Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Productions:
The Academy of Country Music® and Dick Clark Productions announced today the all-star lineup of performers for ACM® Presents: Our Country, a two-hour special featuring intimate conversations and at-home acoustic performances with Country Music’s biggest stars, along with clips from the Academy of Country Music Awards’™ 55-year history. Confirmed performers include Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Kane Brown & John Legend, Luke Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Old Dominion, Brad Paisley & Darius Rucker, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban. The special will be broadcast Sunday, April 5 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT and 7:00 PM CT) on the CBS Television Network and on CBS All Access.
ACM® Presents: Our Country will also honor 10-time ACM Award® winner Kenny Rogerswith performances by Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker. As previously announced, artists will appear from their homes to share heartfelt thoughts and perform acoustic versions of Country hits. Additionally, video clips from previous ACM Award broadcasts will highlight favorite ACM moments from the past. It will be a night filled with entertainment, hope and reflection, bringing the healing power of music to Americans at a time when they need it most.
The special will broadcast during the time slot previously scheduled for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will now be broadcast Wednesday, Sept. 16 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on CBS All Access. The 55th ACM Awards, hosted for the first time by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban, honors the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry.
For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.
About ACM® PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY
ACM® Presents: Our Country invites fans to join their favorite superstars for a new kind of entertainment special featuring at-home acoustic performances with top Country artists along with clips of their favorite moments from the Academy of Country Music Awards’™ 55-year history. is produced for television by Dick Clark Productions. R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman, Mark Bracco and Amy Thurlow are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music®.
Carrie Underwood at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 13, 2019. (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
Carrie Underwood decided to end 2019 with a surprising announcement: After 12 consecutive years of being a host of the Country Music Association Awards (which is televised in the U.S. on ABC), she will no longer emcee the show. Underwood began her CMA Awards hosting stint in 2008, with Brad Paisley as her co-host. Paisley co-hosted the show with Underwood until 2018. In 2019, Underwood hosted the show with Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton.
On December 30, 2019, Underwood posted an Instagram message that read: “One of the highlights of 2019 and of my entire career was being on stage with the legends that are Reba and Dolly. I’m so proud that we could celebrate the incredible female artists that are part of the legacy of country music, past present and future, and I’m thankful for the huge audiences all over the world that tuned in to see it. It’s hard to believe that it was my 12th year hosting and I will always treasure every show, from the 11 that I was so lucky to do with my partner in crime and friend for life, Brad Paisley, to sharing the stage with two of my all-time heroes. I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone involved with the CMA Awards all these years. It’s hard to imagine topping what we have accomplished together, so I’ve decided that it’s time to pass the hosting torch (at least for now!) to others that will cherish it and honor it as much as I do. I’ve got so many exciting things coming in the new year and beyond, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us.”
The Country Music Association responded Twitter: “We love you, Carrie! You’ll always be family to us. Thanks for 12 amazing years hosting the #CMAawards. We look forward to working with you in 2020 and beyond to help spread Country Music to fans around the world!”
Underwood has won nine CMA Awards so far, including five for Female Vocalist of the Year. Although she won the CMA Chairman’s Award in 2016, she has yet to win the top CMA prize of Entertainer of the Year, which she has been nominated for twice so far: in 2016 and in 2019. In 2019, she was nominated for three CMA Awards but didn’t win any.
Underwood ‘s first book, “Find Your Path,” will be published by Dey Street Books on March 3, 2020.
Chris Stapleton at the 51st Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 8, 2017. (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
Maren Morris at the Fifth Annual iHeartCountry Festival at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, on May 5, 2018. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Fox)
Brad Paisley at the 51st Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 8, 2017. (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
The following is a press release from the Country Music Association and ABC:
Lauren Alaina, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, and Chris Stapleton with Maren Morris and Mavis Staples have been added as performers for “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards,” as well as just added special appearances by Lindsay Ell, Vince Gill, Sierra Hull, Chris Janson, Ashley McBryde, David Lee Murphy, Jon Pardi, Carson Peters, Marty Stuart and Cole Swindell. Country Music’s Biggest Night, hosted for the 11th consecutive year by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, will air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, November 14 (8:00–11:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network.
Previously announced performers for the CMA Awards include Jason Aldean with Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley with Brothers Osborne, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line with Bebe Rexha, Midland, Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Pistol Annies, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Brett Young. Presenters will be announced next week.
Alaina is a two-time CMA Awards nominee. She returns this year with a nomination for New Artist of the Year.
Ell made her CMA Awards performance debut in 2016, playing guitar during Underwood’s all-female performance of “Dirty Laundry.”
Gill is a 54-time CMA Awards nominee and 18-time winner. He holds the record for most wins in the Song of the Year category. He is also tied for most wins in the Male Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year (previously Vocal Event of the Year) categories. He returns this year with his 12th nomination for Musical Event of the Year.
Hull, McBryde and Peters will all make their CMA Awards performance debut at “The 52ndAnnual CMA Awards.”
Janson is a first-time CMA Awards nominee, receiving nominations in the Music Video of the Year and Song of the Year categories for “Drunk Girl,” as well as New Artist of the Year. This year marks his performance debut on the CMA Awards stage.
Morris is a 10-time CMA Awards nominee, receiving her first win in 2016 for New Artist of the Year. She returns this year with her third Female Vocalist of the Year nomination and second Musical Event of the Year nomination for “Dear Hate” with Vince Gill.
Paisley is a 14-time CMA Awards winner, including a win for the coveted Entertainer of the Year award. He is also the current record holder for most wins (4) in the Music Video of the Year category and tied as the record holder for most Musical Event of the Year wins (4).
Pardi is a two-time CMA Awards nominee, taking home his first win in 2017 for New Artist of the Year.
Skaggs is a five-time CMA Awards winner with 21 career nominations. He received his first CMA Awards nomination in 1982 when he was nominated for both the Horizon Award, which recognized new artists, and the coveted Entertainer of the Year award. Additionally, Skaggs was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year, winning the Horizon Award and Male Vocalist of the Year award. Skaggs was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last month.
R&B/Gospel legend Staples, previously of the group The Staple Singers, continues to carry on her family’s name as a solo artist. This year marks Staples’ CMA Awards debut. The Staple Singers were nominated for Album of the Year in 1994.
Stapleton is a seven-time CMA Awards winner with 16 total career nominations. He is the reigning Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year winner. He returns this year as the most nominated artist of the night with nods in the Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year categories.
Stuart is a seven-time CMA Awards nominee, bringing home his first award in 1992 for Vocal Event of the Year. He has performed at the CMA Awards twice before including “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” in 1989 and “Mandolin Rain” in 1996.
Swindell, a two-time CMA Awards nominee, first took the CMA Awards stage in 2014, the same year he was nominated for New Artist of the Year.
“The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer; Gary Halvorson is the director, and David Wild is the head writer.
For more information on “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards,” please visit CMAawards.com and follow CMA on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans can listen to music featuring the CMA Awards nominees and performers, on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and Vevo. To celebrate “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards,” the official merchandise line featuring tees, sweatshirts and other gifts is now available online.
About CMA Awards
The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest-running, annual music awards program on network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas.”
