Carrie Underwood has come a long way since she won Season 4 of American Idol back in
2005. The super-successful country singer was born and grew up in Checotah, Oklahoma,
and there's no doubt she grew up with the sounds of country music all around her.
During this year's ACM Awards she had the opportunity to pay tribute to some of the
women who came before her that helped define the genre. Before her performance, Underwood
honored her predecessors by saying,
"Patsy and Loretta, Martina and Barbara, Reba and Dolly. These strong voices mean so much
to me and to all the other female artists who stand on their shoulders. They are some
of my heroes, and I am so honored to stand alongside them as a fellow member of the Grand
Ole Opry. It's my pleasure to pay tribute to these legendary ladies as we celebrate
the Opry's 95th anniversary."
The tribute, which was sung on the Opry's stage, featured cuts from country music's
trailblazing female vocalists. The medley included Patsy Cline's hit "Crazy," Loretta
Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough," Barbara Mandrell's "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool,"
Dolly Parton's "Why'd You Come in Here," Reba McEntire's "The Night the Lights Went Out
in Georgia," and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing."
In 1960, Patsy Cline was given the opportunity to join the Grand Ole Opry; she was also recognized
for her achievements in 1973 when she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame,
becoming the first woman to do so. Lynn joined the Opry two years after Cline did, in 1962;
Parton became part of the great country music institution in 1969; Mandrell joined in 1972,
McEntire in 1986, and McBride joined in 1995. And Underwood became part of the country music
tradition by joining the Opry in 2008.
"I was asked by the management here at the Grand Ole Opry to come out and ask you if
you would like to be their next member."
Thanks to social distancing protocols, fans and artists could only appreciate Underwood's
powerful performance from afar. But she didn't just wow the audience with her vocals. Underwood
also made her fans catch a breath with two fashion ensembles worthy of country music
royalty. She opened the show with the song "Before He Cheats" wearing a gold, V-neck
Charles and Ron minidress, with oversized sleeves, and stiletto sandals with gold trim.
For her memorable tribute to the queens of country music, Underwood emerged in a romantic
princess gown decorated with floral embroidery.
Twitter lit up with fans applauding Underwood's moving tribute, with one fan tweeting:
"That was amazing! @CarrieUnderwood thank god for your talent and thank god you are
there to keep #countrymusic alive."
Another fan tweeted a photo of Underwood, saying:
"This picture below is a picture of a QUEEN...A very talented country music superstar! @carrieunderwood
is absolutely incredible and that performance on the @opry stage on the @ACMawards was beyond
words!"
Carrie Underwood's powerful performances at the ACM awards only served to heighten her
fans' disappointment when they found out that not only did she lose out on the female artist
of the year award, she also had to share the entertainer of the year award with fellow
vocalist Thomas Rhett, as both emerged with a tie in votes. ACM host Keith Urban said
the event had to be a first in ACM history. One Twitter user fumed on social media in
a now-deleted tweet,
"Of course they had to make the ACM Awards Entertainer a Tie and make sure a man still
won, couldn't let a well deserving, hard working woman have it this year on her own."
Another fan tweeted,
"Seriously?!? What are you gonna tell her?...When you can't have Entertainer of the year by
yourself...and it needs to be shared with a man. Y'all know nobody compares to @carrieunderwood
right now!"
Another Twitter user voiced support for the criticism of ACM, writing,
"Exactly. They should be ASHAMED. They know @carrieunderwood is so gracious; I would've
told them to take their award and shove it!"
Win, lose, or draw, it seems like Carrie Underwood's fans will be talking about this year's ACMs
for some time to come.
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