Carrie Underwood has landed a HBO Christmas special to celebrate her first festive album

Sarah Aubrey, head of original content at HBO Max, said: "Carrie Underwood is a multi-faceted talent and we are thrilled to be partnering with her and our friends at Playtone to bring a dose of holiday cheer."

Similarly, Carrie is delighted with the outcome of her new album and is over the moon that she gets to bring it "to life" in the HBO special.

She said in a statement: "The journey of writing and recording this album started last year when I finished my tour and we could have never anticipated the circumstances we would be in this year. Creating this album has been good for my heart and I'm thrilled to get to share it with the world and to bring it to life with Playtone and HBO Max."

Meanwhile, the country singer and Thomas Rhett made history at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) as they were announced as co-winners of the Entertainer of the Year prize in the first-ever tie for the accolade.

Shocked host Keith Urban - who won last year's Entertainer of the Year - announced there were joint winners of the gong during the event's remote telecast earlier this month, before revealing Thomas was one of the lucky ones and presenting him with a trophy.

She said: "2020, man! Thank you, God, so much. All Glory, glory to God. And thank you to the ACMs, not just for this, but for putting me in such incredible company.

"I am more than happy to share this with Thomas Rhett and just to have my name mentioned with his and Luke and Luke and Eric Church.

"I am beyond honoured. Thank you, fans, for coming out to see us, spending your hard-earned money. [The] band, crew and everybody that makes those shows happen. You guys, hold on, it will happen again. Just hold on.

"You guys made us all feel safe and you work so hard and I'm just really glad that we got to celebrate. Thank you so much. Thank you for this. God bless."