Mickey Guyton Offers Breathtaking ACM Awards Performance

Keith Urban accompanied the rising star on piano.

Written by Cillea Houghton
Mickey Guyton Offers Breathtaking ACM Awards Performance
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 16: (L-R) Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton perform onstage during the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry on September 16, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The ACM Awards airs on September 16, 2020 with some live and some prerecorded segments. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/ACMA2020/Getty Images for ACM)

Mickey Guyton offered a stunning performance of her thought-provoking song “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” at the 2020 ACM Awards.

Standing poised in front of an empty Grand Ole Opry House, Guyton was strong and steady as she performed the heartbreaking song that asks how we justify an unjust world for women. With ACM host Keith Urban on piano, Guyton’s stature matched the significance of the song’s message.

Without missing a note, Guyton’s powerful voice and spirit to match filled the space as she posed such tough questions as “what are you gonna tell her when she figures out that all this time you built her up just so the world could let her down?” and “do you just let her pretend that she could be the president?” before delivering the sobering line “’cause there ain’t no way, you can’t explain what you don’t understand,” making for one of the best performances of the night.

Guyton released “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” in March 2020. It’s featured on her new EP Bridges, which also includes her other powerful single “Black Like Me.”    

The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Keith Urban, are live from Nashville tonight (9/16) on CBS at 8/7c.

Click here to see the winners and follow along with all of our 2020 ACM Awards coverage.