Sugarland Drop Out of ACM Awards Performance Due to Illness

The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards kicked off with a massive multi-generational medley, but one of the advertised acts was noticeably missing: Sugarland.

During the performance, a range of previous ACM winners took the stage to perform their signature hits, including host Reba McEntire, Wynonna Judd and LeAnn Rimes were among the artists to take the stage. Sugarland had been announced as the act to represent the early Aughts, but when it came time for their performance, Little Big Town appeared instead, singing their 2014 hit “Girl Crush.”

But half of the duo, Kristian Bush, was on hand to present Duo of the Year to Brooks & Dunn, where he took a moment to explain the last-minute switchup. Noting that he was alone on stage, he said his musical partner, Jennifer Nettles, had fallen ill that morning, so he was on his own for the evening. He joked that this is evidence that “it takes two.”

Sugarland had gone on hiatus to pursue solo projects in 2012. They reunited for the 2018 album Bigger, which featured the song “Babe” with Taylor Swift. Last fall, they embarked on a co-headlining tour with Little Big Town.

Bush produced Megan Moroney’s album Am I Okay? The album is up for Album of the Year at this year’s ceremony. He had previously produced Moroney’s Lucky.