriters. Ms. Clark and Mr. McAnally are, if not the first openly gay winners of a C.M.A. Award – a spokeswoman for the association did not reply to requests for comment on the subject – then certainly the highest profile. “Do you guys realize what this means for country music?” Ms. Musgraves asked in her speech. But during her performance, she, too was mainstreamed, performing a duet with of “You’re Lookin’ at Country” with Loretta Lynn, who popularized the original in 1971. In fact the only country rebel that this year’s awards didn’t tone down was Ms. Swift. Twice a winner of entertainer of the year and in 2013 the recipient of the Pinnacle Award, a sort of mega-honor, she was a shadow at this year’s event, the only nominee in a major category (female vocalist of the year) who didn’t attend. She did appear briefly in a video testimonial for Vince Gill (who was honored for his contributions to the country music industry) and was the subject of a few punch lines in the opening monologue. But for now, she’s left this world behind, closing the door behind her. Catch her at the American Music Awards later this month, where no one will be wondering if she’s overstepped her bounds.