That didn’t impress them much.
The 61st Annual ACM Awards are in the books, and it was a BIG night for Ella Langley. The “Choosin’ Texas” singer solidified her spot as one of the biggest artists in country music right now by taking home SEVEN trophies, including Female Artist of the Year and two each for Song of the Year (which goes to both the artist and the songwriter) and Single of the Year (which goes to the artist and the producer).
Cody Johnson ended up taking home the night’s top prize of Entertainer of the Year, and there were a few highlights like Ella’s stripped-back performance of “Be Her” and Zach Top’s twangy performance of “Honky Tonk Till It Hurts.” It was also nice to see Texas country finally get some recognition, not only with CoJo’s Entertainer of the Year win but with Parker McCollum’s win for Album of the Year and shoutout to all of his fellow Texas country artists during his speech.
But overall the entire show just felt…flat.
It seemed like there were audio issues all evening (like when we couldn’t hear Lee Ann Womack during her performance with Parker), and many of the performances were slower songs that didn’t really seem to serve much purpose.
There didn’t seem to be much buzz or online chatter about the show, but one thing that people WERE talking about over on social media was the hosting job by ’90s country legend Shania Twain.
It was her first time hosting the show, and Shania seemed to struggle throughout the evening. Her opening monologue, which is usually an opportunity for the host to tell some jokes and entertain the crowd, was really just a history lesson on the ACM Awards. And there were some other bizarre moments, like when she mispronounced Ella Langley’s name (she called her “Elle” Langley) while introducing her performance.
Overall it just wasn’t really a memorable performance as host, and social media took notice:
And that’s just a small sample of the comments. Our replies were buzzing all night with people who were confused and disappointed too.
Now, before anybody comes for me, I love Shania (who doesn’t?) and love seeing her still on stage. And there’s no denying she still looks great for 60 years old. But it’s hard to deny that was a rough performance from the Queen of Pop Country.
We’ll see if she’s back next year. Maybe it was just first year jitters for the country legend.
61st Annual ACM Awards Winners
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson (Winner)
Megan Moroney
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
Female Artist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley (Winner)
Megan Moroney
Lainey Wilson
Male Artist of the Year
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Cody Johnson (Winner)
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top
Group of the Year
49 Winchester
Flatland Cavalry
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays (Winner)
Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn (Winner)
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
Thelma & James
Album of the Year
[Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record Company–label(s)]
Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Record Company-Label: Leo33
Cherry Valley – Carter Faith; Producer: Tofer Brown; Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA
Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green; Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox; Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett; Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records
Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum; Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse; Record Company-Label: MCA (Winner)
Song of the Year
“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure
“Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon
“Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley; Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor (Winner)
“I Never Lie” – Zach Top; Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols
“Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg
Single of the Year
“6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney
“Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley (Winner)
“I Never Lie” – Zach Top
“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
“The Fall” – Cody Johnson
Visual Media of the Year
“6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney
“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
“Cuckoo” -Stephen Wilson, Jr. (Winner)
“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
“The Fall” – Cody Johnson
Music Event of the Year
“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
“Amen” – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
“Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley (Winner)
“Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson
“You Had To Be There” – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney
Songwriter of the Year
Jessie Jo Dillon (Winner)
Ashley Gorley
Charlie Handsome
Chase McGill
Blake Pendergrass
Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Ella Langley (Winner)
Megan Moroney
Morgan Wallen
New Male Artist of the Year
Gavin Adcock
Vincent Mason
Shaboozey
Hudson Westbrook
Tucker Wetmore (Winner)
New Female Artist of the Year
Avery Anna (Winner)
Mackenzie Carpenter
Dasha
Caroline Jones
Emily Ann Roberts
