The

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

awards program held by a major organization. The academy's signature "hat" trophy was first created in 1968. The awards were first televised in 1972 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. In 1979, the academy joined with Dick Clark Productions to produce the show.

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

and Al Schwartz served as producers while Gene Weed served as director. Under their guidance, the show moved to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in 1979, then to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in 1998, and

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in 2022. The academy adopted a sleeker, modern version of the "hat" trophy in 2003, which is now made by the New York City firm

Society Awards Society Awards is an American company best known for designing and manufacturing high-profile entertainment industry awards, including the Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, GLAAD Media Award, and YouTube Creator Awards, among others. History Societ ...

. In 2004, the organization implemented online awards voting for its professional members, becoming the first televised awards show to do so. Entertainer of the Year was a fan-voted award for eight years, until 2016, when the ACM announced its decision to abandon Internet-voting for it and the three new-artist categories. The 57th ACM awards were presented at Allegiant Stadium in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

on March 7, 2022. The 58th ACM awards will be presented at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas on May 11, 2023.

Voting process

Voting members of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) elect the nominees. In 2016, after an eight-year experiment intended to improve consumer engagement, the ACM announced its decision to abandon fan-voting for Entertainer of the Year and its three new-artist categories, thanks to the cost of participation and several rifts that had developed among artists. The program was controversial from the start and included the web

ballot stuffing Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

encouragement infamous among awards of the same type presented in other ceremonies.

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

, after winning the first fan vote for entertainer in 2008, criticized the process backstage, complaining that instead of acknowledging artists' hard work, the vote had devolved into a marketing contest that rewarded people for "seeing how hard you can push people's buttons on the Internet." The winner, for example, of entertainer will now be voted on by the same people who select the male or female vocalist winner.

Awards

The most prestigious awards are for "Artist of the Decade" and "Entertainer of the Year." There are a number of other awards to recognize male and female vocalists, albums, videos, songs, and musicians. The awards are typically presented in April or May and recognize achievement for the previous year. Future ceremonies The 58th Academy of Country Music awards will take place on May 11, 2023, at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.

Major awards

*Source:

Special awards

Artist of the Decade

* 2010s: Jason Aldean (presented 2019) * 2000s: George Strait (presented 2009) * 1990s: Garth Brooks (presented 1999) * 1980s:

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(presented 1989) * 1970s:

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

(presented 1979) * 1960s:

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

(presented 1969)

Triple-Crown Award

The Triple-Crown Award is an elite honor that has been presented to only seven country acts in the history of the Academy of Country Music Awards. The honor distinguishes the achievement of an artist, duo or group upon receiving the New Artist (or New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, New Solo Vocalist, New Vocal Duo, New Vocal Group or New Vocal Duo or Group), and Male/Female Vocalist (or Vocal Duo, Vocal Group, Vocal Duo or Group) and Entertainer of the Year awards. Among the later recipients, Carrie Underwood received it at the ACM Awards, while Jason Aldean received his at the Annual ACM Honors. The following list shows the artists that have won the award and the first year winning each of the categories required. Three artists:

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

The Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Em ...

and

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

, have reached the milestones needed to receive the award but they have not yet been awarded. *

(presented 2005) :Top New Male Vocalist: 1998 :Top Male Vocalist: 2003 :Entertainer of the Year: 2005 *

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

(presented 2005) :Top New Male Vocalist: 1966 :Top Male Vocalist: 1967 :Entertainer of the Year: 1971 *

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 19 ...

(presented 2005) :Top New Male Vocalist: 1975 :Top Male Vocalist: 1977 :Entertainer of the Year: 1977 *

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

(presented 2005) :Top New Female Vocalist: 1972 :Top Female Vocalist: 1979 :Entertainer of the Year: 1981 *

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

(presented 2005) :Top New Vocal Duet or Group: 1992 :Top Vocal Duet: 1992 :Entertainer of the Year: 1996 * Carrie Underwood (presented 2010) :Top New Female Vocalist: 2006 :Top Female Vocalist: 2007 :Entertainer of the Year: 2009 * Jason Aldean (presented 2016) :Top New Male Vocalist: 2006 :Top Male Vocalist: 2013 :Entertainer of the Year: 2016 *

(to be presented 2022) :Top New Female Vocalist: 2007 :Top Female Vocalist: 2010 :Entertainer of the Year: 2022

Venues

The Academy of Country Music Awards were originally held at various locations in

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

through 2002. In 2003, the ceremony moved to

, first at the

Mandalay Bay Events Center The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by M ...

through 2005 and later at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

from 2006 to 2014. In 2015, the ceremony was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in 2015 to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The ceremony broke the

Guinness record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

that year for Most Attended Awards Show, with 70,252 attending. The ceremony returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for 2016, then moved to

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...

in Las Vegas for 2017. In 2018 and 2019, the show was again broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In 2020 and 2021, the in-person ceremony in Las Vegas was not held due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

; the two ceremonies were held at various sites in Nashville, with the primary venues being the

Grand Ole Opry House The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

, and the

Bluebird Café The Bluebird Café is a 90-seat music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club features acoustic music performed by both established singer-songwriters, and cover artists. The Bluebird receives over 70,000 visitors annually. T ...

. The ACM confirmed a return to Las Vegas for 2022, with the ceremony scheduled to be held at Allegiant Stadium.

Broadcasting

The ACM Awards were previously broadcast by

from 1972 to 1978, on

from 1979 to 1997, and

from 1998 to 2021. In June 2021, it was reported that CBS would not renew its contract to air the ceremony, citing declining viewership and demands from Dick Clark Productions for a higher rights fee. CBS parent company

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...

had also chosen to prioritize its own

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

(run by its cable network CMT) as a competitor, announcing later that month that it would be moved to CBS and held in April beginning 2022. After reports that the ACMs were being shopped to other networks such as NBC, it was announced on August 19, 2021, that the ceremony had been acquired by

, making it one of the first major awards ceremonies on U.S. television to move exclusively to

subscription video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

(SVOD).

References

External links

Academy of Country Music – Official Website
{{musicawards Awards established in 1966 American annual television specials 1966 establishments in the United States