In true 2020 fashion, the ACM Awards was a little weird (I mean a tie for Entertainer of the Year, really? And a tie without Eric Church involved, REALLY?). Even with its' 2020-esque weirdness, however, it was also really a great show! With no fans, I'm sure it was hard to for the artists to perform with the highest amount of energy, but they did a great job! There truly wasn't a bad performance.
Here are the top 5 performances from the awards, ranked:
1. Eric Church- Johnny Cash's "Ragged Old Flag"/"Stick That in Your Country Song"
This performance was no doubt the performance of the night. It's my personal opinion that Eric Church never disappoints and he definitely didn't disappoint last night. Listening to "Ragged Old Flag" before his performance was enough to give anyone goosebumps, add the "Stick that in Your Country Song" performance after and you just witnessed perfection. It was the perfect performance to remind us that with all the injustices and problems we face in this country, we're still a country united under one flag and it's important to remember the struggles and work to find solutions. No one better to send that message than The Chief.
2. Carrie Underwood- Medley Honoring women of country
The best current (maybe best ever) female vocalist honoring the best female vocalists from years past, what could be better? Carrie covered Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Reba, and Martina McBride. It was flawless.
3. Mickey Guyton- "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?"
Wow. This performance will bring tears to your eyes. Not only did Mickey make history by being the first African American woman to sing on the ACM stage, but she sang a song that will bring you to your knees. The song deals with the fact that parents of young girls will struggle with their realization that the world doesn't operate quite as fairly as a young person may think. Mickey delivered it so beautifully and it was fitting that girl dad Keith Urban accompanied her on the piano.
4. Miranda Lambert with fellow songwriters Natalie Hemby and Luke Dick- "Bluebird", from the Bluebird Café
This performance by the songwriters of Bluebird from the Bluebird was nothing short of wonderful. Miranda said the way they performed this song last night was the way they wrote it to be performed. It was so cool to watch the song Bluebird in the Bluebird.
5. Kane Brown- "World Wide Beautiful"
Kane Brown started with a simple phrase: "I just want everybody to love everybody." AMEN. This performance was great for many reasons. The first is that this song is just what we need for this time period in our country's history. Kane also had help from beautiful singers in the balcony of The Grand Ole Opry House. It was truly beautiful.
