Month: May 2024

Lainey Wilson was the big winner at Thursday night’s 59th ACM Awards, winning three trophies, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year award. 

Lainey also nabbed her second straight Female Artist of the Year honor and shared Music Event of the Year with Jelly Roll for “Save Me,” a song they debuted on the ACMs last year.

Chris Stapleton also landed three wins, including his fourth for Male Artist of the Year, his fourth for Album of the Year and Artist Songwriter of the Year.

Plus, it was another year, another win for Old Dominion, who nabbed their seventh straight Group of the Year trophy, while Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year for the first time since 2020, their fourth win in the category. 

Host Reba McEntire kept the audience chuckling throughout the night, but the funniest moment came from Ashley McBryde and Schitt's Creek star Noah Reid, who sang original songs poking fun at, among other things, Morgan Wallen's arrest for throwing a chair, with Ashley advising Morgan, “You should smile in the mug shot.”

The show also included a poignant tribute to the late Toby Keith, with good friend Jason Aldean performing Toby's first #1 hit, “Should've Been A Cowboy,” with Toby's family in the audience.

As for the night’s performances, Stapleton offered up the biggest surprise: Dua Lipa, who joined him for “Think I'm In Love With You.”

And Post Malone shared a preview of his country album, performing a previously unreleased tune and “I Had Some Help,” sans singing partner Wallen. Posty and Reba also sang a bit of “Ramblin' Man” in tribute to the late Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts.

Among the other performances: Lainey kicked things off with “God Bless Texas,” followed by “Hang Tight Honey”; Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan performed a mashup of “Mountain With A View” and “Stick Season”; Miranda Lambert debuted “Wranglers”; and Kane Brown covered the classic “Georgia On My Mind.” Reba then wrapped the show with her new tune “I Can’t.”

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The 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, streamed live on Prime Video Thursday night from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Here are the winners in the main categories:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Lainey Wilson

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lainey Wilson

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton

DUO OF THE YEAR
Dan + Shay

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Old Dominion

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 
Megan Moroney

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Nate Smith

NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Tigirlily Gold

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Higher, Chris Stapleton

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“Fast Car,” Luke Combs

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Next Thing You Know,” Jordan Davis

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR
“Burn It Down,” Parker McCollum

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Save Me,” Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jessie Jo Dillon

ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton

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Could Lainey Wilson win her first ACM Entertainer of the Year trophy, like she won Entertainer of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards?

“My stomach just did a somersault. That would be insane,” Lainey tells ABC Audio in response to that observation.

But she’s not ruling out the possibility of it happening during Thursday’s ACM Awards.

“I’m gonna tell you what. [With] the things that have been happening for us [and] the blessings that we have had this past year, anything can happen,” notes the five-time ACM nominee.

Lainey’s also saddling up to take her anthemic new single, “Hang Tight Honey,” to the show’s stage.

“It’s going to be energetic. It’s going to be fun,” she teases. “My band actually played on [Whirlwind]. They played on the entire record. And this is one of our favorites that we got to do together. So it’s going to be, going to be a party.” 

“Hang Tight Honey” is the lead single from Lainey’s forthcoming album, Whirlwind, arriving August 23.

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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Cody Johnson may have five ACM Award nods under his belt, but there are two honors that he’s vying for the most: Album and Entertainer of the Year.

“It’s two different things. Album of the Year, that’s a win for me, Trent Willmon, Jack Clarke, Cris Lacy, Scott Gunner, all the musicians that were on the album, my band that was on the album [and] our radio team that has worked so hard for our singles to be successful. That’s like a group win. And so, that means a lot,” Cody tells ABC Audio.

“Personally, Entertainer of the Year, because I want to say that I am,” he shares.

Winning the night’s highest honor goes beyond a vanity endeavor. For Cody, it’s all about his passion for live shows and connecting with fans in person through music.

“That’s what I take the most pride in. The stage is where I’m at home. It’s where nothing is wrong, everything’s under control, and it’s all right here. For 90 minutes, the world is perfect. There’s no anxiety. There’s no worry. There’s no stress. There’s no problems,” says Cody. “Where I feel the happiest is right there in front of people.”

“So when you see me onstage, if I get emotional, if I shed a tear or if I’m laughing my butt off, those are real, raw emotions,” the Texas native shares. “To spend so much time giving that to people and them giving it back to you, that’s a beautiful thing and it would be great to be recognized for that.”

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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“Next Thing You Know” may have hit #1 almost a year ago but, as Jordan Davis calls it, it’s “the song that keeps [on] giving.”

This year, the chart-topping single earned nods for ACM Single, Song and Visual Media of the Year, and for Jordan, that’s a pretty neat way to conclude his Bluebird Days era.

“We’re going to move on to the next record after this. So, what a way to close the book on a record that means a ton to me,” Jordan tells ABC Audio. “I just love [Bluebird Days]. If we walk away with an award, great. If not, still so proud of this song, so proud of what we did in the writing room that day and proud of this record.”

Jordan, however, won’t be singing “Next Thing You Know” or performing at the ACM Awards. Though he’s a little bummed, he’s looking forward to presenting and soaking up the party as an attendee. 

“I wish I was singing. So if anybody gets sick, I’m here. I’m ready to jump in,” says Jordan. “But you know what’s cool? I get so nervous playing award shows. So now, I’m actually able to just enjoy it and drink it in, win, lose or draw.”

“Even if I was playing, I would be talking to you and in the back of my mind, I would be like, ‘Don’t screw up on TV, don’t screw up on TV.’ Like, that’s all I could think about,” he admits. 

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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As the reigning ACM Group of the Year, Old Dominion is entering Thursday’s show with immense gratitude.  

“I mean, you just get more and more grateful, really. The longer it goes on, the more fantastic it is,” the band’s Matthew Ramsey says of their ninth Group nomination. “We’re always surprised that we’re still here, and we just still love it.”

Bandmate Trevor Rosen echoes that sentiment and acknowledges the legacy they’re creating as the reigning Group winners for the past six years. 

“It’s pretty cool. Even when we are at the awards show sometimes and they show clips of the old award shows [with] some of the names and the artists that you remember over the years, you think sometime down the future when people look back at the clips, we’ll be a part of that,” shares Trevor.

“So [it’s] a pretty cool thing to be a part of the fabric of the history of the genre,” he says.

Old Dominion’s also up for Music Event of the Year for their Megan Moroney-assisted duet, “Can’t Break Up Now.”

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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For ACM Visual Media winner and Single of the Year nominee Parker McCollum, being at the ACM Awards is more than just being nominated and taking home trophies.

“I’ve been lucky to win a few awards and it’s a terrific feeling. You work so hard and any time you get a little bit of spotlight on you, [you] certainly don’t take it for granted. But, man, just being here is the biggest thing for me,” Parker tells ABC Audio.

“That’s the win for me. That’s what I hang my hat on – being considered in such a crazy talented pool of country artists,” he says. “For [the Academy of Country Music] to feel like I deserve to be here, that’s my win.”

While Parker is tight-lipped about the song he’s performing onstage, he teased that it’s going be a song you may have heard on the radio.

“It’s different for sure. I think it’ll be received well. The guys and I did rehearsal two nights ago, so I think it’d be cool. We won’t be playing a new song, but, we play a song that was a big ol’ hit for us the last year,” Parker shares, before adding in jest, “They could ask me to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and I’d be thrilled.” 

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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Tigirlily Gold‘s Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh were over the moon when they were announced as the ACM New Duo or Group of the Year winners.

“They said the words, ‘And the ACM goes to Tigirlily Gold,’ and we both started looking at each other and crying and holding hands,” Krista recalls to ABC Audio. “We walked up onstage and it’s in front of a live audience, there’s fans there to watch the show. We did our best with our acceptance speech. Kendra crushed it.”

“We tried to take in the moment and then we got to play some country music. So it’s the best of both worlds, really,” she shares.

Hot on the heels of their first ACM win, the sisters are now gearing up to perform their new single onstage, in front of their peers and country fans.

“We’re going to sing ‘I Tried a Ring On’ at the ACM Awards, which is still a crazy sentence. That’s wild,” Kendra notes, before teasing their performance.

“We have this dramatic little moment for the outfit, so it’s going to be a really special moment,” she shares. “This is our first big award show performance, so it’s just going to be a really cool moment for us to get in front of so many new country music fans and meet so many new artists. It’s going to be an amazing night.” 

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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As Cody Johnson readies to sing “Dirt Cheap” on the ACM Awards stage, he’s offering a sneak peek at what fans can or should not expect, which, in this case, is a big onstage production.

“I’ll be upfront with you, it’s very simple. We wanted not a lot of lights, no smoke, no confetti bombs or dancers,” Cody tells ABC Audio. “It’s just me and my band sitting on stools playing ‘Dirt Cheap’ because it’s a story.”

“That song is such an incredible story and I didn’t want any distraction from that. I wanted you to concentrate on the lyrics that I’m singing,” he explains. “It’s going to be very, very toned down, very simple.”

“How would Don Williams sing this? He’d sit on a stool [and] tell you the story,” shares Cody.

You can stream the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, live Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

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Luke Combs‘ hotly anticipated new single, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” has arrived.

The uptempo song, which Luke penned with Jonathan Singleton and Jessi Alexander, is the lead track off Twisters: The Album, which will drop alongside the forthcoming movie Twisters on July 19.

“Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” features an exhilarating, country-rock production, with Luke chronicling a persona’s fearless and adventure-chasing spirit.

“I keep chasin' that same old devil down the same old dead end highway/ Ridin' that storm runnin' through my veins like a shot down tail spun airplane/ Scared of nothin' and I'm scared to death/ I can't breathe then I catch my breath/ But I keep chasin' that same old devil down the same old dead end highway,” Luke sings in the opening verse.

“Ain't no love in Oklahoma/ Just the whistle of a long black train/ You'll know when it's comin' for ya/ Ridin' in on the wind and rain,” he declares in the spirited chorus.

The accompanying music video weaves clips from Twisters into stormy performance footage of Luke singing his latest single, which he penned specially for the film.

Twisters: The Album is available for preorder and presave now.

Here’s the star-studded Twisters: The Album track list: 

Luke Combs – “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”
Miranda Lambert – “Ain’t in Kansas Anymore”
Conner Smith – “Steal My Thunder” (feat. Tucker Wetmore)
Thomas Rhett – “Feelin’ Country”
Warren Zeiders – “The Cards I’ve Been Dealt”
Megan Moroney – “Never Left Me”
Lainey Wilson – “Out of Oklahoma”
Bailey Zimmerman – “Hell or High Water”
Jelly Roll – “Dead End Road”
Kane Brown – “Country Classic”
Sam Barber – “Tear Us Apart”
Tyler Childers – “Song While You’re Away”
Tucker Wetmore – “Already Had It”
Leon Bridges – “Chrome Cowgirl”
Benson Boone – “Death Wish Love”
Shania Twain & BRELAND – “Boots Don’t”
Dylan Gossett – “Stronger Than a Storm”
Lanie Gardner – “Chasing the Wind”
Jelly Roll – “Leave the Light On” (feat. Alexandra Kay)
Wyatt Flores & Jake Kohn – “Before I Do”
The Red Clay Strays – “Caddo County”
Tanner Usrey – “Blackberry Wine”
Tanner Adell – “Too Easy”
Mason Ramsey – “Shake Shake (All Night Long)”
Tyler Halverson – “New Loop”
Flatland Cavalry – “Touchdown”
Nolan Taylor – “Driving You Home”
Wilderado, Ken Pomeroy, & James McAlister – “Wall of Death”
Charley Crockett – “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”

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