With Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley hosting, we all expected the 51st Annual Country Music Awards to be a heartwarming event, gushing Southern charm and comedic performances, and collegiettes, it definitely was. Here are the highlights:
- One of the most touching moments was that the show was dedicated to all the victims of the hurricanes as well as the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Carrie Underwood urged us all to “Come together, pray together, cry together, and sing together, too.” Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flatts joined Eddie Montgomery for a performance of “My Town” for a heartwarming tribute to the Montgomery Gentry duo member, Troy Gentry. Little Big Town performed “Wichita Lineman” in honor of legendary country singer, Glen Campbell as well.
- Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley lightheartedly mocked President Trump with a parody of Underwood’s hit, “Before He Cheats”, with a new rendition called “Before He Tweets.” Lyrics included: “Right now, he’s probably in his PJs watching cable news reaching for his cellphone / Right now, he’s probably asking Siri ‘How in the hell do you spell Pocahontas?’”
- Pink and Niall Horan went country for the night. She didn’t have her typical acrobatic performance but Pink still killed it as she performed her new song, “Barbies.” Niall Horan successfully performed one of his first big performances without One Direction. He sang along with country singer Maren Morris, to her song “I Could Use a Love Song” and his song, “Seeing Blind.”
Courtesy: Billboard - Keith Urban performed his new song, “Female,” which is dedicated to all the women who came forward with their stories in the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Urban said of the song, “I am surrounded by females in my life. I grew up in a house with boys, no sisters. Now I am in a house that’s all girls. So this song speaks to me on a lot of levels.”
- Despite her new pop album Reputation being released on November 10, Taylor Swift was awarded another country music award. She won an award for “Better Man”, the song she wrote for Little Big Town. Sadly, Swift could not attend because she had to rehearse for Saturday Night Live. She sent her love via Twitter, saying “In NYC for SNL rehearsals. I LOVE YOU @littlebigtown and CMAS.”
- Garth Brooks falls into controversy for lip-synching during his performance of “Ask Me How I Know”. Fans expressed how heartbroken they were on Twitter but Brooks did not deny the allegations, citing that “the voice is gone” to reporters after the awards. Despite the disagreement, Brooks took home his sixth Entertainer of the Year award.
- Here’s the complete list of winners:
Entertainer of the Year: Garth Brooks
Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Stapleton
Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
Album of the Year: “From a Room, Vol. 1” by Chris Stapleton
Single of the Year: “Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban
Song of the Year: “Better Man” by Little Big Town and written by Taylor Swift
New Artist of the Year: Jon Pardi
Vocal Duo of the Year: Brothers Osbourne
Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town
Music Video of the Year: “It Ain’t My Fault” by Brothers Osbourne
Musical Event of the Year: “Funny How Time Slips Away” by Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson