The Academy of Country Music Awards aired Monday evening on Amazon Prime Video, and it was amazingly tolerable for an awards show.
For starters, there were no commercials, unless you count the constant plugging for Amazon, which was palatable given the circumstances. But the best part was that it did not feel preachy, unlike every other show in the entertainment industry.
This is likely because, unlike in Hollywood, there is arguably more ideological diversity in the country music scene with both its artists and audience. In fact, a lot of country music by nature focuses on traditional values, so many artists probably have a fear of irritating their liberal colleagues in entertainment or frustrating their conservative audience.
Supreme Leader of Tennessee Dolly Parton hosted the program, but she set the apolitical tone perfectly clear when bringing up the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
“I don’t want to be political and this is not. I’d rather pass a kidney stone than do that,” Parton quipped, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Let’s dedicate this whole show to them and pray for peace around this crazy world,” she added.
Short, simple, and non-controversial? Isn’t it beautiful?
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Widely broadcast award ceremonies can bring up current events, especially when there is an ongoing war and humanitarian crisis; however, hosts, presenters and award winners do not need to shove an agenda down the viewer’s throat.
Other than Parton’s joke about preferring to pass a kidney stone than getting involved in this irrational climate, there were almost no other notable political statements — unless you count people thanking their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when accepting their award as political.
There was a significant emphasis on music, including roughly 30 minutes dedicated to solid performances. One thing that was highly respectable about the ACM Awards was how artists seemed to genuinely care about one another, rather than just race to see who can be the most relevant.
The whole concept of a celebrity using his or her platform is not a bad thing, but Americans have clearly gotten sick of being talked at.
Morning Brew reported that award shows such as the Oscars and the Grammys hit new lows of viewership in 2021, with the Oscars only garnering 10.4 million viewers and the Grammys getting 9.2 million. A least some of this probably has to do with half the country being constantly insulted.
But not all award shows are created equal and are facing the same doom. The Screen Actors Guild Awards saw an uptick in viewers last month compared to their remote ceremony the year before, which goes to show that people would rather watch an in-person event than an awkward remote one.
Still, the ACMs served as a refreshing break from the news cycle. Country artists are not politicians, foreign policy experts, or pundits, so they did not pretend to be. And for that, we should all be grateful.
