When Nashville takes over Las Vegas, you know it’s going to be a wild night.
That’s what happened Sunday night (April 2) when practically every one of country’s biggest names came together for the Academy of Country Music Awards at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. While there were a couple of not-so-great moments throughout the performance-filled show — including a shot at the infamous Oscars flub during the first award of the night — most of the night was pretty great.
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Whether you did or didn’t get a chance to watch this year’s show, take a look at our best and worst moments from the 2017 ACM Awards below:
BEST: Nicole Kidman jamming to Keith Urban‘s performance
Despite the fact that Kidman’s hit HBO show Big Little Lies had its biggest episode of the season on the same night, she attended the ACMs in support of her husband, who performed twice. During Urban’s solo performance of “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and duet with Carrie Underwood on their collaboration “The Fighter,” the camera couldn’t help catching glimpses of a proud Kidman getting her groove on to her hubby’s show.
WORST: The rather predictable La La Land joke
It wouldn’t be a post-Oscars awards show without a jab at Warren Beatty’s flub at this year’s Academy Awards. As David Copperfield and Nancy O’Dell announced the first award, song of the year, they seemed a little confused by what the card said — only to go on saying the award belonged to Emma Stone for La La Land. Of course, that got a cackle or two out of the audience, but at this point, that joke is a little past-due.
BEST: Kelsea Ballerini’s romper
While Ballerini has already established herself as a princess of country music, her ACMs performance of latest hit “Yeah Boy” really showed that she’s on her way to Taylor Swift-like success. Not only did she totally nail the vocals, but she also sported a sparkly pink romper that had “superstar” written all over it.
WORST: Brothers Osborne getting cut off so early
Although it’s arguable that Brothers Osborne was one of the lesser-known acts to appear at the 2017 ACM Awards, it’s also arguable that they should be a bigger deal in the country world. So when they were only given a performance slot of about half of their song “It Ain’t My Fault” after winning the ACM for vocal duo of the year, Brothers Osborne fans everywhere (including us) were likely pretty peeved.
Hey @brothersosborne, can you stay on the #ACMs stage a little longer? — #ACMsUnlimited pic.twitter.com/9N4Futi13s
— T-Mobile– (@TMobile) April 3, 2017
BEST: Lady Antebellum highlight the UNLV marching band
How do you jazz up an already jazzy song onstage? Bringing in a marching band, of course. That’s exactly what Lady Antebellum did for their ACMs performance of “You Look Good,” enlisting the help of the University of Las Vegas marching band and providing one of the night’s most dynamic performances.
WORST: Sam Hunt makes his fiancée a bit uncomfortable during his performance
Considering country fans were rather shocked to hear that Sam Hunt was engaged to Hannah Lee Fowler in January, it’s pretty safe to say that he’s kept his relationship out of the spotlight. As he performed his latest hit “Body Like a Back Road” on the ACMs, he surprised his fiancée by joining her in the crowd — and while fans may have thought it was an adorable moment, it was rather easy to see that she wasn’t the most excited about putting their relationship on display.
BEST: Faith Hill and Tim McGraw showing us what love is
Just watching Faith Hill and Tim McGraw perform together is all country fans need to know that their love is still very much alive, but they really made hearts melt at the ACMs. Hill jumped into McGraw’s arms as soon as they finished a performance of their latest joint single, “Speak to a Girl,” and the two even shared a kiss before cameras panned away. Is there an ACM for Country Couple of the Year?
THE BEST OF THE BEST: Florida Georgia Line and Backstreet Boys do the “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” dance
Even if you don’t enjoy ’90s nostalgia as much as others, it was pretty hard to not be excited about the closing performance of the night. After the Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgia Line delivered an as-expected performance of their collaboration “God, Your Mama, and Me,” they made jaws drop by going straight into BSB’s hit “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” Everyone was already on their feet dancing and singing along, but when it came time for the iconic dance and FGL joined in, it was clear that this was definitely the best part of everyone’s night.
Me and @TheTimMcGraw have the same reaction to @backstreetboys and @FLAGALine‘s performance! #ACMAwards #ACMs #BackstreetBoys pic.twitter.com/DprLUlhGxa
— Selena Garza (@SelenaGarza) April 3, 2017
HONORABLE MENTION: Tim McGraw’s reaction to FGL/BSB
Actions speak louder than words.
The ACM Awards are produced by dick clark productions. DCP is part of Eldridge Industries, the U.S. holding company whose assets also include the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group.
