There were a whole lot of viewers who were crying along with Miranda Lambert when she won Female Vocalist of the Year and grooving to the beat of Lady Antebellum's performance of 'Downtown' during the 2013 ACM Awards. In fact, the 48th annual show had over 15 million viewers (15.38 million, to be exact), posting the largest audience since 1998.

Country music's biggest party of the year soared to the top of Sunday night's television ratings, with CBS beating out the 2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament, NBA Basketball and MLB Baseball. It goes to show that the ACMs have something for everyone, as sports fans got their athletic fix through the Band Perry's high-energy dancing, while fans of 'The Voice' were able to see coach Blake Shelton perform his fan-favorite hit 'Sure Be Cool if You Did.' Plus, there was a great shock factor of seeing Luke Bryan win Entertainer of the Year.

If you're a statistics guru, you'll also be glad to know the 2013 ACMs had the highest number of households and adults ages 18-49 since 2001 and adults ages 25-54 since 2000. The April 7 broadcast also marked the first time the ACM Awards have beaten the same season’s Country Music Awards in these ratings categories.

Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music, was floored by the news, saying, "Wow, we knew we had a great plan to get the word out to music fans to watch, but the fact that they embraced us on this level just makes us want to reach higher next year."

The 2013 ACMs were such a smashing success, it's no wonder that everyone wanted to get in on the action and see their favorite country stars perform, accept awards and have a whole lot of fun.

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