BLI Builds A Bar At The ACCAs

The first-ever American Country Countdown (ACC) Awards aired live Monday, December 15th on FOX and BLI's instantly popular Twitter Social Bar was featured throughout the two-hour broadcast.

The show's hosts, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, said it best when listing the top 3 reasons why the ACC Awards would be the best country awards show ever: "Number 3, we've got a bar right on the set y'all!" Number 2: "It's all about you", referring to the fan-based nature of the American Country Countdown, which lists the top 30 country hits of the past week according to the Mediabase country chart, and the number one reason: “Did we mention we have an open bar on set?!"

Celebrities and lucky audience members cozied up to a full-service bar equipped with an impressive 360° array of 50" Samsung displays featuring a moderated Twitterfeed, a highlight of BLI's proprietary social moderation platform. Britelite also created custom software to drive visualizations that integrated Twitter-feeds with the event's visual themes. The display served as the backdrop for the show's sleek, circular bar, conveniently located in the center of the audience floor.

The Twitter Bar also served as a music venue for some of the evening's more intimate performances. Chart-topping country group, Lady Antebellum, sang a heartfelt version of their appropriately titled single, "Bartender". Jerrod Niemann and Kix Brooks performed at the bar as well, playing an acoustic version of the Brooks & Dunn hit ‘Rock My World (Little Country Girl). Niemann was also nominated in the Song of the Year category for his single "Drink to That All Night", further tying into the evening's bar theme.

Past American Idol winner Carrie Underwood opened the show with a medley of her biggest hits and garnered the top spot as the most tweeted-about musician of the night. Luke Bryan, Reba, Miranda Lambert, and Florida Georgia Line followed closely as the most mentioned artists at the Twitter Bar. In total, The ACCA Twitter Bar generated 14,313 interactions and 2,977,104 impressions on Twitter.

The show also featured performances on the main stage from the night's top winners including Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, and hosts Florida Georgia Line. Miranda Lambert and Kelly Clarkson gave a special tribute performance honoring country artist Reba as the first NASH ICON Award recipient. The legendary Hank Williams, Jr., Bocephus himself, closed the show with a raucous rendition of the country classic "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight".

Thanks to Dick Clark Productions, the American Country Countdown, Twitter, the Fox Network, and the entire production crew for their help in making the Twitter Social Bar and this great event possible. Keep checking for more news on our latest projects!