Academy of Country Music Awards to be hosted by Dolly Parton in Las Vegas

Legendary country singer and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, has been announced as the host of the Academy of Country Music Awards, which is set to be streamed live on Prime Video from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on March 7.

According to Variety, previously, Parton has only once hosted the ACM Awards, 22 years ago, in 2000. However, the country-pop superstar does have other country awards show hosting credits on her resume.

She has co-hosted the rival Country Music Association Awards in 2019 with Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood, and handled that CMAs job solo once back in 1988.

Further details about the March 7 show were announced on Thursday morning by the Academy of Country Music, MRC and Prime Video. The show will be two hours long; instead of the three it lasted for most of its long tenure as a major-network broadcast event.

It has been a big week for Parton till now. On Wednesday, she was named as a first-time nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On same day, the South by Southwest Film Festival announced that she'll appear in one of the fest's more anticipated documentaries, 'Still Working 9 to 5', for which she has recorded a new duet version of the song '9 to 5' with Kelly Clarkson.

It was previously announced that Parton will be putting out a new album, 'Run, Rose, Run,' on March 4, three days before the ACMs, and a novel of the same name she co-wrote with James Patterson will arrive on the day of the awards show.

The announcement about Parton's hosting news added that additional co-hosts would be revealed in the weeks to come. Nominations for the awards are due next week.

"Dolly Parton's status as a beloved and inspirational icon is a testament to her ongoing impact as an artist, philanthropist, and human being," said Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios.

Damon Whiteside, the Academy's CEO, said, "We are honoured to welcome Dolly Parton back to be the centerpiece of this landmark 57th Academy of Country Music Awards show at Allegiant Stadium."

He added, "Dolly is the most iconic and multitalented artist of all time, and we are proud that she is a friend and supporter of the Academy, a previous host, and a 13-time Academy of Country Music Award recipient. There is no one better than Dolly to represent the ACM Awards brand and country music on a global scale as we move to streaming and show the world that 'this is how we country' by delivering one of the most exhilarating and innovative shows in our history to audiences worldwide."

Last year's ACMs co-hosts, for the show's apparently final year on broadcast television, were Urban and Mickey Guyton.

The ACMs are regarded as the first major awards show to have shifted to a streaming platform. The show will be available on Prime Video on March 7 at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT.

As per Variety, the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards show is being produced by MRC Live and Alternative. Not everything about the show is new, as a couple of longtime players return to their roles, with R.A. Clark and Whiteside back as executive producers.

( With inputs from ANI )