weekly May 22, 2023, Issue 859
Q&A With ACM’s Kapoor & Menton
Exec. Prod. Raj Kapoor and Co-Exec. Prod. Patrick Menton give a behind-the-scenes look at the 58th ACM Awards, which first aired May 11 on Prime Video from The Star in Frisco, TX. Amazon is well-known for not sharing metrics, but what have you heard in terms of feedback? RK: Our partners understood the process more this year and really took ownership. Chris Castallo, Alaina Bartels and John Saade [Prime Video Head/Unscripted; Talent, Synergy & Specials; and Raj Kapoor consultant, respectively] have been unanimous in their praise. John sent me one of the nicest emails I’ve ever received. For someone with his level of experience – including more than a decade at ABC – to say such nice things about the job we did was really touching. We do a lot of projects, so you know when things really connect by the texts and emails you get ... particularly from people in the industry. That doesn’t always happen. We have gotten a lot of outreach Patrick Menton from managers, labels and publicists – and not just about their specific performances. People were entertained – they thought the quality was exceptional, it was well-paced, we had great diversity in winners, the collaborations were authentic and that we paid homage to the people we needed to. PM: This was one of the first times during a dress rehearsal that I received texts from publicists, managers and labels saying, “Oh my God, I love this show.” When you’ve been working on something since September, that feeds your soul. [Former EP] RAC Clark was the backbone of this show for so many years. He is family to us, so we had big shoes to fill. Getting those types of accolades was magical. Nothing is ever perfect, but we are proud of what we put together. Echoing Raj, networks and platforms like Amazon are always looking for out-of-genre to bring more eyeballs. We get that. But Raj and I were specific about having authentic and organic [collaborations]. Celebrating this genre was first and foremost. (continued on page 9)
Stickin‘ And Grinnin‘: EMI Nashville‘s Tyler Hubbard celebrates his second solo No. 1, “Dancin‘ In The Country.“ Pictured (bottom, l-r) are stick John Trapane, the label‘s Heather Carpenter, stick Trudie Daniell, Borman Entertainment’s Donna Jean Kisshauer, Hubbard, stick Briarman Whitfield and the label‘s Jimmy Rector; (top, l-r) the label‘s Mike Krinik and Donna Hughes, Borman Entertainment’s Erik Peterson and the label‘s Miranda McDonald and Nick Kaper.
Summer Songs, Memorial Music
Known for backyard barbecues and as the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day more specifically honors those who have died while serving their country. To acknowledge both, Country Aircheck has compiled song lists that may help with holiday imaging or airplay. The first includes the most-played songs from 2022 reflecting the patriotic and service themes of Memorial Day, and the second is “summer” songs from the broader weekend.
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