NEW YORK (AP) – CeCe Winans and Carrie Underwood brought the Academy of Country Music Awards to church on Sunday.
The gospel legend and country superstar teamed up for a first-class, high-performance performance that was the highlight of the show, even though the event continues for two more hours.
Underwood sang songs from her recent gospel hymn album ‘My Savior’, and she and Winans mixed their voices on stage like angels. Underwood started the performance with “Amazing Grace” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, after which Winans joined in, matching her strong vocal performance.
Collaboration moments were a theme during the award ceremony.
Miranda Lambert, the most decorated artist in the history of the ACM Awards, started the show together with rock pop singer Elle King for a fun, energetic performance of their new duet. Lambert and King wore matching outfits – an all-black ensemble with pink fringes hanging from Lambert’s leather jacket and blue from King’s – and sang the Grand Ole Opry House’s anthemic song ‘Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)’. Nashville, Tennessee.
The performance, as much as it aired on Sunday nights, was pre-recorded at various locations in Nashville, including the Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe, for a small audience of medical and health professionals.
Lambert, who founded MuttNation animal shelter, also performed with Chris Stapleton for ‘Maggie’s Song,’ a tribute to Stapleton’s dog who died in 2019. Dierks Bentley was also memorable on stage, singing U2’s ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ with The War and Treaty, the extraordinarily talented husband-and-wife duo.
Another couple took to the stage on Sunday: Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd performed, ending with a kiss. Morris later won song of the year with her Grammy-nominated hit “The Bones,” which topped the charts for months last year.
“When I wrote (‘The Bones’) I was dating my now husband and it was just a song to him. And I feel like songs sometimes know you better than you know them at the time. And I feel like this song has revealed so many new things to me, ”said a tearful Morris on stage. “And this has just been a great year and hopefully country music and maybe even this song has brought you and your family and friends some peace.
Other appearances include Blake Shelton, Alan Jackson, Dan + Shay, Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde.
Lambert, who has won 35 ACMs, has been nominated for five awards and has the chance to extend her record. She does not compete in the show’s top prize, Entertainer of the Year, where all nominees are male performers. Entertainer of the Year nominees include Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church and Thomas Rhett, who won the honor in a draw with Underwood last year.
Bryan, who was to perform at the ceremony, withdrew from the event because he recently tested positive for the coronavirus. All other Entertainer of the Year nominees will perform.
Another big name in country music is also missing from the show: Morgan Wallen. The singer, whose latest album and singles have enjoyed widespread success on both the country and pop charts, was declared ineligible by the ACMs. after being caught on camera with a racist slur earlier this year.
Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet will also not be on the show, as he recently tested positive for COVID-19, and his band will perform without him.
Stapleton and Morris are the best nominees with six each. Stapleton’s nominations included Album, Song, and Male Artist of the Year. Morris’ nominations included single and female artist of the year. She also landed a group of the year nod as a member of the Highwomen – the supergroup that also includes Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby – but lost to Old Dominion.
The award was presented by Blanco Brown, who made his first public appearance on Sunday after being seriously injured in a head-on collision with the vehicle last year.
Some of the ACM winners were announced in advance, including Gabby Barrett (new female artist), Jimmie Allen (new male artist) and Kane Brown (video of the year). The platinum hit ‘I Hope You’re Happy Now’ by Carly Pearce and Lee Brice, co-written by Combs, won Music Event of the Year.