Reba McEntire on Hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards

Hey, Guideposts, I’m Reba McEntire, and I’m hosting the ACM awards this year. This is my 16th year to host the ACMs. What keeps me coming back? Fun and entertainment. I love live television. And two, I get to see all my buddies while I’m in Vegas. That’s my second home.

The Academy of Country Music Awards means to me that people get acknowledged, and they win awards for things that they’ve done in the year before. It’s kind of a pat on the back and saying, “Way to go, we’re behind you all the way.”

Well, what you can look forward to this year at the ACMs is lots of great music, fun times, funny jokes by me, and getting to see what everybody’s wearing this year. I’ve got all my outfits all lined up, ready to go. I’ll never forget at the ACMs one year, George Strait came out and sang, “I Saw God Today” and I walked out, and after he got through singing that song, it touched my heart so much I could barely talk.

Prayer is always a very important thing for me, especially before a show. I ask the Holy Spirit to walk for me, talk for me, sing for me, guide me, make sure I know all the words and that they come out of my mouth where people can understand it. And if I’m singing, I pray that that what I’m singing will touch their heart like it touched my heart the first time I heard that song.

Well, butterflies before an ACM show is a thing that everybody has to deal with. I found, though, that after I take that first step out on the stage at the very beginning of the show, and after I say the first line, I’m OK. One of my favorite outfits that I did wear at the ACMs in the past was a peach-colored ball gown. It was a halter top, and it had a big, like Cinderella, bottom. I loved it.

And how does my style compare today from way back in the back days, the olden days, years gone by, like 16 back? Drastically. I really didn’t know what my sense of style was back when I first hosted the ACMs, and now I am more in tune with my body, what I like to wear. Usually, it’s something very comfortable, that the shoes are comfortable too. And I have wonderful people helping me with selecting the outfits and make sure that the song and the outfit go together. They’re not fighting each other.