Gwyneth Paltrow Country Strong Enough for Music Career, Say Insiders

Did Oscar winner's performance at last night's CMAs get her one cowboy boot step closer to snagging a record deal?

By Marc Malkin Nov 12, 2010 12:00 AMTags

Dear Gwynnie,

Just do it. Jump in and go for a career in country music.

Sure, you may have looked and sounded a bit nervous during your performance of "Country Song" on last night's Country Music Awards, but…

Looks like the country world's got your back.

"I don't think there's a credibility issue," says Alison Bonaguro, a writer for CMT.com. "I think that the industry seemed to love her. The fans seemed to love her. There was genuine applause."

More than just applause, but the Oscar winner received a standing ovation.

"It was really great because there was no smoke and mirrors. There were no gimmicks," Bonaguro said. "It was just her and a little bit of Vince Gill."

As I first told you yesterday, music execs are clamoring to sign Paltrow for a record deal. "She looked like she's been doing this her whole life," Entertainer of the Year award winner Brad Paisley told Access Hollywood. "When did she find the time to go out and learn how to be a singer? I'm floored. Forget about acting. Hang with us. We're nicer."

Bonaguro says Paltrow's biggest hurdle in launching a career would probably be getting played on the radio. "It's still really hard for a female artist to get played on the radio," she said. "Right now, it seems like Miranda [Lambert], Carrie [Underwood] and Taylor [Swift] fill up all that time on the radio."

Even so, Bonaguro added, "A lot of people were saying, 'Ah, she wasn't even playing that guitar but if you watch, she's playing four chords on a jumbo acoustic guitar and she's signing.

"And doing those two things at once is not easy and it's not easy doing it in front of a crowd like that in a place like that."

Latest News