Reba McEntire hosts Thursday Academy of Country Music AwardsIt promises to be a night of memorable performances, including a tribute Toby Keith.
When McEntire took the stage at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, north of Dallas, it was Recorded for the 17th time She accepted the program.
“I love the awards show because it’s like a family reunion,” she recently told The Associated Press.
This year’s nominees range from veteran actors to new talent, including the much-loved Jelly Roll. This year he earns his first ACM nominations; He won Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year (“Need a Favor”) and big hits. CMT Music Awards last month), and Music Event of the Year for “Save Me” featuring Lainey Wilson. The last time a musician was named Entertainer of the Year in his first round of ACM Awards nominations was 1992’s Billy Ray Cyrus.
The ACM festivities really kicked off ahead of Thursday’s event, when the New Artist of the Year awards were handed out at Tuesday’s ACM Country Kickoff Fan Fest at The Star: Megan Moroney Taking home the New Female Artist of the Year, Nate Smith won the Male category and Tygirlily Gould took home the prize for New Duo or Group.
Here’s what you need to know before the major ACMs draw begins.
How to watch ACMs
The 2024 ACM Awards will be streamed Main video and Amazon Music Channel Twitch Live at 8pm Eastern. The red carpet feed will be available on Prime Video, the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch and Amazon Live at 7pm Eastern.
This year’s ACM Awards nominees
Luke Combs leads to 2024 Recommendations With eight nods. For the fifth year in a row, he is up for both Male Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.
Combs’ eight nominations include a first-time nod for Tracy Chapman. His cover of her “Fast Car”. The Song of the Year category recognizes songwriters and publishers in addition to artists. Last year, Chapman’s 1988 song Won Song of the Year Comps became the first black songwriter to win the category at the Country Music Awards for her cover.
Morgan Wallen And Moroney closely follows Combs’ nominations with six each, while Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Wilson are tied with five.
Jordan Davis and Jelly Roll have four nominations.
Who performs at the ACM Awards
Jason Aldean will pay tribute to Keith, who died in February.
“I’ve been a fan of his since the beginning, and his songs were some of the first I played back in the clubs early in my career, including the songs I perform on the show” he said In a statement. “It means a lot to honor him and celebrate his iconic life and legacy properly. He was one of a kind.
In addition to Aldean: Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Post Malone, Parker McCallum, Johnson, McEntire, Wilson and Stapleton will also perform during the broadcast.
Fans can also look forward to some interesting collaborations – Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan; Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and Smith with Avril Levine.
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Associated Press writer Gary Hamilton contributed to this report.
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For more information on this year’s ACM Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-of-country-music-awards
