It was night of records, triumphs at ACM Awards
Miranda Lambert set records, Reba McEntire ran the show and Carrie Underwood managed to disprove the lyrics of her own surefire hit song Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Lambert became the most awarded artist in Academy of Country Music Awards history during Sunday’s 53rd Annual ACM Awards, which aired live from Vegas on CBS.
The former Tishomingo resident went into Sunday’s show having earned 29 ACM Awards throughout her career, putting her in a tie with Brooks & Dunn for winningest artist in ACM history. She won the first award of the night, Song of the Year for “Tin Man,” to break the record Sunday. “Thank you guys so much for sharing my broken heart with me,” said Lambert, who was a two-time winner in the category, both as artist and songwriter, with the mournful ballad.
The Texas native also scored her ninth consecutive win in the Female Vocalist of the Year category, where she already was the record holder for most consecutive wins.
“I love country music. It is my entire life; I dedicate everything I have to it. And for y’all to care so much about what I’m doing, I’ll never, ever take it for granted,” said Lambert, who also thrilled the star-studded crowd with her fervent performance of her new single, “Keeper of the Flame.”
Triumphant return
It was a triumphant night for Checotah native Carrie Underwood, who made a stunning return to the ACM Awards stage with the TV debut of her new single, “Cry Pretty,” which will be the title track to her upcoming sixth studio album, due out Sept. 14.
She not only wowed the audience at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with her powerhouse vocal performance but also garnered plenty of support as she made her first public appearance since a November fall that caused her to miss her Oklahoma Hall of Fame induction, required surgery on a broken wrist and left behind a facial injury needing between 40 and 50 stitches.
Underwood still was visibly emotional from the performance and extended standing ovation moments later when Sam Elliott (fresh off his stint hosting Saturday night’s Western Heritage Awards in Oklahoma City) and Ashton Kutcher announced that she and Keith Urban were the winners of the Vocal Event of the Year category for their upbeat duet, “The Fighter.”
She even shed a few tears, and the lyrics of her new song notwithstanding, her glitter-decorated face stayed pretty.
“I’m still kind of like shaky right now. Thank you, guys. Thank you, country radio, fans. Oh my gosh,” Underwood said, breathlessly thanking Urban for having her on the song, which he co-wrote and co-produced with Grammy-nominated producer Busbee.
Like Lambert, Chris Stapleton won two awards — Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for “From a Room: Vol. 1” — but he didn’t make the trip to Las Vegas since his wife, Morgane, was expecting twins. ACM Awards host Reba McEntire announced during the telecast that the babies had been born.
“Those little rascals came a little bit early,” McEntire said, adding that Stapleton and his wife were home in Nashville with the new babies. “Hot off the press! … Twin boys.”
Brothers Osborne earned two early trophies — ACM Vocal Duo of the Year for the second straight year and ACM Video of the Year for “It Ain’t My Fault,” from directors Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver and producer Tiffany Davies — which they received on the red carpet.
Jason Aldean won the top award, Entertainer of the Year, for the third consecutive year, after helping to open the show with a solemn tribute to the victims of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. Aldean was performing at the Oct. 1, 2017, event, when a gunman opened fire, turning the Vegas music festival into the site of the worst shooting in modern U.S. history.
“It’s been a rough year, and I just want to say thanks to everybody that reached out to us, that showed us love and support over the last six months. It meant the world to us,” Aldean said as he accepted the award. “To my Route 91 people, you guys are in our hearts always. … Vegas strong.”
Reba reigns
McEntire, a Chockie native, returned as the host of the ACM Awards after a five-year absence. In her 15th appearance as host, she delighted with her quick sense of humor and striking wardrobe changes. But none of her outfits dazzled quite like her donning again the jaw-dropping red dress she first wore 25 years ago to perform her 1993 hit “Does He Love You” with Linda Davis on awards show.
Reba belted the song again, this time with friend and daughter-in-law Kelly Clarkson, as part of the new “ACM Flashbacks” feature honoring classic country hits.
The “ACM Flashbacks” also featured Oklahomans Blake Shelton and Toby Keith joining forces to perform a rollicking tribute to Keith’s celebrated No. 1 debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” and Alan Jackson and newcomer Jon Pardi performing Jackson’s catchy ACM Award-winning hit “Chattahoochee.”
The show featured more performances than awards, with Shelton, Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Chris Janson, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Midland, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker and Chris Young taking the stage solo, plus Kane Brown teaming with Lauren Alaina, Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line and Keith Urban with Julia Michaels for collaborative numbers.
The ACM Awards were Sunday’s most-watched program, with more than 12 million viewers tuning in, the show’s largest audience since 2015.