Miranda Lambert Shines at ACM Awards

07 Apr, 2014

Country music veteran George Strait and singer Miranda Lambert led the winners at the 49th Academy of Country Music awards, while the genre’s biggest names, including Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Eric Church and Keith Urban, sang their hits.

Strait, 61, won the night’s top prize of Entertainer of the Year, beating out Lambert, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift. Bryan won the title last year.

“Wow. Thank you so much. You know what, I’ve always said I’ve had the best fans in the world and I heard this was a fan voted thing, so I rest my case. This is so amazing, it’s been such an amazing past 30 years,” Strait said.

Shelton, who co-hosted the awards show with Bryan, added “our hero won tonight.”

Lambert won female vocalist, beating out Sheryl Crow, Kacey Musgraves, Carrie Underwood and Swift, and also won single record of the year for her hit “Mama’s Broken Heart.”

“I’m so grateful and thankful and humbled,” the singer said.

The Academy of Country Music is an organization of music industry professionals who aim to promote and preserve the tradition of country music, and they vote for the top country music achievers for their annual awards ceremony.

Jason Aldean won male vocalist for the second consecutive year, calling the win “an even bigger shock this year.”

Rising artist Kacey Musgraves picked up album of the year for her debut studio record “Same Trailer Different Park.”

“I just want to say I’m really proud to be a woman representing country music,” the 25-year-old singer said.

The award for song of the year, which goes to songwriters and composers, was given to Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck.” The song was inspired by Paul Monti, the father of U.S. soldier Jared Monti who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006.

The first award of the night was given to Nashville band Florida Georgia Line, formed by Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, who won vocal duo of the year. The band, which won the coveted New Artist of the Year award last year, presented this year’s fan-voted accolade in the category to newcomer Justin Moore.

Reuters

Image  Getty

Mentioned In This Post: