Country music stars were honored at the 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, a star-studded ceremony broadcast live Sunday night on CBS Television Network from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards led CBS to a Sunday night victory as the night’s top program in viewers and demographics with the event’s highest measures in viewers since 1998.
The Academy of Country Music sold out two of the largest arenas in Las Vegas, the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the awards show and the New Orleans Arena for the 3rd Annual ACM Fan Jam headlined by Brad Paisley.
Fans named Luke Bryan “Entertainer of the Year,” the evening’s biggest honor and his first win in that category. This year marked a record-breaking year with 1.1 million country music fans casting their votes for the “Entertainer of the Year” and “New Artist of the Year” categories combined.
Bryan co-hosted the ACM Awards for the first time with fellow country music star Blake Shelton. Shelton shared the award for “Song of the Year” with his wife Miranda Lambert who co-composed the winning song “Over You” with Shelton in honor of his brother who passed away.
Lambert won for the fourth consecutive year in a row as “Female Vocalist of the Year.” She was the leading winner of the night of the night with a total of four trophies in three categories. She joins Reba and Loretta Lynn as the only female artists to win “Female Vocalist of the Year” four or more times.
Following is the list of 11 categories voted on by the membership, except in the categories of “Entertainer of the Year” and “New Artist” categories, which were voted on by a combination of ACM members and fans:
Entertainer of the Year
- Luke Bryan
Male Vocalist of the Year
- Jason Aldean
Female Vocalist of the Year
- Miranda Lambert
Vocal Duo of the Year
- Thompson Square
Vocal Group of the Year
- Little Big Town
New Artist of the Year (presented by Kohl’s)
- Florida Georgia Line
Album of the Year
- Chief– Eric Church (EMI-Nashville)
Single Record of the Year
- Over You – Miranda Lambert (RC)
Song of the Year
- Over You – Miranda Lambert
Video of the Year
- Tornado– Little Big Town
Vocal Event of the Year
- The Only Way I Know – Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan & Eric Church (Broken Bow)
New Male Vocalist of the Year
- Brantley Gilbert
New Female Vocalist of the Year
- Jana Kramer
New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year
- Florida Georgia Line
The 48th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry.
