After hours of hosting, Keith Urban finally grabbed his guitar and stormed the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House at the 2021 ACM Awards for a rollicking performance of his single “Tumbleweed.”
In a bit of banter before starting off the song, Urban’s co-host Mickey Guyton jokingly yelled at Urban for abandoning her in order to sing his song. “So you’re leaving me right now? Keith freaking Urban!” she exclaimed, giggling.
Urban brought out the upbeat, rocked-out country single, which he said he was performing for the first time with his band, complete with special effects, flashing lights and his stratospheric vocals. “Hey, Miss Tumbleweed/ Well, I believe two tumbleweeds is better than one,” he sang. “Everybody needs a buddy when they’re on the run.”
Along with hosting the event, Urban also received three nominations at the ACM Awards (two as an artist, one as a producer), all in the music event of the year category — though he ultimately lost out to Carly Pearce & Lee Brice’s “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
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Check out a clip of Urban’s performance of “Tumbleweed” below:
56th #ACMawards host, @KeithUrban, just rocked the house with his hit #Tumbleweed. 🤘🎸 Watch the rest of tonight's show on @CBS or @paramountplus! pic.twitter.com/S7vTRWb3ap
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) April 19, 2021
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by MRC. MRC and Penske Media are co-parent companies of Billboard.