55th Annual ACM Awards Recap

The 55th Annual ACM Awards were anything but normal. First of all, the show is known for country taking over Vegas. The annual pilgrimage of country artists to Vegas happens every April. Well, that didn’t happen because #2020. The powers that be decided to push the show back to September (last night) and it would be held in Nashville. I did think it was cool that they broadcasted from the Opry, the Ryman, and the Bluebird Cafe. I don’t know if I missed a memo, but one thing I was not expecting was empty seats. Again, because #2020, I assumed I’d see our favorite stars scattered about while donning their masks, but that was not the case.

While it was odd to see absolutely nobody in the audience while watching on TV, I can’t imagine how strange it was for the artists. I’m sure it felt great to be performing again, but it’s just not the same without the cheers & well, faces to look into. That being said, they brought their A-game & gave us a great awards show!

True to 2020 standards, history was made. For the first time ever, I’m pretty sure, we had a tie for the coveted Entertainer of the Year. Host Keith Urban was visibly shocked when he opened the envelope to make the announcement. First up, Thomas Rhett, followed by Carrie Underwood. While Rhett is ABSOLUTELY can incredible entertainer, and he 100% deserves the accolade, I really wanted to see Underwood take the biggest award of the night. She did, just not the way I, or literally anyone else, envisioned. Speaking of Underwood, can we just take a minue to remember her performance that celebrated female artists throughout the years? That voice is just unmatched…

The other big moment of the night was when Mickey Guyton took the stage to sing her tearjerker, “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” The song literally brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. The raw performance alone would be incredible, but Guyton made history by being the first black female to perform on the ACMs. That seems crazy to me, but it’s true. I’m very excited for her to have this spotlight as she is an incredible woman, mom-to-be, and cheerleader for her fellow female & black country artists.

I’d have to say that rounding out my top 3 favorite performances was from the Chief. I’ll admit, I’m not a huge Eric Church fan, but his performance of “Stick That in Your Country Song” actually made me forget there wasn’t a single person in the crowd. It felt like a regular award show & he gave it 110%.

I’ll wrap it up after this, but I’d like to point out my two favorite acceptance speeches. Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion brought tears to my eyes as he got emotional speaking of their late co-writer Andrew Dorff looking down on them, along with co-writer Josh Osborne’s father, and fellow bandmate Brad Tursi’s late brother. It was clearly a spur of the moment response to their award & so very heartfelt. The other was from the one and only Maren Morris who was clearly so excited, surprised, whatever it was, that she let the whole nation know that she needed to pee. I laughed out loud. Way to keep it relatable, Maren.

Congrats to all of the 2020 ACM winners & here’s to a normal 56th Annual ACM Awards show!

Check out these video of some of our favorite performances.

Cover photo: NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 14: Luke Bryan performs onstage during the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry on September 14, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The ACM Awards airs on September 16, 2020 with some live and some prerecorded segments. (Photo by Jason Kempin/ACMA2020/Getty Images for ACM)

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