KEITH URBAN was the Entertainer of the Year at last night’s ACMs. KACEY MUSGRAVES won Top Female Artist, and Album of the Year for “Golden Hour”. THOMAS RHETT won the other big award, taking home Top Male Artist. DAN + SHAY also had a huge night. They won Top Vocal Duo, and their hit “Tequila” won Song of the Year and Single of the Year. REBA MCENTIRE hosted like the pro that she is. You knew she’d joke about country music’s “female problem.” Here’s the best one: “Do you know it snowed in Las Vegas a few weeks ago? It was so cold it froze us women out of Entertainer of the Year.” The women may have been cheated out of the top award, but they did not let it get them down. They had many of the best performances of the night. MIRANDA LAMBERT didn’t add to her record 32 ACM wins but she did tear through a medley of hits to remind us why she’s a champ. She did “Kerosene”, “Gunpowder & Lead”, “Mama’s Broken Heart”, “White Liar”, and “Little Red Wagon”. ASHLEY MCBRYDE showed some serious talent, bringing the crowd to their feet with an acoustic version of “Girl Goin’ Nowhere”. And she traded lines with ERIC CHURCH during his political protest song, “The Snake”. LITTLE BIG TOWN introduced an emotional new song called, “The Daughters”. It’s about women’s empowerment and it really hit home with the crowd. When it was over the camera panned to several women in the audience who were moved to tears. LANCO brought some serious energy to the show when they did “Rival” . . . and OLD DOMINION’s performance of “Make It Sweet” had everybody out of their seats. Traditional country was represented when GEORGE STRAIT sang “God and Country Music”, and a little later when Miranda Lambert joined him for his classic song, “Run”. George Strait also passed the torch to JASON ALDEAN as the latest ACM Artist of the Decade. Jason performed “Lights Come On”,”Don’t You Wanna Stay” with KELLY CLARKSON, and “Dirt Road Anthem”. He got choked up in his thank you speech. The big all-star performance was strong. “This Is Us” actress CHRISSY METZ sang “I’m Standing With You” from her movie “Breakthrough”. She was joined by Lauren Alaina, Mickey Guyton, Maddie & Tae, and Carrie Underwood. And there was a great moment when DIERKS BENTLEY teamed up with BRANDI CARLILE for their song, “Travelin’ Light”. Man, did she cut it loose.
Entertainer of the Year: Keith Urban
Top Male Vocalist: Thomas Rhett
Top Female Vocalist: Kacey Musgraves
Top Vocal Group: Old Dominion
Top Vocal Duo: Dan + Shay
Album of the Year: “Golden Hour”, Kacey Musgraves
Song of the Year: “Tequila”, Dan + Shay
Single Record of the Year: “Tequila”, Dan + Shay
Video of the Year: Chris Janson,”Drunk Girl”
Vocal Event of the Year: “Burning Man”, Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne
There’s been so much news about “The View” lately, thanks to that new book “Ladies Who Punch”. Back in 2006, the ladies were debating the “morning after pill,” and BARBARA WALTERS straight-up reprimanded ELISABETH HASSELBECK for supposedly getting too heated and not listening to everyone else’s opinions. Well, after they went to commercial, Elisabeth went backstage and LOST IT. Over the weekend, “Variety” posted the audio of her meltdown . . . and it’s intense. She doesn’t confront Barbara herself. First she goes off to JOY BEHAR and Joy does her best to calm her down. When Joy and a producer tell Barbara that Elisabeth walked off, she says she HAS TO come back. She also gets angry that they talked about the morning after pill in the first place. Then producer Bill Geddie gets involved. He tells Elisabeth she’s a PROFESSIONAL, and has to go back on, and takes Elisabeth’s side, and agrees that Barbara went too far. Elisabeth finally agrees to go back on, and she and Barbara make up on the air.
KATHIE LEE GIFFORD’s last day on the “Today” show was Friday, and as part of the fanfare, there was a ‘pop quiz’ about her time together with HODA KOTB. The segment was hosted by JOHN CENA. And the first question he asked was a doozy: “Approximately how many glasses of wine have been served on this show in 11 years?” The three options were: 2,500 glasses of wine . . . 5,300 . . . and 10,800. Kathie Lee guessed 10,800 . . . before Hoda correctly said 5,300. That breaks down to roughly 241 glasses a year, EACH.
Royal exes PRINCE ANDREW and SARAH FERGUSON are reportedly FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS these days, and PRINCE CHARLES isn’t happy.
Mrs. Dog the Bounty Hunter, BETH CHAPMAN, was hospitalized because she was having trouble breathing. She’s resting at home now. Beth is battling throat cancer for the second time since 2017.
Human remains have been found at the Oregon home of Dennis Day, one of the original Disney Mouseketeers, who has been missing since last July. Day, 76, was cast as one of the original Mouseketeers in Disney’s “The Mickey Mouse Club” in 1955 at the age of 12. The former child star was reported missing last summer by his longtime partner Ernie Caswell, who suffers from dementia-related memory problems. He was last seen in his driveway, saying he was going to visit friends. His car was found along the Oregon coast with two people inside who had no connection to Day, but police say there were no signs of foul play.
Brett Young and his wife, Taylor Mills, are expecting their first baby together in the fall — news they shared with fans on Saturday, even though his wife is early in her pregnancy. Backstage at the ACM Awards, Young explains their decision to spill the news in the first trimester. “It’s tricky because like not a lot of people like to talk it, but the first trimester is touch and go. So you don’t want to announce too soon, then have to be let down and let everybody else down.” They were married in November.
MIRANDA LAMBERT is doing another Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars Tour. She’s bringing the Pistol Annies on all the shows . . . while Elle King, Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, and Tenille Townes will open select dates. It’ll get rolling in September 13th in Connecticut. Aug. 30 Allentown, The Great Allentown Fair
BRAD PAISLEY’s “Free” Grocery Store has a high-profile fan. Former President Obama Tweeted out a link and wrote: “Here’s a story about people doing good that’s worth sharing: Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley saw food insecurity in Nashville and decided to do something about it. They just broke ground on a free grocery store to help families in need.”
ADAM SANDLER was with “Saturday Night Live” from 1990 to 1995, but he’s never hosted the show. That changes when he hosts the May 4th episode.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD tweeted a photo of herself taken during her ACM rehearsal . . . and it’s getting a lot of hits. Is it because she’s wearing a Guns N Roses T-shirt, torn jeans, or super high-heel shoes?
A new forever stamp honoring President George H.W. Bush has been announced by the U.S. Postal Service. The stamp features a portrait of Bush painted by artist Michael J. Deas. The first-day-of-issue ceremony will be June 12, the former president’s birthday, at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Texas. In a statement the USPS called Bush an “advocate for public service.”
“The NCAA Championship Game” at 6:15 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Tonight’s final game is Texas Tech vs. Virginia.
“American Idol” at 8:00 p.m. on ABC. Part 2 of the All Star Duets.
“The Voice” at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. Part 3 of the Battle Rounds. Charlie Puth, Kelsea Ballerini, Brooks + Dunn, and Khalid mentor the contestants.
John Schneider is 59. The original Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard”.
Julian Lennon is 56.
Taran Noah Smith is 35.
