50th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards – Preview, Live Blog & Discussion Post!

Welcome to your 50th Annual Academy Of Country Miranda Music Awards live blog & discussion post! Join us as we chat about this year’s super-hyped, super-sized event, which has moved to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the year, and which is running an extra-long half hour from 8p Eastern/7p Central to 11:30p Eastern/10:30p Central. Country’s biggest bros Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton cohost, and I think we can all agree with @DrunkenMartina when she says:


But seriously, with megastar Garth Brooks already teasing that he may lip-sync to a pre-recorded live vocal for his performance tonight if he doesn’t have a voice after a 5-show run in Portland, Oregon that ended Thursday (a move that guarantees that his performance will be closely watched, at least at the beginning), will Luke & Blake (or “Bluke,” as ACM marketers tediously call them) be making a lip-sync joke that backfires like they did last year?

But let’s face it, nobody watches this show expecting Luke & Blake to deliver a great monologue. This is all about the performances, and there’s a pretty big roster of them tonight. Eric Church and Keith Urban will open the show, presumably with their duet & current single “Raise ‘Em Up” in a mashup that evidently also involves at least 1 Merle Haggard song. We’ll hear George Strait‘s new single “Let It Go,” the poignant title track of Dierks Bentley’s nominated album Riser, Luke Bryan’s recent #1 hit “I See You,” Little Big Town’s buzzy single “Girl Crush” (with a secret surprise guest), current singles from Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, and Blake Shelton, a Miranda Lambert mashup of “Mama’s Broken Heart” (from her previous album, because…OK?) and her current single “Little Red Wagon” (which looks to be done at country radio this week after a #16 Billboard/#17 Country Aircheck/Mediabase peak), a Christina Aguilera/Rascal Flatts duet medley of her upcoming Nashville song “Shotgun” and their current single “Riot,” a Nick Jonas duet with Dan+Shay, and at least a couple of throwback performances as Martina McBride performs her modern classic “Independence Day,” and Alan Jackson performs his modern classic “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).” Brooks & Dunn also seem like strong candidates for a throwback performance as they reunite on stage for the 1st time since announcing their split in 2009. Also on tap to perform are Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Florida Georgia Line, Reba, and New Artist finalsts Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, and Cole Swindell. Kelly Clarkson is among the presenters.

Not attending tonight is Carrie Underwood, who is up for 3 trophies tonight. She posted on her fan club message board on Friday that she would be watching on TV with her little man Isaiah. Apparently nobody broke this news to co-host Luke Bryan, who said the following to Entertainment Weekly in an interview posted yesterday:

On who he can’t wait to see: “I’m looking forward to seeing what [Eric] Church and [Jason] Aldean do. And Carrie [Underwood]—certainly Carrie. I love seeing what she does. Certain people just really perform when the moment comes.”

Oops! She’s not alone among high-profile nominees not performing: country’s most acclaimed new act Kacey Musgraves has a current single and 2 nominations, but no performance slot, superstar Tim McGraw has a nomination and no performance slot, and superstar group Zac Brown Band is also not performing despite having 1 of the year’s biggest singles in “Homegrown.” Band members have been vocal about not being part of the politics and vote-trading at country awards shows, though, so they may be making a statement of their own by skipping out. Also not performing is last year’s ACM Vocal Group Of The Year The Band Perry, who usually deliver quality live performances. A loss for a show already lacking in female presence thanks to Carrie’s absence and Kacey’s lack of performance slot.

As part of its anniversary celebration, the ACMs will be doling out special 50th Anniversary Milestone Awards to celebrate people who have won ACM Awards. If that sounds circular, it really is. The 7 honorees are Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney (who, hilariously, will be honored for winning the 1st fan-voted Entertainer trophy despite criticizing that very tactic when he won it), Miranda Lambert (because it’s not like we’re going to see her take the stage enough this evening anyway), Reba, George Strait, and Taylor Swift. Yes, you read that right, Taylor Swift, who all but told country, “We are never ever getting back together.” Why honor Loretta Lynn (who will receive a non-televised Milestone Award in September) and other legends when you can make ratings/buzz grabs that make country look desperate and pathetic? For the record, Carrie revealed to KSCS Dallas on 1/23 that she had been in touch with her “friends at the ACMs” about whether or not she would attend, and considering her superstar presence, ratings draw, and historical importance to the ACMs, I have little doubt that she, too, would be receiving 1 of these Milestone Awards were she attending. But really, there’s no real reason to honor current acts who may be winning regular awards anyway.

Speaking of which, let’s talk those regular awards! You can review the nominations, with a breakdown of how certain influential voting blocs proved their weight, here. This was always likely to be a big night for Miranda Lambert, an ACM favorite who is the favorite (for a variety of reasons, some legit, a few political) to win her 6th consecutive Female Vocalist trophy. She is also in a good position to win her 4th Album Of The Year trophy for Platinum, an excellent, diverse album whose best cuts have gone unreleased to radio, and nobody would be surprised to see her song “Automatic” (which she cowrote with Nicolle Galyon and Natalie Hemby) walk away with Single or Song trophies despite its relatively modest impact and meh reviews.

The real surprise is the all-out, thirsty campaign Miranda’s mounted to win the fan-voted Entertainer Of The Year award, which has included promoted tweets and a massive behind-the-scenes outreach to Voice-connected celebs like Meghan Trainor, Christina Aguilera, and Usher and successful pitches to a variety of big stars whose fans’s interest in and knowledge of country and the ACMs is questionable at best, among them: Beyonce, Kirstie Alley, Kelly Osborne, and Serena Williams. There’s cross-promotion with Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, whose movie Hot Pursuit is due out in a few weeks, for which Miranda cowrote a song with her “Automatic” writers, too. Let’s put it this way: in a pure fan vote, Luke Bryan, or maybe Garth Brooks, would win Entertainer Of The Year in a walk. But ACM Voting Criteria have always said the award is “determined by a combination of votes from the professional membership of the ACM and fan voting.” At this point, Miranda’s campaign has maybe become too public to fail, so whether or not she does win the fan vote, can this award go to anybody else?

What’s difficult to understand is why she would feel the need to go for it when she’s already all-but guaranteed multiple trips to the podium anyway, when reviews of her tour (historically considered an important consideration for Entertainer Of The Year) have been mixed, and when it would obviously take a serious inflation/distortion of her numbers to put her anywhere near Bryan/Brooks level popularity. Now, there is the argument that Miranda made far superior music to that of her fellow Entertainer nominees (an argument that I wholeheartedly agree with, especially since Eric Church, my pick for the most worthy Entertainer candidate, didn’t make the final cut of nominees, likely because he didn’t have the influential Live Nation bloc in his corner) and that it would be a strong statement for a woman to win Entertainer in such a male-dominated industry. But is it really going to help the cause of women in country when said woman was going to pick up a bunch of other trophies anyway and when it took paid ads & PR pitches for celeb alliances of convenience to make the win happen? I’m skeptical. Too, there was a variety of acts, among them Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, and of course Miranda who released quality music in 2014. It wouldn’t quite feel right to see only 1 of them soak up nearly all the awards love (Carrie did win a Grammy, as did Miranda, and Little Big Town has a great shot at Vocal Group again this year).

To be fair, Garth Brooks did get a retweet from Justin Timberlake with a voting link after a direct shoutout, and Luke Bryan does appear to have gotten some support from minor celebs & atheletes (including The Food Network’s Guy Fieri and Philadelphia Flyer Matt Read). Also of note, Luke has thrown his support behind his former merch guy Cole Swindell in the fan-voted New Artist category, but at least that’s a natural connection within the same genre. On the other hand, Swindell has also resorted to promoted tweets, while Thomas Rhett has also been actively rallying the troops for votes. Sam Hunt is by far the most popular of the 3 finalists in the New Artist category (and also the most critically acclaimed, despite his music’s tenuous at best ties to the country genre), but his voter outreach has been the least aggressive.

Bottom line: The thirst for fan votes shows how these acts see the value of these awards as promo platforms. And that’s how we should see them, too. Any correlation between awards and quality music and performances is mostly coincidental. Still, if you are looking for an underdog, consider Dierks Bentley, whose 7 nominations make him the 2nd most nominated act behind Miranda, and who has played agreeable also-ran throughout this whole awards cycle. He is very well-liked and has all the right political affiliations, plus Riser marks a creative and commercial reassertion of relevance for him. A televised win for him here or there would at least give the media something new to write about amidst the likely Miranda domination.

So tune in with us, won’t you? We should have quite a lot to talk about tonight! Here’s a link to watch via CBS’s new All Access service, if you’d like:

Country Music’s biggest night, across all your devices. Stream the ACM Awards with CBS All Access. Click to Try it Free!

********************* LIVE BLOG *******************************

Pre-telecast awards went to Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan for “This Is How We Roll” (Vocal Event Of The Year), and Dierks Bentley’s “Drunk On A Plane” (Video Of The Year).

After an extended teaser about tonight’s performers and appearances, our cohosts Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton who introduce Eric Church and Keith Urban, who begin by “pledging allegiance to the Hag,” (an Eric Church original from his 2006 debut album) and then come together for their current duet single “Raise ‘Em Up.” It could be considerably better vocally, especially from Eric. But on the bright side, no live Autotune in this performance?

Luke and Blake dispense with the comedy monologue entirely, a good move considering how their past ones have fallen flat. They tout the bigness of the event, fit for the bigness of Texas, and give a shoutout to tonight’s 7 50th Anniversary Milestone honorees. Camera cues are missed.

George Strait is the final 50th Anniversary Milestone introduced, and the first to perform. He starts with a charming rendition of “All My Exes Live In Texas,” before moving into his current single, “Let It Go.” A charming, simple performance, and he’s more animated than he often is at these shows. Luke and Blake present him with his milestone award.

After he’s finished with his short & sweet acceptance speech, we get an in-show Ram truck commercial via Big & Rich who tease upcoming performances and mispronounce Christina Aguilera’s last name.

We return to see Florida Georgia Line perform their current single, “Sippin’ On Fire.” The camera pans strategically out into the distance during the choruses, which are prerecorded. I’ll give Tyler Hubbard the benefit of the doubt and say he might have been live during the verses. The overly literal staging includes Burger King flames all over.

Lee Brice, who performed last year’s Song Of The Year winner, “I Drive Your Truck,” (cowritten by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, and Jimmy Yeary,), is up to present an award. He plays a little bit of a past Song Of The Year winner, “Forever & Ever Amen,” by the great Randy Travis. And in what will no doubt be the night’s most heartwarming surprise, Randy Travis is in the house! He’s acknowledged in the crowd with huge applause.

Brice goes on to present the ACM for Song Of The Year to “Automatic,” cowritten by Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby and Miranda Lambert. Miranda thanks the crowd until Natalie Hemby arrives on stage, and Miranda immediately hands the mic to her. Natalie Hemby, easily 1 of Nashville’s best songwriters, tells Miranda she hopes to be Miranda’s Dean Dillon, because Miranda is her George Strait. She thanks co-writer Nicolle Galyon who is at home nursing a newborn, her Lord Jesus, her family, and her grandfather. Sweet speech, and it’s great to see Natalie Hemby get a moment up there.

Next up, the 1st nominee for the ACM New Artist award, sponsored by Kohl’s, which I mention to underscore how corporate this stuff as become. Sam Hunt talk-sings his way through his #1 smash, “Take Your Time.” I feel like I hear vocal backing more than I hear him.

Luke and Blake are excited to introduce Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, and he takes the stage with football in hand. Of course. We cut to an excitedly whispering Luke, and finally Blake interrupts Tony Romo to ask him to throw Luke a pass. Luke is ready with his gloves. Jokes about sticky hands and deflated balls ensue, justifying the decision to skip the monologue. Classy stuff, especially to introduce the all-class Dierks Bentley performing the title track of his nominated album, Riser. He starts acoustic, and it’s a performance with more dignity than this show has, to be honest. The placement of this performance is not ideal – it’s an intense song being played in a party atmosphere. But it’s great to see the song get its moment.

Next up, The Band Perry takes the stage to present the ACM for Vocal Duo Of The Year to Florida Georgia Line. A non-competitive category for now, but here’s hoping that changes via Maddie & Tae and The Brothers Osborne. They don’t know which way to face in order to speak into the cameras, and thank the usuals, as well as their respective spouses/spouses-to-be.

Miss America introduces Martina McBride to perform “Independence Day.” She chases the song a bit but fights her way through it. It’s a smart move to let the crowd take the 1st line of 1 of the choruses to give herself a chance to catch her breath. The size of the room seems to be intimidating her, but the crowd loves the song, as it should.

Luke Bryan is up to perform his most recent #1 hit, “I See You,” the 6th single off his smash album. He plays stadiums on his regular tour, and he’s completely at ease working the stage. His vocals are mostly on point, maybe a little bit of yelping on the higher notes.

Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara are up to plug their upcoming movie, Hot Pursuit, and to introduce Miranda Lambert. Reese seems a little tipsy through banter about accents where she affects an accent herself. Weird. Clad in a bright red bustier and delicious deranged hair, she launches into last year’s Single Of The Year winner “Mama’s Broken Heart.” It’s a pretty controlled performance, but her voice kind of gets buried during the choruses. “Little Red Wagon” follows. Gwen Sebastian joins her at the front of the stage for harmonies. Fun performance, if a little one note and a little been-there, done-that!

Alabama presents the ACM for Vocal Group Of The Year to Little Big Town. Nobody knows which direction to face! They acknowledge Alabama, and Texas, and big hair, and George Strait. Cute speech.

Chris Young and Mickey Guyton, 2 of country’s strongest rising voices, are consigned to scripted excitement to see Jason Aldean and (OK this excitement is probably real) Reba.

Luke Bryan ribs his hunting buddy Jason Aldean as he introduces his medley performance of current single “Tonight Looks Good On You,” “My Kinda Party,” “Hicktown,” and “Country Girl.” Contrary to rumor, this is not a live rendition of that viral mashup that proved all bro country songs are the same. But it could be.

Kelly Clarkson, looking lovely, is up to introduce Reba. She gamely gets through her lines while allowing the audience to cheer Reba, who launches into a medley of “Life Out There,” “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia,” “Fancy,” and her current single, “Going Out Like That.” Some weird vocal effects going on, but ain’t nobody more comfortable on stage than Miss Reba.

Little Big Town is up to perform their buzzy hit in the making (with country radio getting on board for a t20 peak, at least), “Girl Crush.” Unnecessary reverb notwithstanding, they nail this like Little Big Town nails things. Performance of the night so far, though Reba and Dierks were standouts too.

Next, our next New Artist nominee Cole Swindell performs “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” with an ad-libbed shout out to the troops.

Now it’s time to salute Taylor Swift for her rise in country. We get a montage of her awful singing and great showmanship, complete with tour plug. Taylor’s mom Andrea takes to the mic to talk about Taylor’s journey, which is sweet. Taylor thanks country for handling her exit with grace and talks about what she’s learned from Nashville people about songwriting, hard work, and manners. She leaves out platitudes about loving country music or ever wanting to come back, thankfully.

As we head to commercial, Maddie & Tae take their turn by the Ram truck to tease an upcoming performance by Garth Brooks.

We return from commercial to find Thomas Rhett mic-twirling his way through his most recent #1 “Make Me Wanna.” He’s aiming to be country Bruno Mars, without the country or the Bruno Mars part.

He’s followed by Blake Shelton, who delivers a completely competent version of his current single, “Sangria.” No heat in his performance of the sensual song, though, which keeps this from being a Little Big Town-level performance.

After another commercial break, Christina Aguilera and Rascal Flatts are up to delivery their medley of “Shotgun” (a song her Nashville character will perform on this week’s episode) and the current Flatts single “Riot.” Christina is restrained, for her, and sounds quite good. They’re joined by a choir at the end of “Riot.” A solid performance here – Gary LeVox struggles to keep up with Christina (and his melisma is amateurish compared to hers) but there seems to be a genuine mutual appreciation here.

Brantley Gilbert and Clint Black present the ACM for Album Of The Year to Miranda Lambert for Platinum. No surprise there. She’s joined on stage by producer Frank Liddell, who’s done all of her albums.

Nancy O’Dell talks about the work of ACM Lifting Lives, and then introduces Taya Kyle, widow of Chris Kyle, who praises the work of the nation’s servicemen and servicewomen as well its 1st responders before introducing Garth Brooks performing “All American Kids.” He is, in fact, lip syncing.

Dwight Yoakam and last year’s ineligible but winning New Artist Justin Moore are up, after a delay caused by Moore’s split pants, apparently, leading to a duct tape gag that Yoakam delivers with considerable charm. Your ACM/Kohl’s New Artist is Cole Swindell. Hey, those promoted tweets paid off!

Jake Owen, Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Darius Rucker present the ACM for the Female Vocalist Of The Year to Miranda Lambert. At this point, I think the extra half hour of the show is to put a respectable distance between her 5 billion wins. She was by far the most active female in the eligibility period, so while her streak of 6 wins here includes 1-2 years where Carrie should have taken the trophy, Miranda is a deserving winner this year.

We’re back with Kenny Chesney, performing “Young” and his current single “Wild Child.” Hey, where’s Grace Potter?? He’s presented his ACM Milestone award by Eric Church.

Lady Antebellum takes the stage to perform their current single “Long Stretch Of Love.” Completely serviceable, not terribly exciting performance.

The ACM for Single Of The Year, presented by a singing Beth Behrs and Brett Eldredge (they perform a bit of former Single Of The Year winner “Gentle On My Mind,” by Glen Campbell), has somewhat of a surprise winner, in that it’s not Miranda Lambert. Instead, it’s Lee Brice and Miranda switching the categories they won last year, with Lee Brice taking home the ACM for Single Of The Year for “I Don’t Dance.” Well, if this is meant to suggest that Miranda Lambert isn’t going to win everything…I still don’t believe it, sorry.

Blake Shelton announces next year’s largest ever Party For The Cause back in Vegas, to be headlined over 3 nights by 2-time Entertainer Of The Year Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, and Kenny Chesney. This feels like a moment of reassuring Carrie fans in particular that she’s still good with the ACMs and vice versa, and she will be back.

Dan+Shay and Nick Jonas perform a mashup of “Jealous”/”Nothin’ Like You”/”Chains,” with a mix of live singing and pre-recorded electro tracks. It’s an entertaining performance, but by its nature out of place on this show. Not that the show has been super-country, but it was starting to steer mature, so it’s odd to bury this late in the 10p hour.

We get another of the corporate shoutouts, this time to Mary Kay Cosmetics, by touting how great Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery and Mickey Guyton look.

Trisha Yearwood takes the stage to present the ACM for Male Vocalist Of The Year to Jason Aldean, for the 3rd year running. He gives a really gracious shoutout to presenter Trisha Yearwood, talking about growing up down the road from where she’s from. This is the most lively I’ve ever seen him, and it’s a good look. He thanks his new wife and his daughters.

After a commercial break, Brad Paisley is up to perform his current single “Crushin’ It,” a salute to all of us who could use a pat on the back after a rough period. You mean, like hanging in there for this whole show?

Troy Aikman is up to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which took the lives of 168 people. He introduces Alan Jackson for a performance of a song that captured many a confused and saddened person’s reaction to another terrorist-driven mass murder 9/11: “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).” Whether or not you’re of the same mind, it’s difficult to deny the resonance of the song, and Alan sings beautifully as always.

Dr. Phil is up to tout more of the ACM’s community work.

Keith Urban, master of the teleprompter, introduces Brooks & Dunn for a performance of “My Maria.” I actually appreciate that they went for a full song instead of a medley. Ronnie Dunn is still an incredible singer.

Steven Tyler and his pants are up to present the ACM for Entertainer Of The Year. And it goes to…Luke Bryan! Well, it’s justice in the sense that Luke is far and away the most popular country star right now. A bit embarrassing for Team Lambert, but hey, I’m sure they’ll be weeping into the many awards she won tonight. Luke is excited and high fives the crowd, but with time running short, doesn’t get to give much of a speech beyond thanks to his family, the fans, and Texas.

Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker play us out with “Let The Good Times Roll,” and that’s the show. We survived, ya’ll. What did you think?

A few final thoughts:

A music show is ultimately going to rise and fall based on the songs performed, and that was a mixed bag tonight, particularly with current singles. It was great to see the legends show their enduring songs, talent and relevance. But beyond that, with a few exceptions (chief among them Little Big Town), there was a B/C grade feel to a lot of the performances, whether because of the artists, the songs they were performing, or both. It didn’t help that several of the usual standouts on these shows, Carrie, Zac Brown Band, and The Band Perry opted out of performing. The show itself, for all the hype, didn’t feel more significant than usual, but it was bigger. The awards, to the extent that they symbolize respectability, didn’t really fit the overall tenor of the show, which was all about Bigger! Texas! WOOHOO! Wait, where are the cameras?! That being said, this year’s ACMs were an improvement over last year’s show, at least in their sense of fun.

Looking at the awards winners, all but 1 of the 11 awards went to artists represented by WME (Little Big Town is represented by CAA), and all but 1 of the 11 awards went to artists who were part of the 2014 Country Megaticket presented by Live Nation. Make of that what you will. To be fair, there were people with those affiliations who were shut out, among them co-host Blake Shelton (who has always fared better at the CMAs) and 7-time nominee Dierks Bentley. Also shut out, Eric Church, who is represented by WME but tours with AEG Live.

The next country awards show will be the CMT Music Awards in June, all fan/intern/and maybe also Beyonce-voted. Join us again then, won’t you?

About Deb B 432 Articles
Also known as Windmills, I cover country music news and live televised country events, in addition to recapping ABC's 'Nashville.' Additionally, I occasionally do long-form chart analysis that has been cited by Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The Guardian, The New Republic, NPR, and more.