Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood tied for Entertainer Of The Year at the 55th ACM Awards. For the first time in the history of the awards show that began in 1966, Entertainer Of The Year was shared between two performers.
In an interview with TODAY, Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins shared their excitement and how grateful he is for the win.
“It’s just amazing that even happened in the first place, Carrie’s statement 2020, man is so great,” Rhett said. “It was just nuts, I was standing backstage and I heard Keith say you’re not gonna believe this, it’s a two way tie. And you know for the first time in the history of the awards show that that’s happened, I got out there and I was just like I’ve been doing this now for about eight or nine years and I’m accepting an award with the legendary, iconic Carrie Underwood. It was the most surreal moment of the my life. I’m so happy for her, it’s just amazing.”
Rhett added: “This is an award that I have been dreaming about since I began, me and my band have put so much work into our show and just trying to make it as good as it could possibly be and then last night it just came and went so fast, I think I’m going to need a week to process it to be honest with you. The word is surreal, that’s all I got to say, I think.”
Rhett’s wife Lauren Akins joined the interview to say her thoughts when her Husband won the award too.
“I think we’re both still processing,” Lauren Akins said. “Just watching years and years of him put so much work and energy and love toward country music, and the people who come to the shows and all the people who work with him and what they’ve done to make this happen, it feels like finally after all these years it’s his dream come true, like the ultimate dream come true.”
“It’s so cool to watch. I’m just so proud of him and everybody.”
You can watch Rhett and Underwood’s acceptance speech below.
The 2020 ACM Awards took place in Music City for the first time ever. The three-hour show took place at three iconic venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe.
Hosted by Keith Urban, the star-studded event aired on Wednesday, September 16 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on CBS Television Network and streamed live and on-demand on CBS All Access.
