Each year the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards broadcast live from Las Vegas in April. Winning an ACM is considered a high honor in the country music industry.
The Academy, which decides on the nominations and winners for the ACM Awards, is made up of industry professionals who must be approved by the Academy’s Board of Directors. Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year are the only categories in which fans are able to vote for.
In addition to giving away awards, many artists perform on the awards show. This year, The Band Perry opened the show singing their new single, “Chainsaw.”
Throughout the night, each nominee for New Artist of the Year (Lee Brice, Brett Eldredge, Justin Moore and Kip Moore) had the opportunity to perform the chorus of one of their hit songs at a neighboring arena in Vegas. Moore ended up taking home the award, though.
Merle Haggard received the ACM Crystal Milestone Award and was honored by George Strait and Miranda Lambert who performed a medley of his songs. The ACM Crystal Milestone Award is given to an artist or leader in the industry to give tribute to a specific and honorable achievement.
Past recipients include Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Gayle Holcomb, Jennifer Nettles, Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean.
My favorite performance of the night was Eric Church’s performance of “Give Me Back My Hometown.” Church has always been a favorite of mine and, clearly, last night was no different.
The stage mimicked the dark and slightly strange music video Church recently released to go along with his current single.
A special mention and shoutout goes to Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton for their hilarious hosting skills which had the audience and myself laughing all night.
Take a listen to my thoughts on the winners from last night below. Leave a comment and let me know who you think should have won the big awards.
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