Mean Moment Leads To CMA Nom For Taylor Swift

First Published: November 4, 2011 11:25 AM EDT Credit: Getty Premium Caption Taylor Swift performs the Alan Jackson song Where Were You at the 41st Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville on October 16, 2011 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Taylor Swift turned a negative into a positive, and it has netted her a special nomination at this years Country Music Association Awards. Swift received her first CMA song of the year nomination for Mean, her spunky rebuttal to cynical criticism. That trophy goes to the writer, not the artist, and is among Wednesday nights most coveted awards in a town where the songwriter is celebrated and revered. Respectfully, its about time, said Scott Borchetta, head of Swifts label, Big Machine Records. I dont think she gets near the props she deserves for her songwriting. Ive been in the business with Taylor for almost seven years now and hersongs were great when I met her at 14. Swift has gotten her share of love for her songwriting. She won a Grammy for best country song in 2010. Nashville Songwriters Association International has named her songwriter/artist of the year four of the last five years and at 21 she remains the youngest winner of that award. And BMI, the performing rights organization, has awarded her all-genre song of the year once and country song of the year three times. Shes won a trunk full of CMA trophies, including top award entertainer of the year in 2009. But shes never broken through in that songwriting category. Mean, a retort to nit-pickers, bullies and perhaps curmudgeonly commentator Bob Lefsetz, was hard to resist. It shows Swift at her best. Its both vulnerable and confident, with an infectious chorus, an upbeat, empowering message and among her most countrified instrumentation built around Swifts six-string banjo line. The song went to No. 1 on the country and adult contemporary charts. Getting a CMA nomination for Mean was definitely a jumping-up-and-down moment for me because this song is really close to my heart, Swift said in a statement to The Associated Press. Im so thrilled it was nominated for song of the year because its a song that I wrote on a really, really bad day, but it has produced so many happy days for me since. With more to come perhaps. Brad Paisley, a six-time nominee in the category, believes Swift has been unfairly overlooked as a songwriter among the industry voters who make up the CMA. He points out that most of the voters are in their 30s and 40s, and older. This years nomination could be a breakthrough. Theres no 18-year-old in the world that you talk to who doesnt relate to some of her lyrics, Paisley said. And in that sense, though, shes laughing all the way to the bank as the voters might be saying, Well, you know, thats not for me. Thats not fair. In some ways its even more groundbreaking what shes done. Im proud of what shes done. Other nominees in the category are Zac Brown, Coy Boyles, Wyatt Durette and Levi Lowry for Zac Brown Bands Colder Weather, Kimberly Perry for The Band Perrys If I Die Young, Brantley Gilbert and Colt Ford for Jason Aldeans Dirt Road Anthem and Deana Carter and Matraca Berg for Kenny Chesneys You and Tequila. The field can be considered wide open with Berg the only previous winner, in 1997, as co-writer of Strawberry Wine. Swift might not win, of course. But like the song points out, shes already a winner. Shes just been on an amazing streak, Borchetta said. Whatever her surroundings, wherever she happened to be, this is what she saw. And (the songs) are very sophisticated. Theyre very catchy. Shes a brilliant songwriter and if you ask any of the other artists who are hip to her, they know. So Im thrilled the CMA has acknowledged her. The CMA Awards air Wednesday on ABC (8 p.m. EST). Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.