ACM AWARDS
“I guess they finally figured out it only takes one woman to do the job of two men,” she quipped.
It was this give-and-take between reflection and celebration that defined the 53rd edition of the ACMS.
This was still a party, to be sure — dude, Jon Pardi’s sweet leather fringe jacket was a party in and of itself — albeit one with perspective.
Some artists wore gold pins bearing the numbers 851, 58 and 1, respectively, representing the injured and those who died in the Oct. 1 shooting, with the 1 symbolizing unity.
One such act, Vocal Group of the Year winner Old Dominion, was moved to do so after meeting some of the shooting victims and their family members.
“They taught us about the power of music and how our music is a part of their lives, how it’s helping them,” explained lead singer Matthew Ramsey backstage after the band’s win.
And then there was the return of Aldean, who was onstage at the time the Route 91 shooting began, performing in Vegas for the first time since, playing his R&b-leaning ballad “You Make It Easy,” his voice ripe with longing.
He later was named Entertainer of the Year.
“For the one horrible night we’ve had here, I’ve had a million great ones, and tonight was a million-andone,” Aldean said after his win.
He acknowledged how difficult it was for him to return to Vegas — “It’s been tough coming back here, because the first thing everybody wants to talk about is that night, and it’s not something that I really want to relive” — before turning his attention to the Route 91 survivors.
“I just always want these people to know that we think about them all the time,” he said. “We’re forever bonded with those people.”
Given this emotionally charged context, songs often took on added meaning, such as Kenny Chesney’s buoyant rendition of his timely new single “Get Along,” the first performance of the evening.
“We still don’t know what love is but we sure know what it’s not,” he sang on the upbeat plea for togetherness, bronze arms snaking out from a sleeveless shirt.
“Drink a beer, sing a song,” he added on the chorus. “Make a friend, can’t we all get along?”
That’s a simple enough notion, but it resonated regardless.
The same could be said for Miranda Lambert’s equally galvanized and vulnerable rendition of “Keeper of the Flame.”
“I’m treadin’ on,” she sang, strumming her acoustic guitar hard, singing harder. “I’m bent, but I’m not broken; I’m stronger than I feel.”
Record-breaking night
Earlier in the evening, Lambert set the record for most-ever ACM awards, notching her 30th and 31st wins for Song of the Year (as both songwriter and performer of her hit, “Tin Man,” Lambert earned a pair of trophies). She’d subsequently add another for Female Vocalist of the Year, her ninth straight win in the category.
Other notable winners included Chris Stapleton for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year; Sam Hunt for Single Record of the Year; and Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood for Vocal Event of the Year.
In between the handing out of all
those trophies, there were a number of memorable performances: Maren Morris going all cosmo in a sheer silver dress, looking as glamorous as she fantasized about being in her wishful-thinking hit “Rich”; Little Big Town getting Vegas glam in sparkly suits and python-thick feather boas for a cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”; and Dierks Bentley leaping from the stage to embrace his wife upon the conclusion of his percussion-heavy “Woman, Amen.”
Perhaps the most anticipated performance of the evening, though, was Carrie Underwood’s return to the stage for the first time since a fall outside her home in November left her with a broken wrist and 40 stitches in her face.
“Sometimes my emotions get the best of me,” she sang with chest-heaving gusto during “Cry Pretty,” giving voice to something plenty have felt of late. “And falling apart is as human as it gets.”
The same could be said of picking up the pieces.
Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702383-0476. Follow @Jasonbracelin on Twitter.