Reba McEntire Hosts The 2025 ACM Awards
The 60th ACM Awards took place on Thursday night, May 8, live from the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. To celebrate the special anniversary, country icon Reba McEntire hosted the event. This was her 18th time as a host for the ACM Awards.
She has taken on the role off and on over the years, with her very first time dating back to 1986.
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Throughout the night, Reba was included in some really memorable moments. The show opened with a 12-minute performance celebrating the past 60 years of country music.
Reba joined LeAnn Rimes, Little Big Town, Clint Black, Wynonna Judd, and Dan + Shay for the special performance.
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Reba was the first to kick off the tribute to country music. She gave a spotlight to the 1960s with a cover of Merle Haggard’s classic, “Okie From Muskogee.”
A timeless song. Queen @reba on the mic. ✨
Don’t miss a moment. Stream the #ACMawards LIVE now → https://t.co/H8DgKcESzm pic.twitter.com/3HGEoRN64F
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) May 9, 2025
That wasn’t the only time that Reba stepped away from her hosting duties to perform.
Later in the night, she returned to the stage for a powerful performance of a brand-new song called “Trailblazer.” The song also features Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert.
To start the ceremony, Reba opened the show with a traditional host monologue, welcoming viewers and introducing the nominees along with what to expect throughout the evening.
As usual, her humor had the crowd laughing. She also took a moment to reflect on her journey with the ACM Awards and shared how the country legends who came before her helped shape the artist she is today.
“I got my first ACM Award nomination exactly 45 years ago. Time flies, right?,” Reba began. “I still remember watching my heroes, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton, on this show and craving to even be a small part of it. And now, I’ve had the honor of hosting it 18 times. Thanks for having me back.”
“If you had told that little redheaded freckle-faced kid… freckled-faced Okie,” Reba corrected herself, ” that she’d be here hosting the 60th anniversary of the ACM Awards, she would have said ‘When do we start?'”
But as Reba was introducing some of the evening’s top nominees and biggest award categories, her monologue took an unexpected emotional turn.
While speaking about Entertainer of the Year, she remembered the time she won the award back in 1995.
Reba recalled that it was Naomi Judd who presented it to her that night, and as she shared the memory of her good friend, she became visibly emotional.
Music icon Naomi Judd tragically died by suicide in April 2022.
With tears in her eyes, Reba paused for a moment to gather herself before telling the crowd, “I miss her.”
As the host, Reba made sure it was a night filled with honor for those who shaped the genre and made country music what it is today.
You can watch Reba’s full opening monologue in the video below.