Happy ACM Awards week to all who celebrate. The 61st annual Academy of Country Music Awards are coming up on Sunday, May 17 on Amazon Prime, and this year they’re moving back to Las Vegas for the first time since 2022 after being held in Frisco, Texas the past few years. Now, our feelings on these awards shows is pretty well known: They’re not really reflective of the state of country music because they’re just a popularity contest for the major labels. There’s behind-the-scenes politicking and vote swapping that takes place to determine the winners, and the results never really match what’s actually happening in country music. (For example, Morgan Wallen has won a grand total of one Entertainer of the Year award, despite being the biggest artist in country music for the past five years, artists like Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan never get mentioned despite being much bigger names and outstreaming/outselling many of the nominees…I could go on and on). And honestly, for at least the past decade or so, these awards shows have just become kind of snoozefests. Back in the mid-2010s the awards shows leaned heavy into the pop collabs and celebrity crossovers in an attempt to boost ratings. It never worked, and it seems like they’ve started to move away from that in favor of featuring artists who actually identify as country, which is nice. But there’s never really any drama, any controversy, or anything particularly noteworthy from these awards shows any more. Everybody’s just one big happy family. That wasn’t the case back in 2003 though. If you’re not old enough to remember what was happening at the time, let me set the scene for you. At the time, we were just two years out from the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks. Country music as a whole had taken a patriotic turn, with songs like “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” by Toby Keith and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson becoming massive hits. We were also two years into the war in Afghanistan, and at the time of the ACM Awards, two months into the invasion of Iraq. It may not seem like it now with the benefit of hindsight, but at the time the majority of Americans (and Congress) supported the Iraq war. Obviously that changed over time, but my point is that at the time, patriotism was still at an all-time high. That’s why there was so much outrage when the Dixie Chicks – now known as just The Chicks – decided to take a shot at then-President George W. Bush back on March 10 2003, just two months before ACM Awards and just days before the US invasion of Iraq. During a concert in London, lead singer Natalie Maines told the crowd that she was “ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” And the backlash was swift and severe. Radio stations pulled their music and blacklisted The Chicks from their playlists, fans burned their albums in protest, and members of the band even received death threats over the comments from Maines. And this all came while The Chicks were also embroiled in another very public feud with one of country music’s biggest – and most patriotic – stars, Toby Keith. The feud started after Maines had blasted “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” calling it “ignorant” during an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News: “I hate it. It’s ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant. It targets an entire culture – and not just the bad people who did bad things. You’ve got to have some tact. Anybody can write, ‘We’ll put a boot in your a**.’ But a lot of people agree with it. The kinds of songs I prefer on the subject are like Bruce Springsteen’s new songs.” Toby responded in his typical, outspoken fashion: By comparing her opinion to that of a homeless guy. “She’s not a songwriter, so we can’t discuss the mechanics of the song. Why don’t you just go down on Second Avenue and pick one of those homeless guys and ask him what he thinks about it? To me it’s the same.” Well the feud heated up after that, when Toby began displaying a doctored image of Maines and Saddam Hussein on the screen behind him during his shows (yes, this really happened). And that brings us to the 2003 ACM Awards. The Chicks were nominated for three awards that year, including Entertainer of the Year – alongside Toby Keith. But they weren’t in attendance at the show: They instead chose to perform in front of a more friendly crowd, and their performance on the ACM Awards was broadcast live from one of their shows in Austin, Texas. Maines also used the performance to make another statement, wearing a shirt that said “F U T K,” which obviously was yet another shot at Toby Keith. (She claimed at the time that it stood for “Friends United in Truth and Kindness,” and later admitted that she didn’t think anybody would understand the shirt). And it’s probably a good thing they weren’t in Vegas for the awards. The night featured tributes to our soldiers and patriotic performances like Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten.” So needless to say the Chicks didn’t exactly receive a warm reception at the ACM Awards. Actually, that’s an understatement: It was downright hostile. Every time The Chicks were mentioned, boos rained down from the crowd. And when the nominees for Entertainer of the Year were announced, presenter Vince Gill jokingly mumbled their name to avoid the reaction from the crowd. Sure enough, the audience erupted in boos, while nice-guy Vince made a futile plea for forgiveness. But when the camera quickly cut to the next nominee, Alan Jackson, he seemed to be enjoying the moment as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. And the night’s top prize went to none other than Toby Keith, whose name Vince joked was “on somebody’s shirt tonight,” referencing the “FUTK” shirt worn by Maines. Toby wasn’t at the show to accept the award, so the biggest drama of the night came from two artists who weren’t even in the building. But looking back at the moment now, it’s hard to imagine something like this erupting at an awards show these days. Rather than leaning into the feud like the show did back then, it seems like they all do their best to stay away from controversy. Maybe they just need another feud to help their ratings out. 61st Annual ACM Awards Nominees Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs Jelly Roll Cody Johnson Megan Moroney Chris Stapleton Morgan Wallen Lainey Wilson Female Artist of the Year Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Ella Langley Megan Moroney Lainey Wilson Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs Riley Green Cody Johnson Chris Stapleton Zach Top Group of the Year 49 Winchester Flatland Cavalry Old Dominion Rascal Flatts The Red Clay Strays Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Muscadine Bloodline Thelma & James Album of the Year [Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record Company–label(s)] Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Record Company-Label: Leo33 Cherry Valley – Carter Faith; Producer: Tofer Brown; Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green; Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox; Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett; Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum; Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse; Record Company-Label: MCA Song of the Year “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley; Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor “I Never Lie” – Zach Top; Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols “Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg Single of the Year “6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley “I Never Lie” – Zach Top “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson “The Fall” – Cody Johnson Visual Media of the Year “6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton “Cuckoo” -Stephen Wilson, Jr. (Winner) “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson “The Fall” – Cody Johnson Music Event of the Year “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton “Amen” – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll “Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley “Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson “You Had To Be There” – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon (Winner) Ashley Gorley Charlie Handsome Chase McGill Blake Pendergrass Artist-Songwriter of the Year Luke Combs Riley Green Ella Langley Megan Moroney Morgan Wallen New Male Artist of the Year Gavin Adcock Vincent Mason Shaboozey Hudson Westbrook Tucker Wetmore (Winner) New Female Artist of the Year Avery Anna Mackenzie Carpenter Dasha Caroline Jones Emily Ann RobertsThe post ACM Awards 2003: Alan Jackson Cracks Up As The Chicks Are Booed While Toby Keith Wins Entertainer Of The Year first appeared on Whiskey Riff.