The 53rd Annual CMA Awards are happening tonight at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and it’s going to be a star-studded event.
This year’s show will be hosted by Carrie Underwood, along with co-hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, and it’s going to be a celebration of women in country music. In fact, the show is set to open with an all-female opening number, lead by Carrie, Reba and Dolly, and featuring Terri Clark, Sara Evans, Crystal Gayle, The Highwomen (a.k.a.Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires), Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, Tanya Tucker and Gretchen Wilson.
Of course that certainly won’t be the only performance of the night. Performances planned for the show include:
Carrie will perform the “Cry Pretty” track “Drinking Alone”
Reba is throwing it back to her classic track “Fancy.”
Dolly will be joined by KING & COUNTRY and Zach Williams to perform a gospel medley of “God Only Knows,” “There Was Jesus,” and Parton’s new song “Faith.”
Eric Church will perform “Some Of It,” from is Album of the Year nominated record “Desperate Man.”
Miranda Lambert will perform “It All Comes Out In The Wash” from “Wildcard.”
Luke Combs will perform his fun track “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”
Maren Morris will perform her three-time nominated single “GIRL.”
Keith Urban will perform his latest single “We Were.”
Kelsea Ballerini will perform her latest single “Homecoming Queen?”
Dan + Shay will perform “Speechless.”
Thomas Rhett will perform “Remember You Young”
Old Dominion will perform “One Man Band.”
Plus, special collaborations planned for the show include:
Chris Stapleton and Pink will perform their tune “Love Me Anyway.”
Brooks & Dunn will team with Brothers Osborne for “Hard Workin’ Man.”
Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton will get together for a performance of “Dive Bar.”
Kacey Musgraves will team with Willie Nelson for a special performance of “Rainbow Connection.”
Lady Antebellum will be joined by Halsey for what’s being described as a “genre defying mashup,” that will feature Lady A’s “What If I Never Get Over You.”
As for the nominees, Maren Morris leads the pack with six nods including Album of the Year for “Girl” and Female Vocalist of the Year. Coming in a close second to Maren is Brothers Osborne
with four, followed by Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood, who all nabbed three.
In addition, Kris Kristofferson will be honored with the CMA’s 2019 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Kris won’t be on hand to accept his award, but Dierks Bentley, Sheryl Crow, Chris
Janson and John Osborne will pay tribute to him with a performance of Kris’ classic “Me and Bobby McGee.”
The 53rd Annual CMA Awards air tonight on ABC at 8 pm ET. Check out this year’s nominees below.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Garth Brooks
Eric Church
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
“Girl” – Maren Morris
“God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
“Millionaire” – Chris Stapleton
“Speechless” – Dan + Shay
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“Center Point Road” – Thomas Rhett
“Cry Pretty” – Carrie Underwood
“Dan + Shay” – Dan + Shay
“Desperate Man” – Eric Church
“Girl” – Maren Morris
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Beautiful Crazy” Songwriters: Luke Combs, Wyatt B. Durrette III, Robert Williford
“Girl” Songwriters: Maren Morris, Sarah Aarons, Greg Kurstin
“God’s Country” Songwriters: Devin Dawson, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy
“Rainbow” Songwriters: Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
“Tequila” Songwriters: Dan Smyers, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Midland
Old DominionZac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Cody Johnson
Ashley McBryde
Midland
Carly Pearce
Morgan Wallen
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“All My Favorite People” – Maren Morris (feat. Brothers Osborne)
“Brand New Man” – Brooks & Dunn (with Luke Combs)
“Dive Bar” – Garth Brooks & Blake Shelton
“Old Town Road (Remix)” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
“What Happens In A Small Town” – Brantley Gilbert & Lindsay Ell
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
“Girl” – Maren Morris
“God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
“Rainbow” – Kacey Musgraves
“Some Of It” – Eric Church