Here’s Who Won the 2022 ACM Awards and the Best Moments of the Night
The 2022 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards came and conquered. For the first time in history, the show was the first to transition from broadcast television to streaming-only in its airing on Monday, Mar. 7. Viewers could watch via Amazon Prime Video. The show was filmed live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Despite some fan’s fears and speculation about a broadcast only award show, the show did not disappoint. Country music icon Dolly Parton co-hosted the event with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. There were some show stopping performances and history-making moments.
The ladies took the lead
Every year, there’s a few country music stars that are always expected to win big or give great performances. Miranda Lambert is one of them. This year, Lambert took home two awards.She made history by becoming just the ninth female artist in the award show’s 57-year history to win the biggest award: entertainer of the year. Lambert was not present to receive the award as she’s currently on a European leg of her tour. She did, however, accept the award virtually.
There were other great moments lead by women in music. Though Kelly Clarkson is not classified as a country music artist, she’s spoken openly of her love for the genre, citing Reba McEntire as her musical idol. Clarkson is also considered to be one of the most powerful voices in any genre of music. She took to the stage to tribute Parton with her own rendition of the classic “I Will Always Love You” at the end of the show. Parton was beyond pleased with Clarkson’s performance. “I was backstage trying not to cry my false eyelashes off!” Parton said of the tribute.
Another major winner was Lainey Wilson. The “Things a Man Oughta Know” singer released her first solo album on a major label just last year. She was stunned after she beat out Kenny Chesney and Morgan Wallen in the category of song of the year for her hit single. “Holy moly, y’all,” she exclaimed during her speech. She also noted that the song is an anthem for everyone about how to treat one another and not just a typical man-bashing song.
Other winners of the evening include: Carly Pearce for Female Artist of the Year, Chris Stapleton for Male Artist of the Year, Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” won Album of the Year, and Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood’s “If I Didn’t Love You” won Single of the Year.
A few great collaborations
Aside from some solo standouts, the show featured quite a few duets. Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde took the stage to perform an acoustic version of their single, “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” The song details two women on the opposite ends of a cheating man: Pearce is the girl who is being cheated on, while McBryde is the girl that the man is cheating with. Per social media reactions, the performance was one of the best of the night.
The co-hosts also got in on the performance fun. Outside of their hosting duties, Allen and Barrett performed Elvis’s “Viva Las Vegas,” and Faith Hill’s “Let’s Go to Vegas.” it proved their multifaceted performers.
Technical difficulties during the show
Being a broadcast only show and a live one at that, of course there would be some technological malfunctions. The sound was inconsistent during the first half of the evening through a few performances. There were also a few strange camera angles throughout the night and some viewers watching complained that they preferred to see celebrity reaction to wins and performances than seat fillers.
