ACM Special Reels In Viewers

More than 10 million people tuned in to watch superstars of country music pay tribute to all-time leading Academy of Country Music Award winners Brooks & Dunn on ACM PRESENTS: BROOKS & DUNN - THE LAST RODEO on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, May 23, 2010.

Country music held its own against the much-hyped series finale of ABC's "Lost" and LIVE season finale of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice." From 8:00-10:00PM, ACM PRESENTS: BROOKS AND DUNN - THE LAST RODEO was second in households (6.3/11) and viewers (10.08m). 

The special featured performances by Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban with presenters Dr. Maya Angelou, Miranda Cosgrove & Matthew McConaughey. Ticket proceeds from the television taping went to ACM Lifting Lives, which in turn quickly earmarked funding for those affected by the recent floods in Middle Tennessee.

During the tribute concert special, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn received the Academy's Milestone Award in recognition of their astounding 20-year career and were honored for holding the record for the most wins of any artist in the Academy's history.  Brooks & Dunn have 27 ACM Awards in total, including three prior Entertainer of the Year awards and a Top Vocal Duo award that they received during the ACM Awards broadcast in April. They hold the record for most Top Vocal Duo wins, with 16 awards, eight of which are consecutive from 2000-2007.

Brooks & Dunn have had 23 #1 hits, sold more than 30 million records, and won more than 80 major industry awards during their career. In August 2009, they announced they will retire as a duo in late 2010 and embark on a final farewell tour this summer, called "The Last Rodeo."

ACM PRESENTS: BROOKS & DUNN - THE LAST RODEO all-star concert tribute television special was produced by dick clark productions, and taped at MGM Grand Garden Arena in April. Orly Adelson, R.A. Clark, Bob Romeo and Clarence Spalding were executive producers.  Barry Adelman was producer and Bob Bardo was executive in charge of production.  Proceeds from the live event benefited ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music. Ticket proceeds from the event will go to those affected by the recent floods in Middle Tennessee. For more information, please visit www.acmliftinglives.org.

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ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn - The Last Rodeo

HILLBILLY DELUXE

An all-star lineup cranks out the hits to help the Academy honor beloved duo Brooks & Dunn

By Lisa Lee

When you're a huge fan of a duo that has sold more than 30 million albums and racked up 23 No. 1 singles, how in the world do you narrow it down to your favorite song?

That was the million dollar question for the all-star lineup gathered to honor Brooks & Dunn in Las Vegas on April 19th. The MGM Grand Garden Arena was packed for the taping of ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn-The Last Rodeo, an amazing tribute concert that aired Sunday, May 23rd on CBS. The show recognizes the duo's contributions to country music history as they call it quits after 20 years together.

"It's daunting singing a Ronnie Dunn song to begin with, I think everyone here tonight will tell you that," said Keith Urban when asked about performing "Brand New Man," Brooks & Dunn's first No. 1 single. "That record for me just came flying out of the radio and I was instantly a fan. The two of them together live is just something else."

Urban kicked off a night full of great music and laughter, as 16 acts paid tribute to Brooks & Dunn and their amazing legacy. Kix and Ronnie took a seat of honor stage left, perching on a road case to watch their friends offer up their own versions of B&D classics. George Strait tackled the Brooks & Dunn staple "Boot Scootin' Boogie," which Strait told the crowd "started the biggest line dance craze in America."

"A duo like that doesn't come along very often," Strait told ACM Tempo backstage. "They got brought together for a reason and just made some great music over the years and their music is going to last forever.  I mean they're icons."

Carrie Underwood recalled stealing her older sister's Brooks & Dunn album and making up dances to the songs. She chose the honky-tonk weeper "Neon Moon" because she said she'd be performing it since she was about 8 years old.

"They were there when I was discovering country music and kind of growing a love for country music," Underwood explained backstage. "They are people that we can model our careers after, and they're genuinely nice people and have talent in spades. They can keep going for another 20 years if they so desired to."

Sugarland also put their own spin on the poignant "Red Dirt Road," stripping the song down to just Jennifer Nettles on piano and Kristian Bush on guitar. The pair traded emotional vocals that brought a new light to the tune written by Kix and Ronnie.

"I think it has resonance with us for a number of reasons," Nettles said. "I mean one, they wrote it themselves as a duo, and we write our material ourselves as a duo.  So that felt special."

Reba McEntire, a longtime tourmate and buddy of both Kix and Ronnie, did double duty, performing "Indian Summer" and also joining Ronnie and Lady Antebellum onstage for "If you See Him, If You See Her." Lady A's Hillary Scott, whose parents toured with Reba for years, recalled sitting on a road case and watching Reba, Ronnie and Kix perform that song every night. She said it was an amazing moment to perform the song with them both.

Also delivering powerful performances were Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley.

 "You could rely on them at any given time to turn on the radio and hear a fantastic song with their sound," Paisley said. "It's just an enormous void that we probably can't expect a duo to ever achieve what they've achieved again.  I just don't know if that's possible today in the fickle state of popular culture, but it's great that they got to do that and we're all in their debt."

Faith Hill, who performed "The Long Goodbye," also gave testament to the duo's reputation for pulling practical jokes on their opening acts. Hill recalled being on the road and pulling back the sheets on her tour bus bunk to find a defrosting eel in her sheets courtesy of Kix and Ronnie. At the MGM Grand she returned the favor after her performance, sending ushers out to the stage with pieces of eel sushi in a box.

"It's great to watch the show because we are honoring two of the most wonderful people in this business and  two people that have contributed so much to the fabric of this music for the last 20 something years, but the songs alone are just incredible," said Hill of the tribute special.

It was McEntire who had the honor of presenting Kix and Ronnie with their custom-designed trophies for the ACM Milestone Award, which recognized Brooks & Dunn as the top ACM Award winners in Academy history. Since their first win for 1991, the duo has taken home a total of 27 awards, including their latest as this year's Top Vocal Duo at the 45th ACM Awards.

"They're teaching other people who are coming up behind them how to treat their fans and how to be loyal to their fans," said McEntire. "There's a lot all of us can learn from Brooks & Dunn."

In fact, many of the acts on the show cited Brooks & Dunn for giving them their first shot at a major tour.

"They're one of the first ones that put us on tour back in '03, and it changed our lives," said Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney. "They are two guys that have never been afraid to share their success, and they put tons of different artists on tour with them every time they put a tour together.  We were one of the fortunate bands to get to go out with them in 2003 and it really opened up a huge, huge door for us."

Backstage after the show, the pair admitted it was hard to process their amazing run and the love and support they received during the tribute taping.

"It was really special, very cool," Kix said. "Humbling sounds like a real trite word, but for people to think enough of the music you made and to take time out of their lives to do this when they are ready to go home after the ACM awards, it's a big deal."

View our photo gallery from the special night HERE.

*Copies of the show are not available for purchase at this time.*

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