The country superstar will return to emcee the show for a record 17th time
Nobody has hosted more Academy of Country Music Awards telecasts than Reba McEntire, who first hoisted a microphone to read folksy jokes off a teleprompter in 1986. Her determination to hold onto that rare statistic has led her to agree to host the show yet again next month, marking her record 17th appearance.
The ceremony will be the 59th ACMs, so if Rolling Stone’s math editors and research department are correct, that means McEntire will have emceed a whopping 28.8 percent of all ACMs. (That’s a larger percentage than Bob Hope, the Oscars’ most omnipresent host, who led the show 19 times, or only 19.8 precent of all Academy Awards. Billy Crystal, incidentally, accounts for only 9.4 percent.)
To witness McEntire’s tireless spirit firsthand, you can go to the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, on May 16 or just watch the telecast on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET. And just to show that she doesn’t find hosting awards shows demanding enough, the artist — who won ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1994 and holds the most nominations for Female Artist of the Year — will also perform brand new music.
“I am tickled to pieces to get to host the ACM Awards for the 17th time!” McEntire said in a statement. “What an honor to have been part of the past, present, and now the future of the Academy of Country Music with Amazon Prime Video. I can’t wait to get to Texas and see everybody May 16th!”
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The ACMs will announce other performers and presenters in the weeks leading up to the event. And if you miss the livestream, Prime will make it available the next day for free via Amazon Freevee and the Amazon Music app. And if you miss it altogether, there’s always an outside chance McEntire will host again.
Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, and Morgan Wallen are the leading nominees. The 2024 ACMs also marks the return of the New Duo or Group of the Year award — with nods for Neon Union, Restless Road, and Tigirlily Gold — for the first time since 2018.