Take your pick of music award shows
Two very different musical genres get prime-time showcases tonight.
Brooks & Dunn host the 39th annual “Country Music Association Awards” (8 p.m., CBS).
Over on UPN, Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson take the helm at the “Vibe Music Awards” (8 p.m., UPN).
Hip-hop and country don’t often mix, but both awards shows are being broadcast on networks owned by Viacom.
While the CMA awards will be broadcast tape-delayed from Madison Square Garden in New York, the Vibe event, honoring the best and most innovative in urban music, was taped last Saturday in Los Angeles. The Manhattan venue for the CMA makes for an interesting pop culture clash and a city showcase for country style.
Brad Paisley and Lee Ann Womack lead tonight’s pack with six CMA nominations apiece. Scheduled performers at the Garden include Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Rascal Flatts and Faith Hill.
The announced performers at the Vibe Awards are Ciara, Ludacris, Pharrell and Young Jeezy.
Joy makes it a point to exclude Earl from her wedding to Darnell on “My Name is Earl” (9 p.m., NBC). In fact, her invitation to Randy specifically states that he can bring “anyone but Earl.”
And as if to rub salt in his wounds, she schedules her big day on his birthday and invites all of his friends, so he’ll have no one to blow out the candles with.
As Joy, Jaime Pressly has outdone herself on this series, particularly when she gets to vent her character’s petulant and vengeful side, which is often. Make that always.
But her emphatic exile of Earl from the proceedings may go too far, forcing our humble hero to acts that may have to be added to his karmic accounting ledger.
Other highlights
A disco hides mummified remains on “Bones” (8 p.m., Fox).
Olive branches bloom on “Gilmore Girls” (8 p.m., WB).
“Nova” (7 p.m., KSPS) profiles Sir Isaac Newton.
A cyclist’s drug use exposed on “House” (9 p.m., Fox).
New directions and controversial appointments on “Commander in Chief” (9 p.m., ABC).
“Las Vegas: An Unconventional History” concludes on “American Experience” (9 p.m., KSPS).
A killer lets his fingers do the walking on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10 p.m., NBC).
A plastic surgeon puts his back into his work on “Boston Legal” (10 p.m., ABC).
An innocent (Brendan Fraser) raised in a fallout shelter since 1962 emerges in a sordid City of Angels in the 1999 comedy “Blast from the Past” (10:10 p.m., TBS).
Cult choice
Steve Martin, recipient of the 2005 Mark Twain prize, stars in the title role of the 1979 comedy “The Jerk” (8 p.m., AMC).
Series notes
Caroline Rhea hosts “The Biggest Loser” (8 p.m., NBC) … In dreams on “According to Jim” (8 p.m., ABC) … Time to give back on “Hot Properties” (8:30 p.m., ABC).
Clues about a mom’s murder on “Supernatural” (9 p.m., WB) … Time for report cards on “The Office” (9:30 p.m., NBC).
Late night
Joaquin Phoenix and Trisha Yearwood appear on “Late Show with David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jay Leno hosts Melissa Etheridge on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
Reese Witherspoon, Jon Favreau and Kevin Brennan are booked on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Craig Ferguson hosts John Lahr and Patti Smith on “The Late, Late Show” (12:37 a.m., CBS).