BREAKING: Academy Of Country Music Honors Tenille Townes, Riley Green With Early Award Wins
This morning, the Academy of Country Music revealed Riley Green as the New Male Artist of the Year and Tenille Townes as the New Female Artist of the Year for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be broadcast from Nashville for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 16, airing from three iconic country music venues including the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe.
Keith Urban, host for the upcoming awards show, surprised Townes and Green with the news during a video meeting; both Townes and Green will perform during the upcoming ACM Awards.
“When we had to come off the road back in March, I wasn’t sure what the rest of 2020 would look like,” said Green. “So much has happened in the world since then and I’m really excited to have a moment to play music again. My grandfathers’ love for country music is what led me to this moment and I have to dedicate this award to them. Thank you to everyone who believes in my music enough to let this boy from Alabama get to share his songs like this.”
“I’ll always remember this feeling, standing here as a new artist,” said Townes. “I feel so honored and incredibly grateful just to be a part of this country music community that inspires me. Receiving this ACM Award feels like belief from that community, and that means so much to me.”
“This year’s New Artists have experienced astounding success already, and the Academy feels honored to be able to present them with their first ACM Award win,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We hope this is a memory that they will carry with them as their careers continue to thrive. A huge congratulations to all of this year’s well-deserving nominees and a special thank you to the artists’ teams who helped the Academy pull off the surprise, especially our host Keith Urban for making this moment monumental. We can’t wait to see Riley and Tenille on the 55th ACM Awards stage on September 16!”
In June, Townes issued her sterling full-length project The Lemonade Stand, which includes her Top 30 hit “Somebody’s Daughter,” as well as “Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking),” “Come As You Are,” and “The Most Beautiful Things,” among others. In May, Green issued his acoustic Valley Road EP, which included stripped down versions of his No. 1 hit “There Was This Girl,” and the fan favorite “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” and previewed two previously-unreleased songs called “Better Than Me” and “If It Wasn’t For Trucks.”
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