Reba McEntire’s 6 Greatest ACM Awards Moments
After more than half a dozen years away, Reba McEntire returned to host the ACM Awards in 2018 -- and, lucky for fans, they're bringing her back again in 2019. The seasoned vet has provided audiences with no shortage of great entertainment during her previous years as host; from side-splitting comedy to moving duets, McEntire knows how to cover the spectrum of human emotion onstage.
McEntire hosted the ACM Awards for the first time in 1986, with Mac Davis and John Schneider, and then returned in 1988 to co-host with Hank Williams Jr. In 1993, McEntire shared hosting duties for the ACM Awards with Randy Owen and George Strait, and she and Alan Jackson co-hosted the ceremony in 1995. McEntire finally hosted the ACM Awards solo for the first time in 1999, and then every year from 2001 through 2010.
McEntire and Blake Shelton co-hosted the ceremony in 2011 and 2012, before McEntire bowed out to make room for Luke Bryan as Shelton's co-host. Read on to re-live some of McEntire's best ACM Awards moments, both as the host and as a winner.
This Historical Nod
2018When McEntire and Kelly Clarkson teamed up to sing McEntire's 1993 hit "Does He Love You" during the 2018 ACM Awards, it was a throwback -- and not just because of the song. McEntire appeared onstage for the performance in the same red dress that she wore in 1993 to perform the duet at the CMA Awards onstage with her former singing partner, Linda Davis.
"I didn't tell [the dress' designer] Sandi [Spika] I was going to bring it back and wear it tonight. I saw her reaction, I saw her in the audience, she was crying," McEntire explained.
"It fit, really pleased," the country icon added.
Her Crystal Milestone Award Win
2015McEntire's Crystal Milestone Award, received at the 50th annual ACM Awards in 2015, recognized her record number of Female Vocalist of the Year wins (which account for seven of her 16 ACM trophies). The honor came on the 10th anniversary of her Entertainer of the Year win in 1995.
She Keeps 'Em Laughing
2009"Some things are just meant to be together: ham and eggs, surf and sand, George Clooney and me."
Okay, so her time as host of the 2009 ACM Awards didn't snag her a date with Clooney, but McEntire did keep the audience in stitches with a steady flow of well-delivered humor. But that's just her style: McEntire is always good for a laugh, which is one of the reasons she's been invited back to host so often.
This Performance of "Because of You"
2007McEntire and Clarkson's show-stopping 2018 performance wasn't their first on the ACM Awards stage: In 2007, McEntire joined her daughter-in-law-to-be for a performance of "Because of You." Clarkson originally released the song in 2005, and the two re-recorded the track as a duet in 2007.
Fun fact: In 2015, when McEntire won her Crystal Milestone Award, Clarkson (now married to McEntire's stepson, Brandon Blackstock), participated in the festivities.
She's a Master of Improv ... Er, Sorta
2004At the 2004 ACM Awards, McEntire and Dick Clark needed to stall. Stagehands were trying to find Keith Urban's guitar, leaving McEntire and Clark to entertain the crowd with their best (er, worst) jokes. McEntire pulled out an old one that, at least according to her, got a better reception than when she once told it years before.
Her First Entertainer of the Year Victory
1995McEntire is one of only seven women in ACM Awards history to win Entertainer of the Year. Her victory in 1995 -- her first in the category -- meant beating out legends such as Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and Garth Brooks.