ACM Awards 2018: Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert Added as Performers
The first round of performers for the upcoming 53rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards have been revealed, with some of the genre’s top names and one wave-making outsider rounding out the list.
Nominees Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, and Thomas Rhett will all take the stage in Las Vegas on April 15th. So will Bebe Rexha, the breakout pop singer, who will join duo Florida Georgia Line to perform their hit collaboration “Meant to Be.” The song recently notched its 14th week at Number One on the Hot Country Songs chart, a record for a female-led release.
Each of the artists slated to perform is nominated for at least one award at this year’s show, with Aldean and Ballerini snagging two nods a piece, Lambert and Morris scoring four each and Rhett pulling in a total of six nominations, including two in the Album of the Year category for Life Changes (as both artist and producer). Rhett is also up for Male Vocalist of the Year – an award he won in 2017 – as well as Video of the Year (for “Marry Me”) and Vocal Event of the Year (for “Craving You” with Morris). Aldean has been the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year for the last two years.
As previously announced, country icon Reba McEntire will return to host the night’s proceedings for the fifteenth time, taking over from Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley. McEntire, who is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, previously hosted the show solo from 2001 to 2010 and teamed up with Blake Shelton in 2011 and 2012.
The 53rd ACM Awards, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will air live Sunday, April 15th, at 8 pm ET on CBS.