On Wednesday (Nov. 4) Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood hosted the 49th annual Country Music Association Awards.
The CMA Awards first started in 1967. They are presented and awarded to country music artists to recognize the amazing talent and outstanding achievement in the country music industry. Selection of the winners is done by over 7,400 people in the Country Music Association trade group voting in three rounds of ballots. Any song and/or album between July 1st of the prior calendar year and June 30th of the year of the award show, is eligible to be considered. The televised ceremony features performances by popular country music artists.
This year the big winners were Luke Bryan (Entertainer of the Year) and Miranda Lambert (Female Vocalist of the Year). Chris Stapleton took home Male Vocalist AND New Artst. Florida Georgia Line won Vocal Duo. Little Big Town scored Vocal Group and won single and Song of the Year for their track “Girl Crush”. Traveller was named Album of the Year. The best Music Video went to “Girl In A Country Song” by Maddie & Tae. Musician of the Year was awarded to Mac McAnally
This year we saw performances by favorites: Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Fall Out Boy with Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, John Mellencamp with Keith Urban, Kacey Musgraves, Brad Paisley, Reba with Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton with Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, Lindsey Stirling with Dierks Bentley and Hank Williams Jr.
Some popular presenters of the evening included: Betty Cantrell Miss America 2016, Sports Illustrated Cover Model Hannah Davis, Erika Christensen from ABC’s Wicked City, ESPN broadcasters, Brett Eldredge, Steve Martin, Jennifer Nettles, Darius Rucker, Kiefer Sutherland, Cole Swindell and Lee Ann Womack.