Keith Urban performs “Blue Ain’t Your Color” during the 2017 ACM Awards. Photo: ACM/Instagram
CBS’ airing of the Academy of Country Music Awards last night (April 2) brought numerous collaborations and award wins for viewers to enjoy, including Florida Georgia Line performing a mashup of “God, Your Mama, and Me”/ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” with pop group Backstreet Boys; Tim McGraw and Faith Hill collaborating on their new single “Speak To A Girl;” Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood‘s dance-infused “The Fighter;” and Thomas Rhett‘s soulful collaboration of “Craving You” with Maren Morris.
Though interesting collaborations usually mean a viewership boost for awards shows, this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards still saw a slight dip in viewership from last year, according to Headline Planet. The ACM Awards topped the evening with 10.85 million viewers and a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49, though those numbers were down from last year’s 11.2 million viewers and 2.3 rating.
The show did face stiff competition in the Walking Dead season finale in the 9-10:30 p.m. time slot, though last year’s ACM Awards faced competition against the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Kelsea Ballerini performs “Yeah Boy” during the 2017 ACM Awards. Photo: ACM/ Instagram
Brothers Osborne perform during the 2017 ACM Awards. Photo: ACM/Instagram
Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris perform “Craving You” during the 2017 ACM Awards. Photo: ACM/Instagram
About the Author
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
