Country’s big night had lots of moments. Here are 7
Seven moments to remember from Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. JASON ALDEAN WINS AGAIN Jason Aldean said he wanted to win Entertainer of the Year so badly he would forfeit everything he had to win just one time. He got his wish in 2016, when, 11 years into his career, he won the Academy of Country Music’s top award for the first time. When he won again Sunday night, he said he just wanted to celebrate with his band and crew.
“It’s my name on that trophy,” Aldean said backstage. “But it’s a group award. There’s about 50 people who should have their name on it.” FEMALE POWER Miranda Lambert and Lori McKenna both notched historic wins. Friday night, McKenna was surprised with a Songwriter of the Year win, making her the first female to win the award.
“The writing community in Nashville is a wonderful commu- nity of supportive people,” said McKenna, adding she thought Hillary Lindsey was going to win. “As a writer, you just want to write a good song.”
Lambert picked up her eighth Female Vocalist of the Year trophy, snapping Reba McEntire’s longstanding record of most wins.
“I can’t even believe I can say that,” Lambert said backstage of breaking McEntire’s record. “I’m really so thrilled that I can still help lead the charge for women in this business at any level, songwriters, anybody behind the scenes, managers, whatever it is. ” SAM HUNT’S SURPRISE After Sam Hunt proposed to his girlfriend, Hannah Lee Fowler, a few months back, she probably thought she wouldn’t be surprised again by him any time soon.
Well, Hunt had another surprise for his fiancée during the ACM Awards. While performing his hit Body Like a Back Road, Hunt hopped off the stage and made his way to his empty seat next to Fowler. He sat down and sang the final stretch of the tune with his arm around her.
“Body like a back road, drivin’ with my eyes closed,” he crooned. “I know every curve like the back of my hand.” FRESH CHRIS STAPLETON The world heard a new song from Chris Stapleton on Sunday night. He did a strutting rock number entitled Second One to Know.
Last week, Stapleton revealed plans for a brand-new, to-be-titled album — his first since his 2015 breakout, Traveller — which will be released May 5. THOMAS RHETT IN DISBELIEF Thomas Rhett was named Male Vocalist of the Year — and he was clearly stunned.
When Rhett’s name was called, the star stayed in his seat for several seconds. Eventually, the Die a
Happy Man singer took the stage, but he was still at a loss for words.
“Everyone in this category shaped the artist that I am.” LUKE AND DIERKS DO VEGAS The opening moments of the 2017 awards had something for everybody. After kicking off the night with a medley that featured all five Entertainer of the Year nominees, the show’s co-hosts Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley took the stage with rocker Joe Walsh for a special tribute to Chuck Berry.
Walsh ripped into the unmistakable opening guitar licks of Berry’s Johnny B. Goode, and Bentley and Bryan traded verses on the 1955 rock classic.
Bryan said Berry — who passed away at age 90 last month — was “the man who influenced every form of music, including country.”
From that sincere moment, things got silly. The ACMs are held in Las Vegas, and Bentley and Bryan told viewers they’d been painting the town red over the weekend, fishing in the Bellagio “pond,” drinking with David Copperfield and partying at the Hakkasan club — not “Pakistan,” as Bryan jokingly thought. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE GOES FULL BOY BAND The country duo sang Backstreet Boys’ Everybody with the boy band on stage — complete with choreography.
Now, it wasn’t a shocker that FGL and BSB were sharing the stage at the show. The two have teamed up for new single, God,
Your Mama and Me, and they’ll perform together at stadiums this summer. So when they came out to perform at the show, it seemed like business as usual.
But then came Everybody. And the room went nuts. Especially Tim McGraw, once FGL’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley stood in formation with the Backstreet Boys and busted out their dance moves. Carrie Underwood — who was in high school when Backstreet Boys first hit TRL — was singing along, of course, and Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman, Faith Hill and McGraw were dancing right alongside her.