Who else was still surprised in the outcome of the Entertainer of the Year award? I guess everyone was on the edge of their seats as we all wait for the last name to be called and the one who will be hailed as the Entertainer of the Year. Who would have known that even this year’s ACM Awards will be as unexpected as the events of this year unfolded?
As last night’s host Country star Keith Urban announced, there were two winners of this year’s Entertainer of the Year Award. Yes, you read it right. It was a tie!
Another First in the History of Country Music
Thomas Rhett and co-winner Carrie Underwood took the stage with people around the industry stunned including the host, Keith Urban. Both Rhett and Underwood’s name will surely go down in the history books as they just became the first ones to win the award through a tie.
However, I guess every one of us has still that one question lingering in our minds. Won’t there be any tiebreaker? Would Rhett and Underwood just settle with how things turned out for them? Well, unlike sports, the ACM Awards Criteria and Policy states on page 14: “In the case of a tie, all winners will receive an award.”
Thoughts of possible ballot manipulation were cleared as early as April when ACM CEO Damon Whiteside told Billboard that the votes will remain locked up by someone at Deloitte. Whiteside has trusted them over the years which proved rewarding because there’s no record of any maleficence. The votes were also kept in secret and no one knew who won ahead of time.
Regardless of how shocking the award for the Entertainer of the Year went last night, it was a historic moment for Carrie Underwood whose name will be heralded as the first woman to bag the Entertainer of the Year Award in the latter 8-year streak of ACM (2019-2026). Nonetheless, all the performances that led up to the shocking moment gave all of us a great night of country music.
Here’s the complete list of all the winners of this year’s ACM Awards:
Entertainer of the Year: Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood (tied)
Female Artist of the Year: Maren Morris
Male Artist of the Year: Luke Combs
Duo of the Year: Dan + Shay
Group of the Year: Old Dominion
New Female Artist of the Year: Tenille Townes
New Male Artist of the Year: Riley Green
Album of the Year: “What You See Is What You Get” – Luke Combs
Single of the Year: “God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
Song of the Year: “One Man Band” – Old Dominion
Video of the Year: “Remember You Young” – Thomas Rhett
