Jon Blistein
Contact Jon Blistein by Email View all posts by Jon Blistein May 17, 2026
Shania Twain delivered a monologue that nodded to past ACM Awards hosts to open the 61st ACMs. Ethan Miller/Getty Shania Twain kicked off the 61st annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night with a monologue that nodded to past ACMs hosts.
“Tonight, the ACM Awards are choosin’ Vegas. I sure do love this town,” the pop-country superstar said onstage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, before going on to shout out past hosts, including women like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Reba McEntire, and men like Charley Pride, Glen Campbell, and Kenny Rogers.
Twain, who will release her new album Little Miss Twain in July, connected the ACMs to her own history as well. “What a time this is for country music,” she said. “Exactly 30 years ago I was honored with my first ACM Award… I can’t believe how long this journey has been.”
This marks Twain’s first time hosting the ACM Awards, though she previously helmed the People’s Choice Country Awards in 2024. In a recent interview with Billboard, Twain explained her approach to hosting as “having fun and going with the flow, getting into the excitement that I’ll be sharing with the artists who are performing and up for awards.”
