Backstage At The ACMs

Country Countdown USA was backstage during the ACM Awards in Las Vegas. The winners came to speak with us moments after accepting their awards. As you can imagine, they were still a little shocked and stunned. For example, Cody Johnson said this about winning his first Entertainer of the Year award. “Looking back at this moment, it’s kind of surreal. I haven’t let it soak in yet. For a cowboy, this is that gold buckle I’ve been chasin’ my whole life. It kind of validates the sacrifices I made at the beginning. They told me the cowboy hat wouldn’t work. I believed if I endured, it would eventually come back. I never thought it would come down to Entertainer of the Year.”

Cody also won Male Artist of the Year. He told us he figured that would be the only award he was going to get: “To be honest, when they called it for Male Artist, I thought that’s it. That’s the one I got. There was a soberness, that was the award I was gonna get. I had no emotion or nerves for Entertainer. I figured I’d just stand up for whoever won. When I heard the “c” for Cody, I felt like I sank into my seat. If I never win another award, I’ve accomplished what I’ve wanted to do, but this is just the start.”

When Parker McCollum co-hosted the Countdown, he told Lon he poured everything he had into his latest album. He took a lot of risks, recording it in a studio in New York City, rather than Nashville. Then, that album won the ACM award for Album of the Year. Backstage, Parker said this: “I’ve performed at these awards shows, and looked out at Chris Stapleton, or Miranda Lambert, or George Strait, they are the GOATs. I never feel like I belong with those people. But maybe just for a night I do. I’m so blessed, I’ve already won before this award. Nobody will ever beat me for the woman I married and the family I come from.

The highlight of the night, at least for us backstage, was telling Parker that his friend Cody Johnson had just won Entertainer of the Year. He didn’t know. His reaction was priceless: “Did he really? Let’s GO! Yes! Love that. I’ve always looked up to him a lot. He’s a true cowboy, represents Texas as good as anyone. I’m always seeking his approval.”

We did get a little bit of news from Brooks & Dunn. A big part of their comeback has been the release of the two Reboot albums. I asked if there would be a Reboot 3. “Those Reboot projects, the people around that take care of us. They came up with that initiative. We’re actually working on a new project. A new Sony project. Right in the middle of it. Working with Dan Huff.”

Tags: acm awards, featured

Category: CO-HOST