The ACM Awards aired Sunday night. There were nearly two dozen performances and in the first hour, not a single award was given. Once they started handing out trophies, the big winner of the night was Miranda Lambert with three awards. Everyone seemed to give a sigh of relief when George Strait won Entertainer of the Year for the second time, with the first being in 1989. The show ended with a tribute, jam packed full of talent, for Merle Haggard. Oh, and Carrie Underwood and Darius Rucker were caught synchronized head bobbing (thanks to Nashville Gab for capturing the GIF).
Here are some of my favorite “best moments” of the night.
Best dressed moment: It’s a “Helluva Life” for Frankie Ballard when he’s wearing Manuel. While his choice of a royal blue, feathered rhinestone suit may be a bit eccentric, it’s also a bit Jimmy Dickens and a whole lot of class. The best part? This suit represents his recent success with “Helluva Life” hitting number one. See the full story on People Country.
Best WTF moment: I’m supportive of crossing other music genres with country. A little bit of rap and country? Why not. A little bit of rock and country? Sure! But when there’s flames spitting in the air while guys from Nitro Circus flip around in the air on bikes and Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan sing “This is How We Roll,” I get too distracted from the performance itself. Perhaps that was the point? It was cool, but it seemed out of place with the rest of the show. Country music is usually more grounded, literally.
Best promo moment: It seems at every awards show there’s some kind of random promotion. Usually stars of a television show from the network present an award. This time, Guy Fieri from Food Network took the stage in full-on camouflage formalwear to promote his new restaurant in Vegas. Hey, if you’re going to do some awkward self-promotion, why not get some attention?
Best sexy moment: I’ll make this brief—Kip Moore’s ripped arms during his performance of “Somethin’ Bout a Truck,” and the simplistic sexiness of Miranda Lambert in a white tank top and blue jeans during her performance of “Automatic.”
Best accessory moment: Eric Church’s aviators. Always. He performed “Give Me Back My Hometown.”
Best standing o moment: Hunter Hayes took the stage to sing his latest hit “Invisible.” He used his performance as an opportunity to do good by telling the audience about the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Hunter is an artist who uses his music and fame to make a change. The standing ovation he received was for more than just his performance. You go, Hunter!
Best dream come true moment: Justin Moore won the fan-voted New Artist of the Year award. He’s a tiny guy with big talent and an even bigger heart. Earlier in the week he wrote a note on Twitter to his fans expressing how grateful he is for the opportunity to play music for us. If you’re of a fan of Justin, you know this is very typical. At every show I’ve been to of his, he always gets down on his knees and takes in the moment. He’s a guy who loves every second of what he does and let’s us know. Whether or not he’s considered a “new artist” doesn’t matter because I think he finally got the recognition he deserved for not only his music and hard work, but for the kind-spirited man he is.
Best Bluke moment: They’re funny. They’re good looking. Let’s just look at their selfie:
Best couple moment: Some award shows in the past have seemed to become the Blake and Miranda show. While they are adorable together and each are so talented, it was nice to revisit another couple that once ruled (and they still rule in my book—“Let’s Make Love” is one of the best husband/wife duets ever!).Tim McGraw and Faith Hill performed “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s,” which is Tim’s new single now available on iTunes. I think it’s also safe to say they can be considered the night’s sexiest couple.
Best meme moment: The King of Country Music, George Strait performed “I Got a Car,” but his win for Entertainer of the Year proved that he still reigns. This meme from Cloyd Rivers is spot on:
Best truck moment: Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck” is so unlike any of the other, much more country cliché songs out there about trucks. He performed this song acoustically as the arena watched in silence, creating the most emotional part of the night. If only they would have let him sing the whole song. Added bonus: “I Drive Your Truck,” written by Connie Harrington, Jessi Alexander and Jimmy Yeary won Song of the Year.
Best “I wish I was there for that moment” moment: Along with George Strait and Miranda Lambert performing “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive” to honor Crystal Milestone Award winner, Merle Haggard, the whole arena sang “Happy Birthday” to him as he took the stage to accept his award. Even his attendance made this a big moment because last week he canceled a show due to pneumonia, but he was able to make it to the ACMs on his 77th birthday for what he called one of his “most eventful evenings.”
Click here for a full list of winners.
Click here for a full list of performances.
Click here for red carpet photos.