SOURCE Academy of Country Music
Winners have been announced for the 50th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, a star-studded ceremony broadcast LIVE tonight on the CBS Television Network from AT&T Stadium, Home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, TX. The Awards show moved to Texas for the first time ever in celebration of its 50th Anniversary. Fans named Luke Bryan as Entertainer of the Year, the evening’s biggest honor and his second win in this category. The 50th ACM Awards broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Highest Attendance at an Awards Show Broadcast with a total of 70,252 fans in attendance.
Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Reba, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Brooks & Dunnwere honored with the 50th Anniversary Milestone Award and presented with an exclusive trophy designed by America’s premier jewelry and timepiece designer, David Yurman. Like the jewelry designs of David Yurman, this ACM trophy is a timeless piece of craftsmanship that will be treasured for a lifetime.
Jason Aldean won Male Vocalist of the Year for the third consecutive year. Aldean has won an overall total of eight ACM Awards.
Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist of the Year for the sixth consecutive year, setting a new record for the most consecutive wins in that category. Lambert also won Album of the Year for Platinum, and Song of the Year for “Automatic” as artist and songwriter, that made her the leading winner of the night with a total of four awards.
Little Big Town won Vocal Group of the Year award for the second time, making this their fourth overall ACM win.
Florida Georgia Line won Vocal Duo of the Year, marking their second win of the night after previously accepting the award for Vocal Event of the Year. They have won an overall total of five ACM Awards since 2012.
Cole Swindell won New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s Department Stores, a fan-voted category. This award marks his first-ever ACM Award win.
Prior to the show, Florida Georgia Line won Vocal Event of the Year for “This Is How We Roll” featuring Luke Bryan, and Dierks Bentley won Video of the Year for “Drunk on a Plane.” The artists were surprised with the award on the red carpet during the LIVE ACM pre-show.
Additionally, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ made several surprise presentations throughout the evening.Alabama has set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Most Consecutive Wins as ACM Entertainer of the Year. Alabama was honored with the Academy’s most prestigious honor five years in a row between 1981 and 1985. Brooks & Dunn set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles for the Most Wins for ACM Vocal Duo of the Year, which they won 16 times, and Most Consecutive Wins for ACM Vocal Duo of the Year which they won eight times. Rascal Flatts has set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles for the Most Consecutive Wins for ACM Vocal Group of the Year and Most Wins for Vocal Group of the Year. The band won the award for both of these categories seven times in a row from 2002-2008.
Next year’s ACM Party for a Cause® Festival® will be bigger than ever. Extended to a three-night musical event on April 1st-3rd, the festival will take place in the heart of Las Vegas at the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds and feature two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year Carrie Underwood, two-time ACM award winner Dierks Bentley, and four-time ACM Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney. For more information go to ACMPartyforaCause.com. Tickets go on sale on April 27th on Ticketmaster.com.
Following is the list of winners in the 11 categories voted on by the membership (excluding the Entertainer of the Year and New Artist categories, which were voted on by a combination of professional ACM members and fans):
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Male Vocalist of the year
Jason Aldean
Female Vocalist of the year
Miranda Lambert
Vocal Duo of the year
Florida Georgia Line
Vocal Group OF THE YEAR
Little Big Town
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Cole Swindell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Platinum – Miranda Lambert
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
I Don’t Dance – Lee Brice
Producer: Lee Brice
Record Label: Curb Records
Song of the Year [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Automatic – Miranda Lambert
Songwriters: Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Wruckestrike (BMI)
Video of the Year [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off Camera Award)
Drunk On A Plane – Dierks Bentley
Director: Wes Edwards
Producer: Clarke Gallivan
Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]*(Off Camera Award)
This Is How We Roll – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Luke Bryan
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Republic Nashville

Movie
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters

If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Events
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023


Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm