Keith Urban, Eric Church Kick Off 2015 ACM Awards With Special Dual Performance

Keith Urban and Eric Church kicked off the 2015 ACM Awards with a bang ... a very special dual performance.

They started the show with "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag," from Church's Sinners Like Me album, before shifting gears and going into their current single, "Raise 'Em Up." The song juxtaposes several different lyrical themes, urging listeners to raise up everything from lighters at a concert, to a salute to our troops, to the next generation of children.

The two country superstars leaned heavily on the kind of rock influences they both bring to their high-energy live shows, getting the awards show off to a very entertaining start that set the tone for a fun-filled night for the live audience at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The song appears on Urban's current Fuse album. He was also up for Video of the Year for "Cop Car." Church is also nominated for Male Vocalist, Album and Song of the Year, but he says he's already accomplished what he set out to do.

"I’ve never really put a lot of weight as far as the award thing, and here’s why. I feel like you make the music you make; if you win, you win, if you don’t, you don’t. You still make the music you make.," he tells Taste of Country. “For me it’s always, win or lose, I can feel pretty good knowing that I’m proud of what The Outsiders has done, I’m proud of the album, and I’m proud of where we are at this point in time.”

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