Ronnie Dunn Will ‘Bleed Red’ at the ACM Awards
Although the official list of performers has yet to be announced for the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards show, Ronnie Dunn has confirmed he will take the ACM stage to perform his new solo single, 'Bleed Red.' While the veteran entertainer, as one half of Brooks & Dunn, has amassed numerous awards show performances, he's a bit nervous to take the stage solo, surrounded by his peers at the star-studded live telecast in April.
"Pressure. I feel it every time I walk up there to do it, and hoping I can deliver that vocal," Ronnie tells The Boot of his pre-performance nerves. The singer also revealed he will be doing a special show while he is in Las Vegas for the awards, even though he had been warned not to spill the beans.
"I'm doing an event the night before -- I was told not to say -- but that's going to have a bearing out there in that desert air, doing a full-blown concert the night prior to [the awards show]. But, hey, if I squeak, I've done it before."
'Bleed Red,' the first single from Ronnie's upcoming solo album, has blown up the phones and email accounts at country radio, making it one of the most popular songs of the week. Ronnie jokingly says it's because his radio friends are playing the song as a favor to him. "I'm blown away by the fact that it jumped out -- two weeks ahead of time -- and was most added. I'm going to go hide somewhere and let this thing do its deal and not get in the way. I feel like a lot of it is just friendship with people over the years [laughs]. I'm very grateful."
Ronnie snatched up the song as quickly as he could after listening to it, and added it to his forthcoming album at the last minute. "This song picked me. I had the record, it was finished. I was good to go," he explains. "I thought I was headed to the honky-tonks and beer joints to kick out a few lights, and it drops out of the sky at the last moment. I'm thinking, 'Just for the sake of some silly competition, I've got to beat [U2's] Bono to the punch,' because he has that big Red campaign going on. [laughs] A lot of crazy things went through my mind. But lo and behold, this is the single they picked to come out first."
While many of the nation's country radio stations are already playing the song, fans can also take a listen to 'Bleed Red' online at Ronnie's website. The song will be available for download at online retailers beginning February 8.
Catch Ronnie's performance of 'Bleed Red' on the 46th Annual ACM Awards live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 3 at 8:00 PM ET/delayed PT on CBS.
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