NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fletcher Foster, co-producer of the American Country Awards, has heard the question over and over the past few weeks: Do we really need another country music awards show? “I think it’s interesting that that’s become a question from several people,” Foster said. “When you look at how many award shows there are in other genres like R&B, you’ve got the Soul Trains, you’ve got BET, you’ve got tons of other award shows in other formats. For some reason in country music, I think it’s become more of an industry question than a consumer question. Consumers just want to see their artists on TV, I think.”

They’ll get a heavy dose of that when the inaugural awards show airs Monday night on Fox from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There are 18 performances crammed into the two-hour show — so many they’re only giving out a third of the show’s 15 awards on air.