CMA Awards: Singular, shining moments
The 51st Annual CMA Awards had all the big moments you’d expect, and a few we definitely did not.
Along with the touching tributes and surprising wins, there were gentle jabs at President Trump, a renegade concert outside the arena and one of country music’s biggest stars admitting to lipsyncing.
Phew. Here’s what we’ll be talking about for weeks to come:
Just Hootie being Hootie
The show began with a pop song nearly as old as some of the night’s nominees. After Eric Church sang Amazing Grace a cappella, Darius Rucker led some of country’s biggest stars in Hold My Hand, a top 10 hit for his band Hootie & the Blowfish in 1994. Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Brooks & Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and more joined Rucker in the singalong, which earned a standing ovation from the crowd at Bridgestone Arena.
A salute to Troy Gentry
Two months ago, Gentry, one-half of country duo Montgomery Gentry, died in a helicopter crash. In Gentry’s honor, Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flatts performed the foot-stomping anthem My
Town, a top 5 hit for Montgomery Gentry in 2002. Flatts singer Gary LeVox sported a Batman T-shirt, a nod to Gentry’s favorite superhero. They were joined for the second half of the song by Eddie Montgomery, who strode on stage twirling his microphone stand as images of Gentry were shown on the screen behind him.
Underwood’s ‘In Memoriam’
The country music world has been beset by tragedy this year. Fifty-eight music fans were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. Three Country Music Hall of Famers — Jo Walker-Meador, Glen Campbell and Don Williams — died this year, and megastar Carrie Underwood delivered a touching performance in memory of the lives lost. Dressed in white and backed by a piano, she performed the gospel song Softly and Tenderly as images of Norro Wilson, Bob Forshee, Billy Mize, Tom Petty, Gregg Allman and many more were displayed behind her. At the end of her performance, Underwood became emotional as photos of the Las Vegas victims filled the screen.
Garth wins big and comes clean
Minutes after winning his second consecutive entertainer of the year award, Garth Brooks acknowledged to reporters that he lip-synced his performance of Ask Me How I Know. He said he was sick and in the midst of 12 shows in 10 days: “My voice was just not there.”
Trump lampooned in song
Co-hosts Underwood and Brad Paisley sang a song called Before He Tweets, a parody of Underwood’s hit Before He
Cheats. “Right now, he’s probably in his PJs, watching cable news, reaching for his cellphone,” Paisley sang. “Right now, he’s probably asking Siri, ‘ How in the hell do you spell Pocahontas?’
It’s the Sturgill Simpson show
While the stars sang onstage at Bridgestone, Simpson was outside the Nashville arena, busking for a small group of fans — and an online audience of thousands. The singer performed right in front of the arena entrance and streamed the performance on Facebook. He set up two signs in front of his guitar case: “‘Struggling’ country singer. Anything helps. (All donations go to the ACLU.) God Bless America.”