The CMT Music Awards this year had a mixed bag of noteworthy moments. The show was hosted by a somewhat odd trio of Kane Brown, Ashley McBryde and ‘Modern Family’ actress Sarah Hyland. It was McBryde though that stood out as not only the most comfortable in her hosting duties, but also gave a killer performance of “Martha Divine” early in the show. Other standout performances, at least for good reasons, were Dan + Shay and Kelsea Ballerini with Halsey. Singing their nominated song “I Should Probably Go To Bed”, viewers were the opposite of sleepy with Shay Mooney’s incredible vocals. Can I please be Dan + Shay when I grow up? Ballerini and Halsey gave a powerful duet of “The Other Girl” where it became clear that neither deserve to play second fiddle to anyone. As far as acceptance speeches go, the clear winner of the night goes to Chris Young, who won Performance of the Year for “Drowning” at the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year. In a poignant moment, Chris was accepting an award for a performance that wasn’t even supposed to happen. The award’s presenter, co-host Kane Brown, was supposed to perform at the Artists of the Year ceremony, but canceled his performance due to the death of his drummer Kenny Dixon. So Young stepped in and performed this song as a tribute to Dixon. The moment that Brown and Young shared tonight was one of the most heartfelt, tear-inducing awards show moments this year and will be remembered for years to come.
Not every moment could be as powerful though. I know she’s a Canadian country queen and it pains me to have to say it, but what was that Shania Twain performance? Singing her classic “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under”, she performed in a room full of mannequins that were as dead as my interest in continuing to watch the train wreck that was unfolding. And the duet between Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus, performing their song “This Is Us”, was all flash and no substance. They barely looked at each other once and they had some cringeworthy dance moves. That performance went from bad to worse at a landslide speed. Meanwhile, Sam Hunt’s performance of “Hard to Forget” could’ve been called “Hard to Hear”. It wasn’t particularly bad, I just couldn’t tell what was being sung. But that was less his fault and more the sound crew’s.
Overall, the show, as a whole, was better than recent years, but uneven at best. Leave your best and worst moments in the comments below. Stay tuned to Stars and Guitars for all the latest country music news.
