Ashley McBryde was one of multiple performance during Sunday night’s ACM Awards in Las Vegas, with the Arkansas native performing her hit “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” during the show.
McBryde took the stage solo armed with only a guitar, delivering a powerful performance in line with what fans have come to expect from the expressive artist. While her song was cut short, the singer still managed to enthrall the audience as she delivered the emotional track, which chronicles McBryde’s own journey to success and all of the negativity she heard on her way to becoming the artist she is today.
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At the end of her performance, the 35-year-old received a standing ovation from the crowd, prompting an overjoyed McBryde to exclaim, “Wow!”
Fans and fellow artists were in awe of McBryde’s powerful and vulnerable performance, sharing their admiration for the singer on Twitter.
“If you think country music is dead, I’m gonna need you to rewind what just happened,” one person wrote. “[AshleyMcBryde] that’s some killer talent.”
Ashley McBryde is the real damn DEAL. #ACMawards
— Travis Denning (@Travis_Denning) April 8, 2019
Others had praise for McBryde’s songwriting skills, which are highlighted on “Girl Goin’ Nowhere.”
“Girl Goin’ Nowhere” not only is an amazing song, with limited production and stellar lyrics but it honestly gets better every time I hear it. Not giving up on your dreams has been important for country music and this delivers the message to a listener. @AshleyMcBryde #ACMawards
— Chris Owen (@FiddleSabre) April 8, 2019
Later in the show, McBryde hit the stage again to perform with Eric Church, with the pair singing the latter’s “The Snake.”
A few weeks before the awards, McBryde was named New Female Vocalist of the Year, receiving the news in a phone call from Carrie Underwood.
“I’m actually glad it was a pre-call award, because I had time to process it,” she told PEOPLE of the win. “I think if I found out right then and had to say something besides expletives I would really struggle… In the video I only said one bad word, and I’m kind of proud of that!”
As for what she was thinking when Underwood dialed her up, McBryde has just a few words going through her mind.
“‘Holy s—’ — the most common phrase that goes through my brain. We’re standing in the barn lot out at my little place, and we were burning brush,” she recalled. “And then the phone rang and it was Carrie Underwood. I was like, ‘This is like the weirdest feeling. This is the weirdest feeling.’”
“It was really cool — but then I threw my drink,” the singer added. “I didn’t know they were still filming! I threw my cup across the barn lot, and then I didn’t have a drink so I had to take somebody else’s!”
Photo Credit: Getty / Kevin Winter
