17th time is the charm: Reba McEntire set to host the 2024 ACM Awards in May
For the 17th time in the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards' 59-year history, Country Music Hall of Famer Reba McEntire will host the event on May 16 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CMT / 5 p.m. PT, streaming live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Amazon's Prime Video from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
McEntire was the 1994 ACM Entertainer of the Year and has won 16 ACM Awards overall, including her first victory in 1984. The "Fancy" vocalist first co-hosted the event in 1986 and last hosted the event solo in Las Vegas in 2019.
Via a press statement, she offered the following note:
"I am tickled to pieces to get to host the ACM Awards for the 17th time! What an honor to have been part of the past, present and now the future of the Academy of Country Music with Amazon Prime Video. I can't wait to get to Texas and see everybody on May 16th!"
A limited number of tickets to the 59th ACM Awards offering fans exclusive entry, VIP seating and bonus exclusive event attendance privileges are available on SeatGeek.
Who is nominated for the 59th ACM Awards?
At 2024's festivities, a win via Combs or Wilson's nomination for Entertainer of the Year would clinch being honored with the coveted Triple Crown Award, which consists of an Entertainer of the Year win plus wins in an act's respective New Artist (Male, Female, Duo, or Group) and Artist (Male, Female, Duo or Group) categories. Other artists who've achieved this feat include Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood.
Overall, Combs leads all artists with eight nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Single of the Year, plus Music Event of the Year alongside Riley Green for their song "Different 'Round Here."
Nominees speak on their success
Megan Moroney garnered the most ACM nods for a female artist with six nominations, including Female Artist of the Year and New Female Artist of the Year. Moroney's nominations include being highlighted for Song of the Year as artist and songwriter for "Tennessee Orange," Visual Media of the Year, and Music Event of the Year for "Can't Break Up Now" alongside Old Dominion.
As well, Jelly Roll is among a dozen first-time ACM award nominees for 2024, including Kassi Ashton, Tyler Childers, Ashley Cooke, Hannah Ellis, Flatland Cavalry, Kameron Marlowe, Kylie Morgan, Neon Union, Restless Road, Conner Smith and Tigirlily Gold.
To The Tennessean, Moroney cited the relationship she and her fans are building, built upon her songwriting and storytelling's evolving "honesty and vulnerability," as key to her success. Jelly Roll, a first-time nominee for Entertainer of the Year, believes that the marriage of his music and message allows him the "staying power and the ability to make broader and bigger cultural and musical splashes than (he already has)."
Best New Duo or Group award nominees Tigirlily Gold (sisters Kendra and Krista Slabaugh of Hazen, North Dakota) add that their nomination "reflects how (they're maturing in the country music artist community."
"Being loved by artists we'll always appreciate as fans—and now receiving honors similar to those they achieved—is as amazing as it is inspiring."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Reba McEntire takes to the stage once again as 2024 ACM Awards host
