The 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards

The 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards are set to air on Sunday, April 3 on CBS. Here’s a complete guide to the show, including a list of nominees, performers, and more.

Introduction

The 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dierks Bentley, will air live on Sunday, April 3 at 8:00 PM ET on the CBS Television Network. The show will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for the first time since 2001.

Winners

The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards was held in Las Vegas on April 3, 2016. The show was hosted by Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan. The event was broadcast live on CBS. This year’s show featured many great performances, and some very deserving winners.

Entertainer of the Year

The award for entertainer of the year is the night’s biggest award. It goes to the artist who had the biggest impact on the entertainment business over the previous 12 months.

This year’s nominees are:
-Miranda Lambert
-Blake Shelton
-Luke Bryan
-Chris Stapleton
-Jason Aldean

Male Vocalist of the Year

The Male Vocalist of the Year is a award presented at the Academy of Country Music Awards, given to a male country music singer for his vocal performance for the eligibility year.

The first recipient of this award was Eddy Arnold in 1967. The most recent recipient is Chris Stapleton, who won in 2016.

Female Vocalist of the Year

The Female Vocalist of the Year is a vocalists award presented at the Country Music Association Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and American Music Awards. The award was first presented at the 1st Academy of Country Music Awards in 1966 to Loretta Lynn. Lynn held the record for most wins in this category for 24 years when she won her sixth Grammy in 2010. The award was then tied with Reba McEntire in 2012 when she won her seventh Grammy. McEntire was subsequently nominated in 2013 and 2014, winning the award both times, making her eight-time winner, breaking Lynn’s record. Miranda Lambert is the only other current artist to have more than three consecutive wins (4) in this category. Carrie Underwood has won this award twice (2009 and 2010), as have Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. In 2017 Maren Morris became only female artist besides Underwood and Parton who won it two or more times (she got it one time before that too).

Vocal Duo of the Year

The Vocal Duo of the Year award is given to the country music duo with the best vocal performance during the eligibility period. The nominees are chosen by the Academy’s voting members, and the winner is determined by a majority vote.

This year’s nominees are Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line, Joey + Rory, Maddie & Tae, and Thompson Square.

Vocal Group of the Year

The Vocal Group of the Year award goes to the artist with the best vocal performance by a group. This award is given to the artist, not the song. To be eligible, artists must have released a minimum of five singles during the eligibility period. The eligibility period for this year’s awards was from December 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.

The nominees for this year’s award are:
-The Band Perry
-Eli Young Band
-Lady Antebellum
-Little Big Town
-Zac Brown Band

And the winner is…Zac Brown Band!

New Artist of the Year

This award goes to the artist who has delivered the biggest breakthrough performance in country music over the past year. ACM voters have a lot of faith in this year’s crop of newcomers, as four of the five nominees are first-timers.
-Brett Eldredge
-Maren Morris
-Thomas Rhett
-Cole Swindell
-Chris Stapleton

Performances

The night’s top honor, Entertainer of the Year, went to Jason Aldean. He edged out some stiff competition including last year’s winner Luke Bryan, as well as Florida Georgia Line, Garth Brooks, and Miranda Lambert. But the moment that everyone will be talking about tomorrow is when Carrie Underwood returned to the stage for the first time since her horrific fall that left her with stitches in her face.

Dierks Bentley

Bentley was born on November 20, 1975 in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the son of Leigh Anne (née Tupper) and useful website Union Pacific Railroad employee George Harvey Bentley. His middle name, Frederick Dierks, comes from his mother’s side of the family (she was a daughter of Frederick Dierks), which she shares with her father, Dierks’ great-grandfather. In 2000 he married Cassidy Black. They have three children—Evelyn Pearl, Jordan Catherine, and Knox Dillon—who all appear on Bentley’s 2016 album Black.

Bentley’s musical interest started early; he shuffleboarded the floor of his parents’ truck while driving between farms in Arkansas, singing songs from artists like Hank Williams Jr., Don Williams, and Keith Whitley. Growing up in a musical family (his paternal uncle Dan Bentley was lead singer for Hank Williams Jr.’s Kentuckians and his younger brother Gabe Bentley plays guitar and sings background vocals for him), Bentley was exposed to all types of music except rap and heavy metal. “My mom iTunes gift card wanted us to be well rounded,” he said at radio station WKDF’s Nashville in June 2014. “She wanted us to get into classical music and be cultured.”

In 1996, Bentley graduated from Culver Academies in Culver City, Indiana, and worked at The Nashville Network (TNN) as a research assistant. In 1998 he moved to Tennessee to pursue a career as a country musician. He became friends with fellow musicians Chuck Wicks, Jon Randall and Brad Paisley who would frequently drop by jam sessions at Ernest Tubb Record Shop that Bentley would frequent after hours when all other music venues had closed down for the night; these informal jam sessions eventually led to more gig opportunities for Bentley around town as both an opening act as well as co-writing songs with more established writers including Byron Hill who would also record one of Bentley’s songs that he co-wrote with meet people Paisley titled “Thinking Of You”, which Hill included on his self-titled debut album that was released in 1999 on Decca Records Nashville label.

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood was one of the most anticipated performers of the show, and she did not disappoint. Her performance of her new song “Church Bells” was incredible, and she looked stunning in her white dress. She was also nominated for five awards, but unfortunately did not win any of them.

Keith Urban

Keith Urban delivered a show-stopping performance at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards. The singer belted out his hit song “Blue Ain’t Your Color” while playing the guitar.

The crowd went wild for Urban’s performance, giving him a standing ovation. This was one of the many standout moments from the 2016 ACM Awards.

Conclusion

The 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards were held on April 3, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ceremony was hosted by Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, and aired live on CBS.

The show featured performances by some of the biggest names in country music, including Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, and more. The night was filled with emotional moments, including an all-star tribute to the late Merle Haggard.

The Academy of Country Music Awards are voted on by members of the academy, which is made up of industry professionals. The awards are given in recognition of excellence in country music.