The current political and pop culture landscape is a goldmine for CMAs host Brad Paisley.
The country superstar – set to co-emcee the award show with Carrie Underwood for an eighth consecutive time – says unlike 2014, the pair has an absolute wealth of material to joke about come November.
“Last year at this time I was upset about the state of the world in a really bad way – it wasn’t as noble about being upset about human rights violations or politics or anything like that. It was upset that there was nothing funny,” Brad told Access Hollywood guest correspondent Scott Evans in a new interview. “This time I feel like we are just blessed by living in 2015.
“It’s like, from Ashley Madison to you name it,” he continued. “The political race is unbelievable!”
Beyond politics, the marital demise of some of music’s biggest stars will provide fodder for the “Perfect Storm” singer’s jokes.
“Blake [Shelton] and Miranda [Lambert] got a divorce [and] in our format it’s a big deal because they are two of the biggest artists. And that was such a bummer,” Brad said. “I’m friends with them, good friends with Blake. And so I was like, that’s a bummer.
“Then Reba [McEntire] gets a divorce like right away, right after it, and then the singer Jake Owen gets a divorce,” he added. “And by the third one, I’m like, cool – now it’s an outbreak.”
While the splits are obviously sad, the multiple heartbreaks will undoubtedly lead to some phenomenal, gripping new country hits.
“[It’s] good for country music – better songwriting, you know?” Brad joked. “There’s nothing worse than, ‘Oh I love you, everything’s great.’ It’s better like, ‘You cheating liar no good.'”
Adding, “Those are the songs that you want to hear in our format. So that’s all good. It’s a good year to be the host.”
Are Brad and Carrie ready to deliver some zingers aimed at Donald Trump? Maybe.
“I don’t know. It remains to be seen. He’ll be the one that’s delicate,” Brad explained. “By November it’s anybody’s guess what’s going on with him. And politics are delicate – even when it’s him. ‘Cause at first when he’s running you’re thinking oh this is great, because… everybody was like this what great material. But then you see 30,000 people turn out in a stadium and it’s like, ‘Oh I recognize them.’ So you gotta be respectful of what people think. At the same time though, it’s so bizarre now. It’s going to be fun, I think. As long as I don’t take any sort of stance.”
One subject he and the “Smoke Break” singer will definitely cover is recent MTV VMAs host Miley Cyrus.
“Thank you, Miley. Miley Cyrus should host an awards show every year before we do,” Brad joked.
The 49th Annual Country Music Association Awards will air live from Nashville on November 4 on ABC.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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