Miranda Lambert's “Automatic” won Song of the Year at the Academy Of Country Music Awards, and as soon as she took the stage, the Texas-bred singer passed off the mic to one of her co-songwriters, Natalie Hemby.
That in itself was a sweet move, considering the scale of the stadium (nearly 70,000 people in attendance) and the prime time spot on CBS. Then Hemby made her speech, bringing attention to the strength of the all-female team behind the track (penned also by Nicolle Galyon).
“I hope I can be your Dean Dillon. Because you're my George Strait,” Gamby said to smiling Lambert.”
“Automatic” was Grammy-nominated earlier this year, for Best Country Solo Performance and for Best Country Song. It's one item on a very short list of Song Of The Year winners at the ACMs that are by women and performed by women (“Wide Open Spaces” by Dixie Chicks is also there).