When it came to Duo of the Year at the ACM Awards, Naomi Judd took that honor seriously. At the time, The Judds were the premier pairing in country music. The duo awards were theirs for the taking every year until the dawn of the 90s. Then, Brooks & Dunn came into the equation. They essentially take the batons from Naomi and Wynonna and become the primary pairing in country. Ever since, it's been Kix and Ronnie's to lose.
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Apparently, it was important for Naomi to essentially treat it as a changing of the guard. Recently, Brooks & Dunn spoke to Bobby Bones, where they explore the many ups and downs of their careers. One moment in the discussion sees Kix reflect on the time he blew up with Ronnie and The Judds were on the verge of breaking up. Consequently, Naomi seemingly deemed it necessary to pull him off to the side and do a formal torch passing.
The Judds Pass The Torch to Brooks & Dunn in 'Surreal' Moment
"This is the truth, though. I remember the first Duo of the Year that we won at the ACMs, we were leaving, had our families there and we were excited and whatever. And walking out the door, one of the concierge came up said 'Would you mind coming with me? Naomi Judd would like to have a word with you,'" Brooks recalls.
Went in there, she stood under in her beautiful evening gown, it was like this thing out of a movie, and I said, 'Hey, Naomi.' She said, 'I just wanted you to come down. I just wanna let you know that we're passing the torch to you guys tonight,'" Brooks continues. "And I'm like, 'Okay, I don't know if we're really torch passing or anything, but thank you.' She was a pretty dramatic personality. I didn't really have a good response for her other than, 'I appreciate you feeling that way, but there's a lot of great duos out there.'"
Ronnie laughs at Brooks' story, suggesting that this might've been a "power play" from Naomi. But Kix really takes it in since they were so early into their run. Ever since, they've been at the top of the mountain. "It was a very surreal moment... and we're only a couple of year in, this isn't like we're really comfortable in our skis here," he says.
