As the Academy of Country Music Awards gear to up head to the Lone Star State this year, several country music artists and supporters are sharing their personal definitions of country music.
Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, Trixie Mattel, Breland, Lainey Wilson and more have teamed up for an ACM Awards pre-show campaign, “What Country Music Means to Me,” which celebrates the breadth and international scope of the genre’s reach.
Lambert, a 38-time ACM Award winner and Texas native, says in the video, “Country music makes me happy. It’s just my roots. It’s what I loved the most about the music I grew up on and that’s why I love making that kind of music.”
“Country music to me is the sound of home,” says Nigerian-American singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun, who was nominated for emerging act of the year at the 2021 Americana Music Honors & Awards. “In Nigeria, country music has this huge following because it’s a rural country. The sounds of guitars and singing about working and care and love and family is really familiar. To me, listening to country music doesn’t just sound like this small town, it sounds like this country in Africa miles away.”
“Country music is a lifestyle,” Twain says. “Country music was always this huge influence on how I write very statement lyrics.”
Drag queen, television personality and singer-songwriter Mattel adds, “If you like fake hair and sequins, country music is for you.”
Meanwhile, Nashville native and Dodgers player Mookie Betts shares, “As a Nashville native, country music has been a huge part of my life. I grew up around it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to really appreciate it and get into it.”
The 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards will be held May 11 in Frisco, Texas, airing on Amazon’s Prime Video. This year, Dolly Parton returns to co-host the ACM Awards along with first-time host Garth Brooks.
See the video for the ACM Awards’ “What Country Means to Me” campaign below:
