Morgan Wallen wins album of the year at the ACM Awards, a year after he was removed from the ballot after he was caught on camera using a racial slur.
Wallen made no direct reference to the issue and his absence from recent awards shows as accepted the trophy at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but may have hinted at it.
“I cannot believe I’m not there to celebrate,” Lambert said in a video message from London, “it’s the first time I’ve missed the ACMs in 17 years. I’ve been waiting a long time for this” They were followed by medleys from Eric Church and Walker Hayes, who started his performance deep in the stadium stands, dressed as casually as the folks in the cheap seats as he sang his viral hit about a date at Applebee’s, “Fancy Like.”
As the show drew to a close, Kelly Clarkson performed “I Will Always Love You,” first written and recorded by Parton, in tribute to the host. Brothers Osborne and Brittney Spencer closed the show with a performance of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”Amazon sought to go beyond the live sporting events it has previously aired to connect that with a large audience of country fansThe show attempted to have a sporting look, with three stages, overhead spider cameras, non-stop action and heavy on graphics.