Shania Twain made her mark because the host of the 2026 Academy of Nation Music Awards by paying homage to the ladies who got here earlier than her.
The singer, 60, helmed the 61st ACM Awards on the MGM Grand Backyard Area in Las Vegas on Sunday, Might 17.
“Thanks Las Vegas. Thanks Lainey [Wilson] and congratulations in your wedding ceremony final Sunday. Like Lainey, I can not sit nonetheless both as a result of I let you know I’m so stuffed with power and pleasure that I’m hosing the live performance of the yr for the primary time ever.”
She added, “Tonight the ACM awards are selecting Vegas, and I certain do love this city and nothing makes me happier than being with these wonderful stars sitting proper right here within the entrance.”
Twain then paid homage to a slew of nation music greats, together with girls who hosted the annual occasion earlier than her: Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.
Twain made her ACM Awards internet hosting debut this yr, taking up the position from McEntire.
Shania Twain speaks onstage in the course of the 61st Academy of Nation Music Awards Getty Photographs
“I’m thrilled to be internet hosting the 61st ACM Awards in Las Vegas, a spot that looks like dwelling,” Twain mentioned in an April press launch. “It’s such an honor to be a part of this unimaginable evening celebrating nation music’s greatest stars, particularly with so many gifted girls main nominations this yr. I can’t wait to welcome the entire followers and artists out for this unforgettable evening.”
ACM CEO Damon Whiteside added on the time, “We’re honored to welcome international music famous person Shania Twain as our host this yr. We couldn’t think about a extra excellent icon to comply with our earlier iconic hosts Dolly, Garth [Brooks] and Reba, mixing probably the most essential nights in nation music with the joy of Las Vegas. Shania has a powerful historical past on the ACM Awards stage together with her win of the coveted ACM Entertainer of the Yr trophy and receiving the ACM Poet’s Award honoring her prolific songwriting profession.”
All through her profession, Twain has gained 5 ACM Awards and obtained 14 nominations. Her previous accolades embrace Prime New Feminine Vocalist and Album of the Yr for The Lady in Me in 1996, the Double Diamond Award for The Lady in Me and Come on Over in 1999, Entertainer of the Yr in 2000 and the Poet’s Award in 2022.
Days earlier than her ACMs internet hosting gig, Twain opened up about what she was wanting ahead to on the awards present.
“It’s an opportunity for me to only get again with everyone,” she advised Billboard in an interview revealed on Tuesday, Might 12. “It’s one of many uncommon moments once I get the possibility to see everyone and meet up with a number of the newer artists. Quite a lot of them I’ve not met but, and I’m excited to only be among the many entire expertise of the ACMs.”
After internet hosting the Individuals’s Alternative Nation Awards in 2024, Twain introduced her earlier expertise to her ACM Awards position.
“I wish to put my very own persona into issues as a result of I’m a horrible reader. If I rely fully on the teleprompter, I’m positively going to stumble and get misplaced,” she defined. “I simply actually like having enjoyable and going with the movement, stepping into the joy that I’ll be sharing with the artists who’re performing and up for awards.”
Twain additionally revealed how McEntire, 71 — who has hosted the ACM Awards 18 occasions through the years — impressed her method to overseeing the ceremony.
“In relation to Reba, she’s flawless,” she mentioned. “I’m positively extra of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of individual, very spontaneous, which makes it a unique model and character to internet hosting one thing. However Reba is all the things. She’s humorous, she’s an ideal actress, which makes her actually good at getting the movement of talking and cadence. She’s only a professional.”
