LeAnn Rimes Returns to ACM Awards, Dan + Shay Soundtrack Jelly Roll & Bunnie Xo Kiss in Opening Medley
The Academy of Country Music Awards kicked off its 60th ceremony with a medley performance of hit songs from throughout its six decades — spanning from the 1960s to the 2010s — with one of its preeminent contemporary power couples sharing a sweet moment in the crowd at its closing.
'I'm proud to sing this one from the late great Merle Haggard,' host Reba McEntire led off the performance by saying, before launching into Haggard's '60s crowd-pleaser 'Okie From Muskogee.' She the introduced '90s hitmaker Clint Black, who took on Glen Campbell's 1975 Billboard Hot 100-topping crossover classic 'Rhinestone Cowboy.'
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Black then handed off to 'one of [his] favorite voices in country music' — the legendary Wynonna Judd, who took the medley into the '80s with the Judds' 1984 country smash 'Why Not Me.' Judd then welcomed LeAnn Rimes back to the ACMs to rep for the '90s, doing so with her 1996 breakout smash 'Blue' — which brought her to national fame at just 14 years old, but which she now sings in a much more mature, stately and less-yodeling manner.
Moving into the 21st century, Little Big Town materialized to perform its award-winning 2015 ballad 'Girl Crush,' followed by Dan + Shay wrapping things with a performance of their 2018 smash 'Tequila,' leading the audience in a loud singalong on the final chorus to close out the song. In the audience, Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo shared a kiss to the hit ballad, as Shay Mooney hit and held a massive high note to close the performance.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
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