Hosts Mickey Guyton and Keith Urban, and a show-stopping performance by Carrie Underwood shine at ACM Awards

Praise the music.

Carrie Underwood carried the Academy of Country Music Awards to church.

The three-time ACM entertainer of the year, who was introduced by country music royalty Dolly Parton, dazzled in a long shiny sparkly beige gown singing a medley from her Gospel album “My Savior” during the Sunday night award show.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the legendary CeCe Winans,” Underwood said, as she welcomed the Grammy-winning singer for a duet of “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

The duo was later joined by a Gospel choir for a full-on Sunday service vibe, complete with arms-up-in-the-air choreography in front of giant colorful stained glass windows.

Underwood’s stellar performance ended with a show-stopping rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”

“Unbelievable,” gushed co-host Keith Urban.

The awards, celebrating the year’s best talent in the industry, returned to the world capital of country music for a star-studded night of performances and presenters, including Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney.

More than 25 performers celebrated country music’s highest achievement from three well-known Nashville, Tennessee, venues: the Bluebird Cafe, the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium.

Lambert, the most nominated female artist in ACM history with 35 wins, opened the show with an energetic performance of the catchy “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” in a duet with a pregnant Elle King.

“Nashville is back,” host Urban declared to the small, socially distanced, masked and vaccinated audience of health care workers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Urban, ACM’s 2019 entertainer of the year, was joined by “Black Like Me” singer Mickey Guyton, who co-hosted the star-studded event. Guyton, who was also a nominee for new female artist of the year, made country music history, as the first Black female artist to host the show.

This year’s show also saw four Black artists nominated, a record number, and featured a woman artist in every single-of-the-year nomination.

“This is a moment of great significance for me and I am so thrilled to share it with all the fans,” Guyton said, according to People.

The 37-year-old Texas-born singer, who’s part of the ACM diversity task force started in 2018, said the industry isn’t going to change overnight, but that she’s excited about what she’s seeing.

“It’s becoming more diverse and you will see that and you will feel that,” she told Billboard in an interview earlier this week. “And it is such a beautiful thing. We are bridging the gap and it is so cool to be on that side.”

The four Black artists who were nominated in the historically diverse year were Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and John Legend.

The night’s first award, for group of the year, went to Old Dominion, and presented by singer Blanco Brown, who was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident on Aug. 31, 2020.

The award for single of the year went to Carly Pearce and Lee Brice for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”

Thomas Rhett won the award for male artist of the year. The visibly surprised singer thanked his wife, daughters and “my heroes sitting here on these seats,” Rhett said referring to his fellow nominees.

Accepting the award for female artist of the year, Maren Morris praised her fellow nominees, while congratulating them for working through a difficult year.

“This category is not who can sing their ass off,” Morris said. “It’s who tried their best in a year that was very weird.”

The much-coveted entertainment of the year award went to Luke Bryan, who accepted his prize from Los Angeles via Zoom.

Performances by co-hosts Guyton, who brought another choir onto the stage; and Urban, who rocked the house with his hit “Tumbleweed” received great praise online.

“Keith frickin’ Urban,” Guyton said when introducing her hosting partner — a moment that quickly became a meme and received attention online.

Country music fans also praised Blake Shelton’s decades-spanning medley performance.