The 53rd Annual ACM Awards: What to Expect

Nashville will take over Vegas with all its energetic performances and surprise wins by the country community.

Written by Kelly Brickey
The 53rd Annual ACM Awards: What to Expect
LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 02: Jason Aldean poses inside the press room at the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards held at T-Mobile Arena on April 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

We’re merely days away from the night where Nashville takes over Las Vegas at the ACM Awards, hosted right in the heart of Sin City.

All of the biggest country stars and their teams will roll out to the town of bright lights and indulgent behavior for “The Week Vegas Goes Country.” Although the nights leading up to the celebration will be chaotic in the best kind of way, most everyone can’t wait for the sparkling Sunday night where artists will ride off into the sunset with their trophies and good times with their fellow Music City pals.

Here’s what everyone is looking forward to at the 53rd Annual ACM Awards broadcast in just a couple weeks’ time…

The Host:

Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley are out, and Reba is coming right back in! The two guys joked that they had been fired from their emcee gig, giving room to reintroduce the red-headed country star back into a spot she held for five previous shows. With her quick wit and Southern humor, Reba will surely tap into those current events to bring out a hilarious monologue to get the night going and keep it alive.

The Performances:

The lineup for the ACM Awards could be called one of the best of the year, as the biggest names in the format will take their places on stage to perform the hottest hits of the past year. Jason Aldean will return to Vegas to play a song during the show, marking a poignant moment for him and his band after what unfolded during their previous set at the Route 91 Festival.

Kenny Chesney will scale down his stadium set for the arena stage, while Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum both hope to impress with their classic harmonies. Kelsea Ballerini, Blake Shelton, Jon Pardi, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban and many more will also bust out their top-notch vocals for the awards ceremony out west.

The Presenters:

Representing country music proudly as presenters will be Dustin Lynch and Cam, standing alongside other talents such as actors Ashton Kutcher and David Boreanaz, R&B singer Eve and professional athletes Lindsey Vonn and Drew Brees, who will read off the category cards as well. Who knows…maybe some other familiar faces will pop in along the way! It is Vegas after all, which means surprises always arise one way or another.

Most Anticipated Moments:

Florida Georgia Line struck gold with their pop single, “Meant to Be,” featuring Bebe Rexha, who will make her debut appearance on the ACM stage when she performs the track with the duo. Reba mentioned in the past that she plans to change a whopping six times into all different costumes, commemorating her sixth time as the host of the awards throughout her career.

As for the other performances lined up for the evening, it’s hard to tell who will collaborate together during the airing since the Academy of Country Music has kept rather quiet about the whole thing. Guess fans will just have to tune in and see what happens!

The Winners:

Switching it up this time around, the Academy of Country Music already announced a few of the winners before the broadcast airs on television. Reba herself called up each of the New Artist winners, and got them all to react in their own unique ways.

Lauren Alaina shed a tear while remaining quite speechless when she heard she was the ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year, while Brett Young sat in disbelief over his New Male Vocalist of the Year award and Midland joked that it wasn’t actually Reba calling to tell them they won ACM New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year.

The rest of the awards will be read off the cards during the ceremony, in which the competition remains rather heated for those top accolades like ACM Entertainer of the Year.

The 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15 (live 8:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.