Reid and Brody big winners at CCMA’s
HAMILTON, Ont. — Johnny Reid’s two-year domination of the Canadian Country Music Awards was stopped in its tracks Monday night at Copps Coliseum as the Scottish soul singer had to share the wealth with dulcet-toned up-and-comer Dean Brody.
The two men took home three trophies apiece with the slight edge going to the Chester, N.S.-based Brody, who picked up best single, album and songwriting honours for Trail in Life, the latter trophy handed out on Saturday night at a gala banquet at the Hamilton Convention Centre.
The album is Brody’s sophomore effort after a couple of up-and-down years in which he endured facial reconstructive surgery after a water-skiing accident and was signed to an American label and then asked to be released over a disagreement about management.
“I want to thank my wife back home, Iris, you’ve been beside me and helped me through some times where I didn’t know I could really keep going on my trail,” said Brody as he picked up single of the year before a standout performance of People Know You By Your First Name which saw everybody in the audience hold up placards of their first name.
He got choked up later as he picked up album of the year honours: “Iris, we were together at one point living in her parent’s garage with our little son Isaac, and I was so embarrassed at where we’d come to in our lives for myself that I was hiding out from my own friends in my hometown.”
Reid, who was born in Scotland but raised in Ontario and has won a staggering 10 CCMAs over the last two years, picked up the fan’s choice award, male artist and CMT video of the year for Today I’m Gonna Try and Change the World.
“One thing I know for sure is that one day I will leave this world and I also know that I would like to leave the very best of me behind,” said Reid, picking up his first award on Monday night in front of 7,000 fans. “This song, this video, this message, is what I chose to leave behind.’
Reid, who also got the previously announced Alan Slaight Humanitarian Award on Saturday night, opened the show with Let’s Go Higher with two female dancers suspended from cables in front of the stage.
“Nice to know those Cirque du Soleil kids are getting work in the off season,” cracked presenter Ron James.
Medicine Hat, Alta.-raised Terri Clark was named female artist of the year and gave an emotion-filled speech after the 2010 death of her mother from cancer.
“Shaking, shaking, shaking — I’m going to try and say this without crying,” said Clark, who performed a cover of Trooper’s For a Long Time later on. “But this is first CCMA that I’ve won that my mom hasn’t been sitting in the front row smiling at me.”
Other 2011 CCMA winners included east coaster Jimmy Rankin for best roots artist, Edmonton’s Hey Romeo — who were flabbergasted to get group of the year — and Kelowna, B.C.’s Chad Brownlee, a former minor league hockey player who last played with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads in 2007, got Rising Star honours.
“This is my very first CCMA award,” said Brownlee, who was a Vancouver Canucks draft pick.
“All the guys at the hockey shop. All my hockey buddies and my coaches. They hinted for a lot of years that I should hang up the skates and play music and I didn’t listen to them. So I don’t know if they were bashing my hockey skills or saying I was a good musician.”
Backstage, Brownlee agreed it had been a bad summer for hockey with three enforcers dead from either suicide or overdose.
“It’s absolutely unfortunate,” he said. “Anything like that whether there’s things the NHL can do I mean that’s a whole new conversation but it’s very, very tragic and a couple of those guys I knew. Rick Rypien, when I was with the Vancouver Canucks, we trained together and just a real, real nice guy so it was very surprising when it happened.”
Among the other performers on the CCMAs telecast on CBC, which wrapped up Country Music Week in Steeltown, were Paul Brandt, George Canyon, Luke Bryan, Ronnie Dunn and Jim Cuddy, while making appearances via video were Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts.
2011 CCMA WINNERS LIST:
FANS’ CHOICE AWARD
Johnny Reid
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Trail in Life — Dean Brody
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Trail in Life — Dean Brody
SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR
Trail In Life (written by Dean Brody; recorded by Dean Brody)
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Terri Clark
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Johnny Reid
CMT VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Today I’m Gonna Try and Change the World — Johnny Reid
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
Hey Romeo
ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Jimmy Rankin
RISING STAR
Chad Brownlee