Hoping to reverse the trend of awards shows continuing to lose viewers and popularity, the ACM, or Academy of Country Music Awards show is trying something different that just might work.
Instead of featuring a leftist, blowhard host that makes jokes at half of the countries expense, the ACM awards will actually feature likable, good people in Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks.
Whether you like country music or not, Dolly and Garth both have solid, long term track records as a couple of the best human beings in their space. The opportunity to see them both working together during the show should draw extra eyeballs that otherwise wouldn’t be tuning in. Check this out.
If you’re going to try something new, there are worse ways to do it than with Dolly Parton lending a hand.
Garth Brooks will host an awards show for the first time in his career, when he and the “Jolene” singer team up to emcee the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, TODAY revealed March 29.
The ceremony will stream live on Prime Video from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on May 11 at 8 p.m. EDT. An encore presentation will be available the next day to stream for free on Amazon Freevee.
While this will mark Brooks’ first foray into hosting an awards show, it will be a return for Parton, who hosted the ACM Awards in 2022 and 2000.
Also a smart move to broadcast a repeat for free. Country fans can tend to be older or lower socioeconomically, and a free option to watch just includes more people, and potentially more fans.
“I am thrilled to return to host the ACM Awards, this time with my friend Garth,” she said.
“While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with him throughout the years, I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together. In addition to getting to see all this great new talent in country music, I am excited to have the chance to premiere the lead single from my upcoming rock album on the show!”
Who’s ready to party, party, party?! I’m back again to host the @ACMawards show this year with the one and only @garthbrooks! Tune in May 11 on @PrimeVideo, because it will be a night you won’t want to miss ✨#ACMawards pic.twitter.com/cNv3daOCbz
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 29, 2023
Dolly is of course referring to the rock album she is releasing soon. After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly vowed to do a rock album and with help from an all-star list of friends is following through. Hopefully it will be better than Garth Brooks and his Chris Gaines fiasco.
“I really think it’s some of the best work I’ve ever done,” she told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb in December. “I think so. Only because it’s different for me. I wanted it to be good.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also has an all-star lineup of friends who will appear with her on the album.
“I’ve got a lot of wonderful, iconic songs that people love, and a lot of wonderful, iconic singers joining me on them, like Elton John is on one of the songs he wrote,” Parton said January on “The Rachael Ray Show.”
“Of course Paul McCartney sings with me on ‘Let It Be,’ and we’ve got John Fogerty. Stevie Nicks and I just finished our song, and hopefully we’re going to have Cher and Annie Lennox. Got Joan Jett. We’ve got all kinds of wonderful people are going to be on the album.
It should be a great CMA Awards Show, and a preview of an album that sounds like it could be an absolute banger. Let’s see Jimmy Kimmel top that.
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