Circles and cycles: CMA Awards particularly hard to predict as genre flourishes, fractures

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There’s bro country and pop country. There’s traditional country, acoustic country and, arriving just now, metal country. All these faces of the genre — and more — will be on display Wednesday night during the Country Music Association Awards.

This will make it tough for millions of viewers to guess what’s coming next when the awards air live at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

The young women of country music, who include top nominee Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, have dominated the awards show circuit the past few years. Before that there was a run on the guys with the guitars. And there was the cowboy hat era.

Says Keith Urban: “It’s always gone in cycles, you know. … We go through everything.”