The 2020 ACM Awards will certainly go down in history, for more than one reason. After first changing both the date and the location, moving from April to September and from Las Vegas to Nashville because of COVID-19, the show also continued without a live audience. But most memorable might be that Carrie Underwood and Thomas Rhett both tied for Entertainer of the Year, with both of them walking away with the trophy for the night’s biggest honor.
“This is the most unusual awards show I’ve been to, but I think that everybody did such a great job, and really came together to celebrate music,” Carrie said backstage in a virtual press room. “It’s that thing where everybody’s just figuring out how to do what we do in a different way.”
Carrie was so stunned by the double win that she forgot to thank the people most important to her: her husband, Mike Fisher, and children Isaiah and Jacob.
“I’m a dummy for not mentioning my husband or my children in my acceptance speech,” Carrie said. “You would think after this many years, and seeing other people do speeches, and giving some of my own, I would think of people that are important to me, but I’m sorry. I do love my children and my husband.”
Carrie also performed a tribute to female legends who have gone before her, including Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and more. The 37-year-old is encouraged by the rise in popularity of female artists in country music, after a time when male artists dominated both charts and the stage.
“You can’t have too much of a good thing, so I would always love to see more women, and more women represented and given opportunities,” Carrie reflected. “But we’ve been taking steps in the right direction for a while now, which is really nice to see. Like tonight, not only having newer artists, Tenille Townes and Mickey Guyton get to get on stage and do what they do, but also me getting to honor some of the women that, we’re all standing on their shoulders, as I said. I think it was a really great night for that, for females in country music, and I look forward to more.”
Carrie also gushed about winning Entertainer of the Year on social media, while still clutching her przied possession.
Backstage with #EntertainerOfTheYear @CarrieUnderwood! 👏 #ACMawards pic.twitter.com/GP5dFKg1UM
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) September 17, 2020
“This was just such an unbelievable night,” Carrie said shortly after her win. “It was an honor for me in so many ways. I got to honor some of my heroes and of course, walk away with one of these, so it was a great night.”
See the complete list of winners here.