On Thursday, the Academy of Country Music announced the hosts for its 56th annual awards ceremony.
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Per a press release sent to The Root, country music singer Mickey Guyton will be making history as the first Black woman to host the ACMAs, where she will be joined by fellow country artist Keith Urban. Guyton previously performed at last yearโs ceremony for the first time, where Urban provided a piano accompaniment for her acclaimed hit โWhat Are You Gonna Tell Her?โ
โAs Iโve said before โif you can see it, you can be it,โ and itโs such an honor to step onto the ACM stage as the first ever Black woman to host the show,โ Guyton expressed in a statement. โOver the years, the Academy of Country Music has always been a home for me through opportunities both onstage and throughout their work on diversity and inclusion. This is a moment of great significance for me and I am so thrilled to share it with all the fans.โ
โIโm beyond thrilled to be co-hosting with my friend Mickey,โ Urban added. โI love that finally everyone will get to see her infectious energy and uber creative spirit in full light.โ
Signed to Capitol Records Nashville in 2011, Guyton released her self-titled EP four years later and was subsequently nominated for her first Academy of Country Music Award for New Female Vocalist in 2016. Back in September 2020, she released Bridges, an EP that included the aforementioned hit, โWhat Are You Gonna Tell Her?โ as well as, โBlack Like Me,โ the latter being released earlier that year in June during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. It was later recognized as one of the Top 10 songs of 2020 by NPR, Billboard and The Associated Press. Speaking on the importance of highlighting reality through a musical lens, Guyton told Taste of Country:
โMusic is supposed to be hopeful, and thatโs the kind of music that Iโve been trying to write: Talk about the issues that have been happening and then hopefully bring people a little hope after I talk about it,โ the singer-songwriter explains. โThe only way we can get better is if we talk about the issue. We canโt just brush it under a rug like so often we doโthatโs so detrimental to your heart. Youโve gotta face it.โ
In addition to hosting the 2021 ACMAs, Guyton has also made history as the first Black female solo artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the country category. Currently up for Best Country Solo Performance, sheโll be performing โBlack Like Meโ at this yearโs ceremony, which airs Sunday, March 14.
The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards will broadcast live on Sunday, April 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
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