IT'S CMA AWARDS TIME AGAIN!

This Wednesday night, the 44th Annual Country Music Association Awards will be telecast from Nashville via the ABC Television Network. Over the next couple of days, several "experts" will offer their thoughts on how things might turn out on the show, and here are mine....for what they are worth!

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR: Paul Franklin, Dann Huff, Brent Mason, Mac McAnally, Randy Scruggs

Either of these five could win it, as they are all very talented players.....but I do have to pick, don't I?

WHO WILL WIN: Brent Mason
WHO SHOULD WIN: Paul Franklin....one of the best in the biz!


MUSIC VIDEO: "Hillbilly Bone," Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins, "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum, "The House That Built Me," Miranda Lambert, "Water," Brad Paisley, "White Liar," Miranda Lambert.

I think this was one of the easiest categories of the night, as Miranda's touching ode to her childhood home should take this one.

WHO WILL WIN: Miranda Lambert.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Miranda Lambert.

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR: "Bad Angel," Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and Jamey Johnson, "Can't You See," Zac Brown Band & Kid Rock, "Hillbilly Bone," Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins, "I'm Alive," Kenny Chensey & Dave Matthews, "Till The End," Alan Jackson & Lee Ann Womack

Only one time in the history of the CMA Awards has this award gone to a non-single, so I would say it's between Blake and Trace and Kenny and Dave....and you don't want to say no to Trace Adkins, do you?

WHO WILL WIN: Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins
WHO SHOULD WIN: Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins

SONG OF THE YEAR: "A Little More Country Than That," Rory Feek, Don Poythress, Wynn Varble, "Need You Now," Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood, and Josh Kear, "The House That Built Me," Tom Douglas & Allan Shamblin, "Toes," Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Shawn Mullins & John Driskell Hopkins, "White Liar," Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert

I think that in most cases Wednesday night, it's going to come down to Miranda vs. Lady A, with Miranda's song getting the vote here.

WHO WILL WIN: "The House That Built Me."
WHO SHOULD WIN: "The House That Built Me." It's one of those once-in-a-few-years type of songs!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: NEED YOU NOW, Lady Antebellum, PLAY ON, Carrie Underwood, REVOLUTION, Miranda Lambert, TWANG, George Strait, UP ON THE RIDGE, Dierks Bentley

It very well could wind up being the night of Miranda Lambert, as she has had a history in this category.

WHO WILL WIN: Miranda Lambert.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Dierks Bentley. Give him points for stepping outside of his comfort zone.

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR: "A Little More Country Than That," Easton Corbin, "Hillbilly Bone," Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins, "The House That Built Me," Miranda Lambert, "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum "White Liar," Miranda Lambert.

I have a feeling that Miranda's hot streak might be broken with this category, thanks to a song that has never gotten old, even after the 1,234,234th spin.

WHO WILL WIN: Lady Antebellum
WHO SHOULD WIN: Lady Antebellum

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR: Brooks & Dunn, Joey+Rory, Montgomery Gentry, Steel Magnolia, Sugarland

Could it be one final nod to one of the industry's all-time greats?

WHO WILL WIN: Brooks & Dunn. Sugarland wasn't that active on the charts for much of the year.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Brooks & Dunn.

VOCAL GROUP: Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, The Zac Brown Band

A fairly easy one to pick here, as nobody has had the type of year that Lady A has had.

WHO WILL WIN: Lady Antebellum.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Lady Antebellum.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Luke Bryan, Easton Corbin, Jerrod Niemann, Chris Young, The Zac Brown Band

Even though they've been around for a couple of years, I think this one is an easy win for the ZBB

WHO WILL WIN: The Zac Brown Band.
WHO SHOULD WIN: By definition (most career progress in past year), Easton Corbin, though I would cheer pretty loudly if Jerrod Niemann took this one home.

MALE VOCALIST: Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Keith Urban

I'm going out on a limb here, but I think some long overdue recognition might be going to one of the format's brightest stars,

WHO WILL WIN: Blake Shelton
WHO SHOULD WIN: Blake Shelton

FEMALE VOCALIST: Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift.

It might sound like a crowded category.....but one is heads and shoulders above the rest this year.

WHO WILL WIN: Miranda Lambert
WHO SHOULD WIN: I'm all for Miranda, but Reba has had one of the best years of her career....

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR: Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, The Zac Brown Band

It wasn't his best sales or chart year, but I have a feeling that CMA voters will make up for lost time in this one.

WHO WILL WIN: Brad Paisley. It's his time.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Brad Paisley. Though his material has slumped a little bit, in my opinion, he has earned this one!

Well, those are my thoughts....which, if you're lucky, might get you an extra helping of barbecue sauce at Jack's on Broadway! Feel free to let me know your thoughts on this, and Wednesday night, we will see how we did!