CMT Awards such as Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood’s Duet Style; Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson also claim honors

Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood came out on top of “The CMT Music Awards” on the show’s main network broadcast premiere on CBS, earning the top honor for Video of the Year, which was voted on by fans during the three-week run. hours. . The pair also picked up an additional trophy for their song “If I Didn’t Love You,” for collaborative video of the year.

Cody Johnson was Monday night’s other two-time winner, taking home male video of the year for “‘Til You Can’t” as well as a CMT Digital Performance Award.

Miranda Lambert, who scooped an Academy of Country Music Award for Entertainer of the Year in March, had more reason to celebrate at the CMTs, winning Female Video of the Year for “If I Was a Cowboy,” that she also acted in the program.

Maddie & Tae were surprise winners for duo/group for “Woman You Got,” and Parker McCollom scored a breakthrough video with her hit “To Be Loved by You.”

The show was co-hosted by actor Anthony Mackie, last-minute recruit Kane Brown and, bravely showing up from her living room and backyard due to a positive COVID test two days earlier, Kelsea Ballerini.

“Seventeen years in the game and this is my first time winning video of the year,” said Aldean, who has waited his turn to receive a major country award, having been overlooked many times by the CMAs and ACMs. – and even, as he put it, CMT – despite his status as the country’s superstar. “I arrived on the scene about the same time as Carrie,” he noted. “I’m pretty sure I picked the perfect partner for this song.”

McCollom seemed dumbfounded by his newcomer honor, blurting out, “I never won anything and I never had to say anything.”

Meanwhile, host Gayle King had her own airing honor. “The best reaction is for you, Maddie”, she speaking with Maddie Font of the sister duo Maddie & Tae.

If there was a fan vote, it surely would have gone to Marlow as well, who spoke so emotionally that her voice finally entered an indistinguishable register. Ella’s sister Tae Kerr watched mostly silently from a higher screen, at home cradling her little daughter. The duo have not been highly rewarded in their eight-year recording history, which no doubt accounted for much of the excitement. “This is so much bigger than a music video award for us,” Font said. “I’m crying. I’ve been drinking wine. God knows me.”

The best line of the night, in a show full of comedic moans, would have to have gone to the cast of “Queer Eye,” who, as hosts, joked, “You know we didn’t come here just to put the LGBTQ community on the line. barbecue”. .”

Live performances took place on two stages inside the Nashville Municipal Auditorium and also outdoors, with one stage set up with the Country Music Hall of Fame facade in full view. Nashville was experiencing a rain storm, and the fact that at least some of the outdoor activity was taking place live was evident in an early performance from Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, who seemed to take pride in getting out and getting a little wet during their duo. “Come on, they killed him in the rain!” Mackie said, irritating the crowd of dryers inside.

Some of the artists performed new songs, such as Underwood, who had pre-recorded a version of his new single “Ghost Story” between shows at his Resorts World Las Vegas residency; Underwood did something he doesn’t do every night in Vegas, which was join his group of flying acrobats on the ropes at the end.

Others performed familiar material, like Kenny Chesney, who ended the show with his old song “Beer in Mexico” as an effective advertisement for his upcoming stadium tour. “See you this summer! I can not wait!”

The prize for the best performance of the game would go to Ballerini, who performed her new song in the patio of her house, in the middle of some flowers, with a sheet that separated her from the shadows of some musicians. It might have been a more memorable read than anything he could have done as a larger stage production. And in any case, her night has benefited from how lovely she looked in a succession of dresses in the austerity of her living room. Her allure in that remote setting could even be chalked up as a win for Ballerini, despite the fact that she admitted in an Instagram video earlier in the day that she was “devastated” at not being able to fulfill her duties at the location. .

Ballerini also began to dress more casually as the night progressed: first, to show off a St. Jude T-shirt, and finally to be the first officiant of the night to officially don pajamas.

Others who made the most of the night included the Judds, who took to the outside stage to cap off the night with a reunion and fireworks just hours after announcing what was billed as a farewell tour later that day.

The best performance of the night leaned more towards R&B than straight country, with Mickey Guyton reuniting with the Black Pumas, ahead of an upcoming “CMT Crossroads” they’re doing together, and proving she’ll have a home in that genre if she ever have a reason to leave this.

Presenters included the mother-daughter team of Isabel May and Faith Hill (below), LeAnn Rimes (below with artist Maren Morris), and Kacey Musgraves doing the honors for the Judds.

The list of winners:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood, ‘If I Didn’t Love You’

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert, “If I Were a Cowboy”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Cody Johnson, “Until You Can’t”

DUO/GROUP VIDEO
Maddie and Tae, “The Woman You Have”

ADVANCED VIDEO
Parker McCollom, “To Be Loved By You”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO
Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood, ‘If I Didn’t Love You’

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
George Strait, “Anybody Going to San Antone?”

CMT DIGITAL PERFORMANCE
cody johnson