Watch the Eagles Tonight on CMA Awards

As if to fly directly in the face of my previous post in which I declared the same-old, same-old from the CMA Awards lineup and nominees, the Eagles will perform tonight (Nov. 7) for the first time ever. Ever. Ever, ever.

Except in 1993 when Don Henley flew solo, and performed the duet Walk Away Joe with Trisha Yearwood during the show. The hit single from Yearwood's first album was nominated as 1992 CMA's Vocal Event of the Year. In 1994, they won Album of the Year for the collaboration Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles with CMA heavy hitters including Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn. The performance tonight will likely showcase their current country music hit single How Long.

The Eagles have long been considered a significant influence on the flavor of country music, and their current success on the charts with "Long Road Out of Eden," proves they continue to have a strong following. Despite the lack of a studio release for nearly 30 years, the Eagles' album beat out "Blackout", the album from pop princess of questionable sanity, Britney Spears and took the top spot on the Billboard 200.

So, maybe I was wrong, or spoke to soon. Tonight just might remain Country Music's Biggest Night.

Eagles Fly Past Britney to Debut at No. 1 [Billboard.com]

The Eagles to Perform on CMA Awards [USA Today]

Eagles Ready for CMA Awards Debut [CMT.com]

2007 CMAs Recycle 2006 Nominees/Performers

Additional performers were announced today for the 41st Annual Country Music Association Awards, and the line up is lookin' oh! sooo 2006. Not to mention, the nominees in every category are nearly identical. Some may have moved around a bit, but the artists' names remain the same. Once known as the "Biggest Night in Country Music", has seemingly adopted a new motto. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Even Little Big Town makes a repeat appearance in the Horizon Award category. Apparently there was a shortage of up-and-coming country music artists, so they needed to give the four-person vocal group another shot at being awarded for their up-and-coming-ness. Does that really make sense? No. It's wordy and long-winded, and doesn't make any kind of sense at all. What about Bucky Covington? I don't mean to go all American Idol on you, but his single, "A Different World", made it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was played endlessly on country music radio.

In the Entertainer of the Year category, George Strait replaced Brooks & Dunn, while every other nominee remained the same from last year. Call me crazy, but I feel as though I was entertained by more than just country music men this year. If the broadcast plans on staying on top of its game, and the ratings (it remains one of the most successful awards show programming, consistently winning its time-slot), then it had better have a few tricks up its sleeve.