On March 1, Reba McEntire went on CBS This Morning to announce the nominees of the 53rd ACM Awards, which will be held on Sunday, April 15.
Chris Stapleton led the pack with eight nominations, followed by Thomas Rhett with six, and Keith Urban and songwriter Shane McAnally tied with four. Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris lead the female nominations with four each. McEntire herself is up for Female Vocalist of the Year!
Country stars reacted on social media to their nominations, but one nominee took hers to new heights. Carly Pearce, who burst onto the scene last year with her debut single “Every Little Thing,” was on a flight when the nominations were announced. She was one of the four nominees for New Female Vocalist alongside Lauren Alaina, RaeLynn, and Danielle Bradbery – and her reaction is priceless.
The flight attendant on her Southwest Airlines flight took over the speaker and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, can we have your attention for just a moment? We have country recording artist Carly Pearce on board this morning and she just found out she received her first ACM nomination for New Female Vocal Artist of the Year. Let’s give her a round of applause!”
The passengers erupted in applause and Pearce herself started screaming in excitement.
She shared a photo with her, the flight crew, and the fellow passengers on Facebook, writing, “WHEN YOU’RE 35,000 FT IN THE AIR & FIND OUT YOU JUST GOT YOUR FIRST ACM AWARD NOMINATION FOR NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR!! I can’t put into words how I feel– THANK YOU Academy of Country Music!”
https://www.facebook.com/CarlyPearceMusic/photos/rpp.307275599254/10156437980929255/?type=3&theater
While she didn’t win the award – Lauren Alaina did – it’s still a huge honor to be nominated! Congrats!
Check out her performance of her breakout hit “Every Little Thing” below.