The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CMA Awards 2017: best and worst moments
Country music stars urge unity during awards show.
Aside from a few President Donald Trump jokes, the Country Music Association Awards largely stayed away from politics on Wednesday night — not too surprising, as country singers have mostly remained very, very neutral in a year of political controversies.
Instead, the show pushed “unity.” Co-host Brad Paisley wore a T-shirt with the word printed on it. Onstage, artists emphasized the need for Americans to join together, particularly in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, where 58 people were shot and killed and hundreds more were injured at a country music festival last month.
“This has been a year marked by tragedies impacting countless lives, including so many in our country music family. So tonight, we’re going to do what families do,” co-host Carrie Underwood said at the top of the show. “Come together, pray together, cry together and sing together, too.”
When Little Big Town won vocal group of the year, Karen Fairchild reminded the audience, “Kindness is an attractive quality. We actually could change the way things are going, we just have to step out and be together.” Presenter Tyler Perry got a standing ovation when he urged everyone to “spend some time listening to each other and realize that we are more alike than we are not alike.”
Elsewhere, CMA favorite
Chris Stapleton won the album and male vocalist trophies, tying Little Big Town and Brothers Osborne, who also took home two awards each. Miranda Lambert picked up female vocalist prize. And for the second year in a row, Garth Brooks walked away with the night’s biggest award, entertainer of the year.
Other winners included Keith Urban, who picked up his first-ever single of the year CMA for “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (co-written by Washington, Ga., native Hillary Lindsey); Miranda Lambert earned her seventh female vocalist of the year trophy; Chris Stapleton for “From a Room: Vol. 1” in album of the year, as well as his third win for male vocalist of the year; and Jon Pardi for new artist of the year.
Little Big Town, whose Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman maintain Georgia ties, won a record-tying sixth award for vocal group of the year.
The three-hour show also included a couple of surprises, including an insinuated Sugarland reunion and an appearance by Atlanta’s Tyler Perry, who shared
some inspiring words that fit the theme of the night. “I believe now, it has never been more important that we come together, find some common ground,” Perry said, earning an ovation. “(We need to) spend some time listening to each other and realizing that we are more alike than we are not alike. Great music has always been a bridge to doing just that.”
Armed with guitars and fueled by a crowd that packed the room at the Big Machine Label Group afterparty, Kristian Bush, who still lives in Atlanta, and Jennifer Nettles, who resides in Nashville, played their hits “Baby Girl” and “Stay” as if time were frozen in the Sugarland-dominated mid-’00s.
Among the best moments in the show:
■ Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s monologue.
It’s the 10th consecutive year that these two have hosted the CMAs, and their comedic timing really does get better every November. The duo had a tough task, going from a solemn Las Vegas tribute into the traditional monologue with country song parodies. Still, they made it work
— particularly one parody set to the tune of Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” Except this one was aimed at President Trump and was called “Before He Tweets.” Sample lyrics: “Right now, he’s probably in his PJs watching cable news reaching for his cellphone.”
■ Carrie Underwood’s haunting In Memoriam tribute.
Underwood’s voice can take on any song, but you could hear a pin drop in the Bridgestone Arena when she sang the hymn “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” during the In Memoriam segment. While the slideshow first paid tribute to country stars who died this year, the screen flipped to show the Las Vegas victims for a truly emotional moment.
■ Brothers Osborne’s performance.
This Maryland duo has become an industry favorite, and their electric performance of “It Ain’t My Fault” proved why — along with an excellent version of Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time,” which spurred Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley to get up and start dancing. The
siblings also won the vocal duo prize, and in his acceptance speech, T.J. Osborne joked that they’ve made a lot more money since they won the same award last year.
■ The tributes to Troy Gentry and Glen Campbell.
Gentry, of longtime Nashville duo Montgomery Gentry, died in a plane crash a couple of months ago at age
50. Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flatts joined together for a rendition of “Our Town,” and Eddie Montgomery jumped in to sing along, as well — the cameras caught quite a few tears in the audience. Later, Little Big Town honored the late Glen Campbell with a cover of “Wichita Lineman.”
Among the worst moments in the show:
■ Taylor Swift not showing up to accept the song of the year award for “Better Man.”
Yes, Swift is in New York rehearsing for “Saturday Night Live” because her album comes out Friday, and yes, she made a big deal about the fact that she’s no longer a country singer. Still, given the fact that she wrote Little Big Town’s “Better Man” and it became a big hit, it would have been fun to see the pop megastar on the CMA stage once again. Plus, her best pal Karlie Kloss was presenting the trophy! What are the odds? Instead, we just got this tweet: “In NYC for SNL rehearsals. I LOVE YOU @littlebigtown and CMAs.”
■ The Garth Brooks lipsync incident during “Ask Me How I Know.”
Come on, Garth — as entertainer of the year, you should know you can’t hold the microphone away from your face when the vocal track is still playing. Social media will catch you immediately. Brooks later told the Tennessean that he made the call because he wasn’t feeling well: “We decided to lipsync it because my voice just isn’t going anywhere, and we wanted to represent country music the best we can.”