With numerous awards up for grabs, Kelsea Ballerini, who has been coaching on The Voice, found herself fighting for the Entertainer of the Year Award. Having to compete against singers like Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Stapleton, the category was full of hit singers who quickly left their mark on country music. But for Ballerini, the night included more than just awards as she was scheduled to take the stage for a special performance. Already hitting the stage for rehearsals, it seemed she wasn’t alone as Megan Moroney was also seen at the 2025 ACM Awards event.
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Just like Ballerini, Moroney found herself nominated for a few awards that included Album of the Year for Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) and Female Artist of the Year. Offering a teaser of the upcoming show, which already promoted a 12-minute opening number, the ACM Awards revealed some pictures of Moroney on the stage. While wearing some comfortable clothes, the singer showed a bedazzled guitar with her name written along the neck of the guitar. The collage even showed some of the lighting aspects surrounding her number.
With fans excited for a special night in country music, the ACM Awards continued to promote the show with another post featuring Ballerini. Instead of following the same format as Moroney, the awards decided to share a short video of Ballerini posing for the camera. While both singers are sure to produce mesmerizing performances at the 2025 ACM Awards, Ballerini never forgot her struggles when breaking into the music industry.
Kelsea Ballerini Remembers The One Singer She Was Compared To
Just last year, Ballerini sat down with Today to discuss what it was like when trying to break into the industry back in 2014. Recalling getting the chance to perform for an independent label, she revealed the one singer she was compared to. “My first ever experience, it was at an independent label that does not exist anymore, and I walked in and I played a song that I had written by myself, and he looked at me and he said ‘Well there’s already a Taylor Swift.’”
Eventually landing a record deal with Black River Entertainment, Ballerini released several albums like The First Time and her latest, Patterns.
As for the Swift comment, Ballerini ended up becoming friends with the hit singer, and they even “talk.” She did clarify, “Really, it’s just when I’m like ‘Oh my god, you added ‘Down Bad’ to the set list, this is amazing!’ Normally it’s just me fangirling, which is per usual. It’s really beautiful to have artists that you can have those touch points with and just check in with and make sure that everything’s good. They’re good, you’re good.”
Set to perform and maybe win an award or two, don’t miss Ballerini and Moroney at the 2025 ACM Awards, airing on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Twitch and Prime Video.
(Photo by Terry Wyatt/WireImage)
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