Talent show stars Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen were just announced as co-hosts of the upcoming ACM Awards, along with country music icon Dolly Parton. Both Barrett and Allen got their start on American Idol.
Barrett was a finalist in Season 16 of American Idol and later released the hit song “I Hope.” Last year, she received the ACM Award for New Female Artist of the Year. Allen, last year’s New Male Artist of the Year, reached the Hollywood round of Idol Season 10. Last year, he competed on Dancing with the Stars.
Allen and Barrett will be joining music legend Dolly Parton to host the ACM Awards on March 7. The trophies are given out each year by the Academy of Country Music. The show will stream live from Las Vegas exclusively on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET.
“The Academy has a long history of highlighting the biggest stars in country music alongside today’s rising stars, and this year that will spotlight even further,” ACM CEO Damon Whiteside said in a statement, adding that the event is “pairing two of today’s most exciting new artists in the genre with one of the world’s most beloved music icons.”
Nominations for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards haven’t been announced yet. People reports that Allen and Barrett will announce select nominations on the ACM Awards Twitter account this Thursday, February 10, starting at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Right now, Barrett and Allen are both up for awards of their own. Allen is nominated in the Best New Artist category at the 2022 Grammys, alongside such artists as Olivia Rodrigo and Saweetie. The ceremony will air April 3. Barrett, meanwhile, will receive the Rising Star Award at Billboard‘s 2022 Women in Music Awards on March 2.
Last November, Allen won the CMA Award for New Artist of the Year. Barrett took the stage at the ceremony to perform her song “The Good Ones” with husband and fellow Idol alum Cade Foehner.
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Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
