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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 13, 2018 4 By Sarah Passingham TV Media C ountry artists hit the strip on Sunday, April 15, for the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards, airing on CBS. Broadcast live from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Gar- den Arena, it's a night of cele- brating the best in country mu- sic, from veteran superstars to fresh, emerging talents. Hosting the ceremony this year is country music legend Reba McEntire. The epony- mous "Reba" star is no strang- er to the hosting gig, having taken the reins a total of 14 times between 1985 and 2012. "I really enjoy hosting. It's very exciting. I love live television," the songstress told Entertainment Tonight. Not only does McEntire have solid experience in the hosting seat, she is a record- holding award winner, having taken home 16 awards from the Academy of Country Music over the years — the most wins of any artist. She won her first ACM Award in 1984 for Female Vocalist of the Year, an award she is also nominated for this year, making it her 16th nomination in the category. One achievement that is close to the multitalented star's heart is her 1994 win for the ACM's Entertainer of the Year. With a personal connec- tion to the category, McEntire told Entertainment Tonight that she was "disappointed" about the lack of female nomi- nees this year but remained hopeful, calling country music "very cyclical. The girls domi- nate or the boys dominate, so it's coming around. I have faith." Nominated in the cate- gory this year are Jason Al- dean, Garth Brooks, Luke Bry- an, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban. Her disappointment is un- derstandable, particularly with this being a big year for break- throughs for women in country music. Bebe Rexha, one of the performers of the night, made history in February when her hit with fellow performers Florida Georgia Line, "Meant to Be," topped Billboard's Hot Country Songs for the 11th week in a row. Unseating Tay- lor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," the tune became the longest-run- ning No. 1 song by a lead fe- male. Both tracks are crossover hits, with Swift's song being the lead single from her 2012 album, "Red," which at the time was her most pop-influ- enced record to date. Primarily a pop star herself, Rexha spoke to Billboard of her success on the country charts, saying "the beautiful thing about music is that it allows you to break boundaries." Along with Rexha and Flori- da Georgia Line, the impres- sive list of performers for this year's event includes Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Urban, Blake Shelton, Lady An- tebellum, Kenny Chesney and more. The ceremony welcomes not only country artists but some famous country fans as presenters for the night, in- cluding New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Nan- cy O'Dell of "Entertainment Tonight," actress Rebecca Romijn ("X-Men," 2000) and Olympic athlete Lindsey Vonn. ACM Award-nominated artist Bentley put out a call to fans earlier this month, look- ing to make his performance special. The singer asked his fans on social media to send images of their personal fe- male heroes for the chance to be part of his performance of "Woman, Amen," and photos of these heroes will be dis- played behind Bentley while he performs his hit during the show. Bentley is not the only one dropping performance hints. McEntire revealed that she would be interested in per- forming with country icon Dol- ly Parton during the ceremony. There's been no official word yet whether the host will be performing during the show with or without Parton, though she surely got fans excited at the prospect. The New Female Vocalist category suggests that the nominees will be largely un- known to music fans, but there's something familiar about nearly all of this year's nominated artists. With the ex- ception of "Every Little Thing" singer Carly Pearce, all of the category's nominees have been contestants on singing competition shows. Lauren Alaina was runner-up in sea- son 10 of "American Idol," Danielle Bradbery became the then-youngest winner of "The Voice" in season 4, and "Lone- ly Call" singer RaeLynn made it to the quarter-finals of "The Voice" in 2012. That much tal- ent makes for an exciting, tight race between nominees. Of course, there are plenty of more seasoned artists vying for awards as well. The Vocal Duo of the year category fea- tures new talent LOCASH go- ing up against new favorites Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line and the classic duo of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Interestingly enough, the 2017 album "The Rest of Our Life," for which they're nominated, is the first collab- orative album from McGraw and Hill. They have been mar- ried for 21 years, and both are major country stars in their own right. The ACM continues its tradi- tion of raising money for its charitable arm, ACM Lifting Lives, with four nights of events in Las Vegas from April 12 to 15. Money raised through the events funds mu- sic education, disaster relief and helping communities in need. Notable acts appearing over the four days are the nominees for Songwriter of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year, and Video of the Year nominee Ballerini. coverstory Reba McEntire, host of the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards Pro host: Reba McEntire returns to host the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Where in the world did they find the hunk who plays Sgt. Hank Voight on "Chicago P.D."? He is gor- geous! Please tell me more about him. A: Dick Wolf, the TV superproducer behind "Chicago P.D.," didn't have to look too hard to find star Jason Beghe — he'd been kicking around Hollywood for years. That may sound a little dismissive, but it's not meant to. Beghe has been busy in that time, with more than 100 titles on his resumé so far. But it's the side elements of his career that are more interesting. Just as you're wondering how the show's producers found Beghe, people often ask how he got his distinctive, growling voice. It's a normal thing to say when confronted by something so rare and distinctive, but interestingly enough, there's an an- swer to the question. "In 1999 I was in a serious car accident," Beghe told the New York Daily News. "I was intubated, and I kept pulling this tube out of my throat. That's how I got the voice." Another interesting thing about Beghe is that we would never have had "The X-Files" without him, even though he never appeared in the show. He and star David Duchovny have been friends since they were young, and Beghe was the one who encouraged Duchovny to pursue acting. The two studied together at the prestigious Collegiate School in Manhattan (along with a young man named John F. Kennedy Jr.). Beghe was also best man at Duchovny's wedding to Tea Leoni. If you are interested in looking up some of Beghe's other roles, you have plenty to choose from. He has, of course, ap- peared as his "Chicago P.D." character in a number of other shows in the growing Dick Wolf universe ("Chicago Fire," "Chicago Med," "Chicago Justice" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"). Q: I just watched "Rosemary's Baby" and saw that it was based on a book. Did the author write anything else? A: "Rosemary's Baby" author Ira Levin was "the Swiss watchmaker of suspense novels," said fellow craftsman Ste- phen King. Much like King's, Levin's books were almost perfectly suited to the screen. Check out this hit list: Levin also wrote "The Stepford Wives," "The Boys From Brazil" and "A Kiss Before Dying," among others. It's perhaps not surprising that Levin's books would do so well on screen, since he started his writing career by writing for TV. Prior to penning his debut novel, "A Kiss Before Dying," he wrote for the anthology series "Lights Out" and "The United States Steel Hour." Shortly after the book was released, he got a script out to the more prestigious "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," but by then he was a literary success and focused more of his time to print. Ironically, cinema is glad he did. With "Rosemary's Baby," he (with the help of director Roman Polanski, of course) is credit- ed with creating the spate of satanic-themed horror movies that included not only the film adaptation of his book, but also fellow classics "The Exorcist" (1973) and "The Omen" (1976). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. hollywoodQ&A

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