Carrie Underwood makes her presense known on-stage

For the third year in a row, Jason Aldean nabbed the coveted Entertainer of the Year award at the 53rd annual ACM Awards on Sunday night.


It was also a huge night for birthday boy Chris Stapleton, who managed to snag three of the eight awards he was nominated for – Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year, which earned him two awards as both an artist and producer. The most exciting moment of his Sunday, however, was the birth of his twin boys, which host Reba McEntire announced after he won his first award of the night.


Miranda Lambert held onto her Female Vocalist of the Year title for the ninth year in a row, continuing to hold the record for most wins in this category. She also scored the Song of the Year Award for “Tin Man,” which brought her two awards as both the artist and the songwriter. Her wins made her the most-awarded artist in ACM Awards history, with 32 wins under her belt. Before Sunday, she was tied with Brooks and Dunn at 29 wins.

Prior to the show, Brothers Osborne were presented with both the Vocal Duo of the Year Award, for the second year in a row, and the Video of the Year Award for “It Ain’t My Fault.”

After several months of recovering from her fall, Carrie Underwood made a triumphant return to the spotlight, performing her new single, “Cry Pretty,” which ended with a long standing ovation and a tearful Carrie. She returned to the stage shortly after to accept the award for Vocal Performance of the Year with Keith Urban, and it was clear she had been crying backstage.

For the first time ever, the show featured a series of ACM Flashback performances, which paid tribute to country hits from 25 years ago. The collaborations included Jon Pardi and Alan Jackson singing Jackson’s hit, “Chattahoochee,” Blake Shelton and Toby Keith performing “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” as well as Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson singing Reba’s hit duet, “Does He Love You,” originally performed with Linda Davis.
Other winners included Old Dominion, Sam Hunt, Lauren Alaina, Midland and Brett Young.
Reba hosted the show for a record 17th time.  

WINNERS:


Entertainer Of The Year Jason Aldean


Male Vocalist Of The Year Chris Stapleton


Female Vocalist Of The Year Miranda Lambert


Vocal Duo Of The Year Brothers Osborne


Vocal Group Of The Year Old Dominion


New Female Vocalist Of The Year  Lauren Alaina


New Male Vocalist of the Year Brett Young


New Duo/Group of the Year Midland


Album of the Year From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton


Single Record Of The Year “Body Like a Back Road” - Sam Hunt


Song Of The Year “Tin Man” - Miranda Lambert (won awards as artist and songwriter)

             
Video Of The Year “It Ain’t My Fault” - Brothers Osborne


Vocal Event Of The Year “The Fighter” - Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood


Songwriter of the Year Rhett Akins