The 2021 American Country Music Awards Shows Hope for a More Inclusive Future
On Sunday, April 18th, the 56th Annual American Country Music Awards was held to recognize the talented musicians in the country music genre throughout the past year. To adhere to social distancing guidelines while preserving the energy of a live audience, the show was broadcasted from three of Nashville’s iconic music venues: The Grand Ole Opry House, the Bluebird Cafe, and Ryman Auditorium. While we saw many of country music’s common favorites such as Thomas Rett, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and Maren Morris, we can’t ignore the amount of artists of color that were featured throughout the event, and what this means for the future of the genre.
The ACMA’s were a showing of the Academy’s efforts to push country music towards a more diverse and accepting path for the future. The night was geared towards celebrating country music as a whole, however the stage would not have been complete without the faces of the many talented artists of color that have worked to push the industry towards a more modern, inclusive future. This year, the event had a record of four nominations for black/multiracial artists. Within these nominations include Jimmie Allne, Kane Brown, and Mickey Guyton, and -despite his background in soul and R&B- John Legend, who collaborated with country female icon Carrie Underwood on “Hallelujah”, which was one of the tracks for her latest album.
The show succeeded in its display of inclusivity by keeping it natural, rather than trying to shove their attempts of displaying black artists down the audience’s throats. Starting with the selection of hosts for the night, Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton led the event as co-hosts, and later in the night, Guyton also gave an empowering performance of her track “Hold On” The categorization of the artists throughout the awards categories showed that regardless of the color of one’s skin or their background, those with undeniable musical talent should be showcased equally. Additionally, the performances showed black and white country artists sharing the stage in (quite literally) harmony, reinforcing the idea that a shared love for music brings people of all different races together. As Damon Whiteside, the CEO of the American Country Music Academy, stated, this year’s event is a “step in the right direction”.
The night proved to be a huge milestone for black country artists in terms of the awards that were received that night. Kane Brown became the first multiracial artist to win the award for Video of the Year. He also performed “Famous Friends” with Chris Young and was a nominee for Album of the Year. Jimmie Allen, who performed alongside Brad Paisley on “Freedom is a Highway” was awarded New Male Artist of the Year as well. Other black artists took the stage with more powerful performances, and the event made sure to honor some of the influential artists of color that had passed, such as Charley Pride, who passed last December due to complications relating to COVID-19.
Overall, the show could have definitely benefited from more overt acts against racism and towards inclusion. However, the intentionally subtle steps that the event took to forge a more culturally accepting path did not go unnoticed. We are excited to see how the American Country Music Awards and country music as a whole continue to move towards an inclusionary culture in which love for music brings people together.
