Country music went for the glitz of Sin City on Dec. 6, 2010, during the first-ever American Country Awards, which were broadcast live on FOX-TV from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Hollywood actors, extreme-sports figures and comedians, along with one of rock’s favorite rockers, Bret Michaels, rubbed shoulders on the red carpet, in the aisles and backstage at the inaugural country-music event, which recognized artists in the traditional categories, as well as within previously unrecognized areas of the business such as touring.
Country Fans Chose the Winners in the 2010 American Country Awards
The ACAs were a completely fan-voted contest, with country-music enthusiasts voting online for their favorite performers. In the beginning, trio Lady Antebellum and Easton Corbin led the competition in overall nods, with seven each, while Carrie Underwood followed with six nominations. And notably, some of the genre’s favorite performers who are often overlooked by the Academy of Country Music Awards and the annual CMA competitions—such as Toby Keith and Jason Aldean—were front and center during the ACAs.
Country star Trace Adkins served as host of the inaugural ACA event, which featured live performances by the aforementioned Aldean and Keith, as well as Luke Bryan, Easton Corbin, Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Steel Magnolia, Josh Turner and pop-meets-country crossover artist Uncle Kracker.
Country Star Carrie Underwood Collects Six American Country Awards
In terms of awards, when all the final ballots were calculated, Oklahoma native Underwood walked away with the most ACA trophies, taking top honors in the Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year: Female contests, in addition to the Album of the Year category for her Play On CD and in the Single of the Year category for Cowboy Casanova. The newlywed songstress also collected the ACA’s Touring Headline Package of the Year honor and its Music Video: Female prize for her Cowboy Casanova music clip.
Country Group Lady Antebellum Sweeps the 'Group or Duo' Categories
Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, also known as Lady Antebellum, garnered a collection of ACA honors in four contests by sweeping the Artist of the Year: Duo or Group, not to mention the Single of the Year: Duo or Group and the Single of the Year categories, the latter two of which were won thanks to the title cut from their latest album, Need You Now. Last but not least, the Lady A lineup also collected the Music Video: Duo or Group win for the players’ music video in honor of Need You Now.
Country Music’s Easton Corbin Yields His First Country Music Awards
Florida native Easton Corbin dominated all the ACA’s categories for new artists by earning a trio of trophies; namely, the Breakthrough Artist of the Year, along with the Music Video: Breakthrough Artist and Single of the Year: Breakthrough Artist, both of which were earned by his debut-hit, A Little More Country Than That. In a bit of ACA history, Corbin was the very first ACA recipient during its 2010 debut, never mind that the singer-songwriter's ACA trophies also marked his first-ever industry trophies.
Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins Team to Win Two Country Music Awards
ACA host and Louisiana native Adkins, who collaborated with Oklahoman hit-maker Blake Shelton this past year to spawn the country hit titled Hillbilly Bone saw their musical partnership pay off at the American Country Awards when the pair won the show’s Music Video of the Year and Music Video: Male contests for the music clip in honor of their collective hit.
Country Stars Earn Solo ACA Wins
A smattering of artists, all male, took home a single win from the debut ACA competition, including Brad Paisley, Artist of the Year: Male; Josh Turner, Single of the Year: Male for Why Don’t We Just Dance; country group Rascal Flatts, Decade Award; Georgia native Alan Jackson, Greatest Hits Award; and the CMA-boycotting Toby Keith, who landed the Video Visionary Award.
The ACA broadcast was overseen by Bob Bain, executive producer, with co-producer Fletcher Foster, supervising producer Greg Sills and director Michael Dempsey.
Lisa L. Rollins - Texas native Lisa L. Rollins, Ph.D., is an award-winning feature writer, interviewer and journalism educator.
