Ranking The 2021 ACM Awards Best To Worst Dressed Stars

The 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards gave country fans a reason to put on their cowboy (or girl) boots and shake it enough to make Luke Bryan proud. The show started off with lively back-to-back performances from Miranda Lambert and Elle King, who sang "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)," and Chris Brown and Kane Brown, who performed their hit "Famous Friends."

If you're having deja vu, you're not too far off. The 56th ACM Awards went on air on April 18, 2021 — about seven months after the 55th ACM Awards due to the latter event being postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Like last year's show, awards were presented from three iconic venues in Nashville: the Bluebird Cafe, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Ryman Auditorium.

Keith Urban returned to host the show along with first-timer Mickey Guyton, who admitted to Billboard on April 16, 2021 that she was a bit nervous to host alongside Urban, despite speaking in front of a much smaller audience than normal. Overall, Urban said his hope was to "bring some energy and light and love and life to everybody."

While the ACMs is no Grammys — which is known for welcoming some head-turning looks — country stars brought their shiniest spurs to the red carpet to celebrate their country roots. Let's take a look at the 2021 ACM Awards outfits that had us screaming "Yeehaw!" and the ones who had us wanting to turn back to the barn.

Country superstar Carrie Underwood let everyone get an inside peek at her 56th Annual ACM Awards performance when she posted a photo to Twitter that featured an outfit from her fitness apparel brand, but she did not prepare fans for such a beautiful performance look. Underwood dressed like a dream wearing an off-white ball gown that had glittering sequins throughout. She finished her look with soft curls that reached just above her waist. The "Cry Pretty" singer's outfit certainly made her look angelic, which likely was an ode to the gospel album, My Savior, that she released on March 26, 2021.

Fans were "Blown Away" by Underwood's gorgeous gown and admitted to wanting it in their own closets. "Carrie Underwood is just perfection on the #ACM awards. And that dress is the dress of my dreams. Beautiful!" one fan gushed. A wedding account even tweeted that her dress was the ultimate dress to walk down the aisle in.

Underwood not only looked stunning, but Billboard described her performance with CeCe Winans as "stunning" as well. The mom of two opened up her performance with a rich rendition of "Amazing Grace" before Winans joined her on stage for a heavenly medley of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "The Old Rugged Cross." Underwood then closed the set with "How Great Thou Art."

Miranda Lambert and Elle King had fans dancing in their living rooms with their high-energy performance at the top of the 2021 ACM Awards. The country superstar and the singer-songwriter matched their vivid performance by rocking some Elvis Presley-inspired jumpsuits complete with rhinestone embellishments. Lambert and King also wore matching leather jackets, Lambert's with pink fringe and King's with blue.

However, King was rocking a little extra something: her baby bump! The California native debuted her growing belly on the ACM red carpet and even joked about being "tight" in her outfit, according to People.

Fans were delighted to see the pair rocking out on stage together, with many agreeing that the duo both looked and sounded incredible. "This song is such a damn jam!! Also, Miranda & Elle look so good!" one fan tweeted. Another wrote, "MIRANDA AND ELLE SERVING LOOKS AND VOCALS I LOVE IT."

Actor, writer, and singer Leslie Jordan served a fun look when he presented Dan + Shay with the Duo of the Year award at the 56th Annual ACM Awards. Jordan arrived on stage with pep in his step and expected upbeat personality rocking a gold suit with groovy looking flowers, plants, and animals embroidered onto it. His unusual outfit definitely turned heads, but in the best way possible.

"I need Leslie Jordan's suit," one fan immediately noted. Another agreed, saying he wore "an absolute KING of a suit." An additional fan was simply enchanted by his contagious personality and wrote, "I just want to be best friends with Leslie Jordan."

Viewers also adored Jordan's introduction to his award presentation, in which he called himself "Portable Wagoner" to pay tribute to Porter Wagoner, a country singer who often dressed in funky suits. "Leslie Jordan cutting up at the #ACMAwards in a suit Porter Wagoner would have loved," a viewer hypothesized. Another fan approved of the gimmick and tweeted, "Love me some #PortableWagoner aka #LeslieJordan." It seems like Jordan would have made Wagoner proud.

Maren Morris wore a form-fitting rose gold dress on the 2021 ACM Awards red carpet that came with a $3,275 price tag, according to Pop Sugar. While she and husband Ryan Hurd were named one of the "cutest couples” on the carpet by People, it was her performance wardrobe that truly stole the show.

Morris hit the stage for a performance of "Chasing After You" with Hurd wearing a dreamy two-piece set consisting of sparkly, gold, form-fitting pants paired with a flowy off-the-shoulder crop top. Unsurprisingly, her look had fans screaming "Gold Love." One fan excitedly tweeted, "Maren Morris's outfit is absurd. And amazing. Shes great." Another internet-approved gold and sparkly outfit; There seems to be a trend here.

The new mom's positive performance energy definitely carried through the night, as minutes after her performance ended, she won Song of the Year for "Bones" and Later won Female Artist of the Year. Not too shabby!

Kenny Chesney took some heat for the outfit he chose to perform in at the 2021 ACM Awards. The country crooner paid tribute to country stars who died in the previous year with a touching performance of "Knowing You" at the event, but fans were unable to focus on the tribute because of his bizarre outfit choice.

Chesney wore a pretty plain outfit for his performance: a pair of gray slacks with a blue collared shirt and a cowboy hat — and Twitter was not having it. "Why is Kenny Chesney dressed like he's about to give a PowerPoint presentation on timeshares in Florida?" country site Whiskey Riff wrote. One fan gave a different take on the outfit, saying, "Kenny Chesney looks like he just left work at a 9-5 and then forgot he had to perform at the #ACMAwards so he threw on a cowboy hat." Another amused viewer tweeted that he was "wearing the same outfit as every middle aged man at their Niece's wedding sans cowboy hat."

It may not have been the most exciting outfit, but maybe Chesney wanted the focus on the screen behind him. Clearly, that did not happen.