When nominations are announced for any major award show, there are always going to be conflicting opinions over which names made the final categories.
When CBS This Morning’s Gayle King noticed the lack of women among the 2019 ACM Awards’ entertainer of the year nominees, she asked Reba McEntire for her thoughts. McEntire helped announce the nominations on Wednesday’s (Feb. 20) episode and on Facebook.
“It doesn’t make me very happy,” McEntire said of the lack of female representation in the category, “because we’ve got some very talented women who are out there working their butts off … I’m missing my girlfriends on this.”
McEntire, the ACM Awards’ longtime host for 16 years, took home the honor in 1994 and has been nominated nine times in the category since 1986.
The 2019 ACM entertainer category directly mirrors the 2018 CMA entertainer of the year category.
When asked what she thinks artists like Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert bring to country music, McEntire said, “As old as I am and as long as I’ve been in the business, youth, great new songs, a different outlook on the way they do their music and the music they write and choose to sing. I think it’s a breath of fresh air.”
Reba McEntire will host the ACM Awards live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Chris Stapleton and Dan + Shay lead the 2019 nominees with six nods each.
Elsewhere on social media, the ACM nominees were elated by this morning’s news.
SIX NOMINATIONS. wow, thank you @ACMawards and all the voting members for making us feel loved this morning. additionally, thank you country music for giving us a home to tell our stories and chase our childhood dreams. we are forever grateful for your support. pic.twitter.com/F0Qhkkhr3C
— Dan + Shay (@DanAndShay) February 20, 2019
4 @ACMawards nominations. Unreal. Beyond grateful. Love y’all. pic.twitter.com/jAeAcwbyxC
— Brothers Osborne (@brothersosborne) February 20, 2019
Never gonna take this for granted. Thank you #acmawards. #weareolddominion pic.twitter.com/4kUibWgYo0
— Old Dominion (@OldDominion) February 20, 2019
”I’m excited & honored to be in this category for such an important video .Thanks to everyone who made it possible. Special thanks to Shane Tarleton and Mike Dupree from Warner Brothers, for having the incredible vision Special thanks to Jeff Venable for directing https://t.co/vldtRMMF1Q
— Chris Janson (@janson_chris) February 20, 2019
Last year I was in the nose bleeds watching the @ACMawards . This year I’m nominated?!??? I can’t believe it. Truly woke up to the best news ever!!!!!! Thank you to my team & everyone who made this happen!!!! We are going to Vegas baby pic.twitter.com/mBnwbVtLGU
— Mitchell Tenpenny (@m10penny) February 20, 2019
WHAT?!?!?! #Yours is the little song that could! We started with absolutely nothing but this song. Now, years later THIS!!!!! Thank you all for believeing in me and in this song!!! Thank you @ACMawards for nominating it for SONG OF THE YEARRRRRRR!!!!!! AHHHH! pic.twitter.com/BooGGbz5gG
— Russell Dickerson (@russelled) February 20, 2019
Gonna take a second for this to sink in. Thank you #CountryMusic community & #ACMawards for your love & support. And congrats to my smoking hot fiancée CP on new female vocalist! Thank you Lord for this blessing & showing me it’s all about your time. This is our year #NINETEEN pic.twitter.com/B7I0YPwsBH
— Michael Ray (@Michaelraymusic) February 20, 2019
Holy guacamole … I just woke up with my little girl laying on my shoulder to find out about this! Life can’t get much better. Thanks so much to my team and fans out there! Wow. I’m seriously so excited https://t.co/kB5812XsWy
— Jake Owen (@jakeowen) February 20, 2019
Woah. Thank you @ACMawards!! I am so grateful…..so honored….and SO EXCITED!!!!! https://t.co/0s6sPa20J4
— Lindsay Ell (@lindsayell) February 20, 2019
