Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde Win ACM Award for Music Event of the Year

Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde were just crowned ACM Awards winners, taking home the Music Event of the Year trophy for “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” at the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards.

The award was given off-camera ahead of the two-hour ACM Awards show.  

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is currently climbing the charts at country radio and appears on Pearce’s latest album, 29: Written In Stone. 

“Ashley knows how to bring real emotion to a song like this.” Pearce says of her co-writer. “Songs about cheating aren’t something you hear much anymore, but I don’t think it’s because it doesn’t happen. When Ashley and I sat down to write, we wanted to dig into something so classically country and really play to our roots. This is what happened, and people have been responding in such a way that it makes me believe there is a place in the world for real country.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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McBryde agrees. “Not everyone is brave enough to go straight into the raw parts in the writing room. When we were trying to decide what to write about, Carly’s like me: someone who wants to jump into the deep end. So we took ‘being the other woman,’ something that’s typically a little taboo, and turned it into a reflective moment, where two women are forced to face being someone they never intended. And, it doesn’t hurt that it’s a lot of fun to sing, too.”

Pearce and McBryde are set to perform the song during the ACM Awards on Monday evening. 

The ACM Music Event of the Year trophy is awarded to the artist(s), producer(s), and the record label(s). 

Also nominated in the Music Event of the Year category were “Buy Dirt” by Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan, “Famous Friends” by Chris Young and Kane Brown, “Half Of My Hometown” by Kelsea Ballerini featuring Kenny Chesney, and “If I Didn’t Love You” by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood. 

Co-hosted by global icon Dolly Parton with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, the two-hour show will air without commercials and will feature 20+ performances from some of country music’s hottest superstars and rising newcomers.

The performance lineup includes Parker McCollum and Lainey Wilson, who have been crowned this year’s New Male and New Female Artist of the Year, respectively as well as Barrett, Allen, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Walker Hayes, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Thomas Rhett, Chris Young, Lady A and Kelly Clarkson. 

“The concert event of the year” will also include several collaborations, including Parton featuring Kelsea Ballerini (“Big Dreams & Faded Jeans”), BRELAND featuring Thomas Rhett (“Praise The Lord”), Jordan Davis (“Buy Dirt,” feat. Luke Bryan), Brothers Osborne and Brittney Spencer (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”), Parmalee and Blanco Brown featuring Brooke Eden (“Just the Way”), Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (“Never Wanted to Be That Girl”), and Chris Young featuring Mitchell Tenpenny (“At the End of a Bar”).

The 2022 ACM Awards presenters include Alan Ritchson (actor, Reacher), Derek Carr (quarterback, Las Vegas Raiders), Guy Torry (comedian, Phat Tuesdays), James Patterson (author, Run Rose Run), Jason Aldean, Kelsey Asbille (actor, Yellowstone), Luke Grimes (actor, Yellowstone), Mickey Guyton, and Tom Pelphrey (actor, Outer Range).

The ACM Awards will make history as this marks the first major awards show to livestream exclusively as it will stream live on Prime Video in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.