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The 2022 ACM Awards, which took place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday (March 7) night, made history as the first live major awards show to be exclusively livestreamed (on Prime Video).

During the show, Morgan Wallen — whose Dangerous: The Album was the biggest album of 2021 on the Billboard 200, setting a record for longest stint in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for a country album — won album of the year at the 57th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. That win arrives slightly more than a year after Wallen, country’s biggest rising commercial star, was caught on video using the n-word among his friends late one night in February 2021. Following the incident, Wallen apologized and asked fans not to defend him. While many radio stations initially pulled his songs, Wallen’s music gradually returned to airwaves and he’s set for a massive 2022 tour. This win is his first major awards show moment since the leaked video showed him using a racial slur.

Here’s Wallen’s acceptance speech at the 2022 ACM Awards:

“I wrote some stuff down. When I started this album, I was a kid. By the time I put it out, I was a father, and that’s become more important to me than anything else. To my son: This album and this award will signify that his daddy was a fighter, that he chased his dreams and worked hard to make them a reality. I want to say a special thank you to all the songwriters, producers and musicians who played on this album. I wish you were standing next to me now. This project would not be complete without each of you. I’d also like to thank my good lord and savior Jesus Christ, my family, my close friends, my band, my team in Nashville, country radio and everyone who has shown me grace along the way. Most importantly, I have to address my fans personally and directly: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m blown away by you guys. God bless.”

Additional reporting by Jessica Nicholson.

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC is a co-owner of Billboard through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC.

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards took place in Las Vegas on Monday (March 7) night, hosted by Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. Parton opened the show by sending “hope and love” to Ukraine amidst an ongoing invasion from Russian forces. “I don’t want to be political and this is not. I’d rather pass a kidney stone than do that. I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine,” Parton said. “Let’s dedicate this whole show to them and pray for peace around this crazy world.”

It was a move that resonated greatly with Old Dominion. Shortly after winning the ACM Award for vocal group of the year for the fifth year in a row, the Nashville country rockers took the stage to accept the award and shout-out Parton.

After thanking the ACM Awards for the fifth win and assuring everyone they did not take it lightly, the group’s Brad Tursi praised Parton for addressing the ongoing invasion. “So many people here have fought for their dreams,” the guitarist said, “But there are people fighting for their lives right now.” Tursi noted it felt a bit “weird” to celebrate in the midst of the situation, so he appreciated Parton opening the show with by addressing it. “Thank for you saying that,” he concluded.

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC is a co-owner of Billboard through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC

Hosting the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas alongside Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett on Monday (March 7) night, Dolly Parton opened the 2022 ACM Awards with a nod to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I don’t want to be political and this is not. I’d rather pass a kidney stone than do that. I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine,” Parton said. “Let’s dedicate this whole show to them and pray for peace around this crazy world.”

While the iconic country singer-songwriter opened the show with a few jokes – she called her co-hosts the “real deal” and quipped, “You know how I hate anything fake” – her segue into a deadly serious topic was deft and graceful. Few people can switch from a breast implant gag to a prayer for peace during wartime and pull it off, but Dolly Parton long ago demonstrated that she is certainly a human being unlike any other.

2022 has been a busy year for Parton so far. She joined goddaughter Miley Cyrus in a Super Bowl commercial parodying charity singles for T-Mobile and was recently nominated for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“I was absolutely floored when I heard that. I’ve never thought of myself as being rock and roll in any sense of the word — but I guess they judge it on the music and the influence certain songs have had,” Parton told Billboard last month. “I’m not expecting that I’ll get in. But if I do, I’ll immediately, next year, have to put out a great rock and roll album — which I’ve wanted to do for years, like a Linda Ronstadt or Heart kind of thing.”

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC is a co-owner of Billboard through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC.

Chris Stapleton took the stage at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday night (Mar. 7) to play “Watch You Burn,” his song about the tragic shooting at Vegas’ Route 91 country festival in 2017.

Introduced by Jason Aldean, who was performing at the festival when the shooting took place five years ago, Stapleton delivered an incendiary performance of the Starting Over album cut, with furious lyrics like “If I could snap my fingers, if I could flip a switch/ I’d make that last bullet first, you son of a b–ch.” Towards the end, a row of backing vocalists stationed in front of Stapleton raised their arms as the vocals rose in intensity, and the singer-guitarist’s shredding built to a cacophony — an intense climax for an emotional moment.

Stapleton is nominated for four awards at this year’s ACMs, including the coveted entertainer of the year, as well male artist of the year and single of the year (for Starting Over hit “You Should Probably Leave”) — the latter of which was awarded to Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood’s “If I Didn’t Love You” shortly after his performance.

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC is a co-owner of Billboard through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC. 

Missed out on the latest restock of Kanye West‘s Yeezy slides? New colorways in “Onyx,” “Pure” and “Ochre” were restocked on Monday (March 7) and they’re already sold out at Adidas, and don’t even think about trying to find them at Nordstrom.

Not to worry though, if you’re looking to cop a pair — without blowing your budget completely out of the water, we searched around to find a few places to buy Yeezy slides online at an affordable price. Yeezy slides typically retail for $50-$70, but the rate tends to spike once they land on resell sites.

StockX, Farfetch, and eBay are just a few of the retailers that have them for sale online without too much of a price hike.  For example, at Stockx, the Yeezy Slides are available in all three colorways starting at $104.

Buy: Yeezy Slides “Ochre” (from $104) 

Buy: Yeezy Slide “Pure” (from $162)

Buy: Yeezy Slides “Onyx” (from $174)

eBay is another decent option for Yeezy slides, although due to limited quantities you might end up paying more than you would on other sites. Right now, the price for the newest slides on eBay start at $130 to $155 and can go up to $275 and higher.

Stadium Goods has Yeezy slides on deck for about $175 and up, though pricing varies depending on the colorway and size. For example, the Yeezy slide in “Pure” are nearly $300 on Stadium Goods while others are closer to the $155 and up.  Similarly, at Faretch.com, the three Yeezy slides colorways start at about $260 for the “Pure” slides  and $163 for the earth-toned slides.

The next Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Oreo” sneakers in core black, core white and more core black, will be restocked on March 12. For more Yeezy gear, check othe Yeezy x Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collection.

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