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ACM Awards 2020: Gabby Barrett steals the show with 'I Hope', fans say American Idol 'found a good one' in her

Barrett independently released 'I Hope' which was co-written by Jon Nite and Zachary Kale. She has performed this song on Season 17 of 'American idol' in May 2019

After being delayed for six months, the 55th annual Academy of Country Music Awards is finally happening today, September 16. The Awards ceremony was initially scheduled to take place on April 5, 2020, in Las Vegas but just like every other major event, ACMs also got delayed due to the pandemic. For the first time in the history of ACMs, the award ceremony will be taking place at Nashville and will be broadcasting from three different venues — the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. The division happened in order to follow safety norms amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Gabby Barrett set the stage on fire with her crossover hit 'I Hope'. Barrett was nominated for New Female Artist of the Year at this year's awards but she lost to Tenille Townes. Before the performance, Barrett also shared a message on twitter where she wrote, "Getting ready for my ACM Awards performance tomorrow night  Watch it LIVE tomorrow at 8/7c on @CBS and @CBSAllAccess! You can @shazam my performance to unlock exclusive content too!"

Barrett independently released 'I Hope' which was co-written by Jon Nite and Zachary Kale. She has performed this song on Season 17 of 'American idol' in May 2019. The same year, she signed with Warner Music and 'I hope' was officially released as a single by the label on June 27, 2019. The song also appeared in the top 10 hit list on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Her debut album 'Goldmine' was released on June 19, 2020. On August 24, 2020, the single hit number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female country artiste to do so since Taylor Swift.

As soon as her performance started, people started showering their appreciation for her as one Internet user tweeted, "Pittsburgh native, former American Idol contestants, now husband and wife, and lastly the future parents @GabbyBarrett_ and Cade with a great #ACMawards performance." Another user complimented her and said, "I’d really given up hope that the singing competition shows were still capable of producing future stars. I think Idol found a good one in #GabbyBarrett"

Some demanded, "Damn, @GabbyBarrett_. We need this version of ‘I Hope’ on Apple Music ASAP.  #ACMawards." Some speculated, "I realize that turning "I Hope" into a duet with Charlie Puth helped Gabby Barrett get onto pop radio, but honestly, the original version without him is even better. #ACMawards."