What to Expect At the 55th ACM Awards

The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards will be airing tonight, September 16th 2020, on CBS at 8 PM EDT. The ACM Awards were originally supposed to be held on April 5th in Las Vegas, but were postponed and relocated due to COVID-19. The show will now be held in Nashville, with 15-time ACM Award-winner Keith Urban set to host. Presenters include Lauren Alaina, Darius Rucker, Bobby Bones, and Lily Aldridge. The show will be broadcasted live from three country music venues: The Grand Ole Opry, The Bluebird Cafe, and The Ryman Auditorium. 

The most coveted award is Entertainer of the Year. The contenders competing for the top prize are Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs, Eric Church, and Luke Bryan. Underwood previously won Entertainer of the Year twice in 2009 and 2010. She is also the most awarded women of the ACM Awards with a total of 14 awards. Luke Bryan is the only other nominee to have previously won the award, having won in 2013. 

The top nominees of the night are Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, and producer Dan Huff with five each. Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Luke Combs, and Old Dominion follow closely behind boasting numerous nominations each. 

One of the most exciting and anticipated performances of the night will be Taylor Swift. Returning to the ACM’s for the first time in seven years, she will be debuting a live performance of her Folklore track, “betty” that has been released to Country Radio. Opening the show will be all five Entertainer of the Year nominees with a medley of their hits. Other performances include Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani, Miranda Lambert, Mickey Guyton, Tim McGraw, Gabby Barrett, Kelsea Ballerini, Trisha Yearwood, Thomas Rhett, Jon Pardi, and more. 

Carrie Underwood will be performing a medley of songs by Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, and Barbara Mandrell to honor trailblazing female Opry members. Old Dominion will be performing a medley of their No. 1 hits. Thomas Rhett and Jon Pardi will be performing their No. 1 hit, “Beer Can’t Fix.” 

There have already been winners announced in a handful of categories. The Music Event of the Year went to Miranda Lambert’s cover of “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” featuring Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Tenille Townes, and Elle King. Riley Green and Tenille Townes are the New Artist of the Year winners. Video of the Year goes to Thomas Rhett’s sweet storytelling in “Remember You Young” and Hillary Lindsey wins her first Songwriter of the Year Award.  

Let us know in the comments who your top picks are and who you are most excited to watch perform! 

Author: Haley Moloney