CMT Music Award Performances Make The Night!
Tonight was the night for the long awaited CMT Music Awards! Although I am happy for all the artists who received a buckle, I’m not happy with all of the results. But…life goes on, life isn’t fair, there is always next year, on to the next, and every other “keep your chin up” moto out there is running through my mind. So instead of giving my thoughts on the winners, I’ll give my thoughts on the major performances. Country stars had Nashville rocking and everyone else in America wishing we were there!
It started off strong with Toby Keith and his latest single “Made In America“. This Oklahoma native has a tremendous amount of pride for his country and never fails to describe it in his lyrics! The Band Perry was next with the intro of “Love The Way You Lie” originally by Rihanna and then went straight into their latest hit “You Lie“. It was an energetic display with sister Kimberly traveling from the main stage, to a mini stage equipped with her piano, then back to the main stage.
One of my favorite parts of the night was Luke Bryan singing “Country Girl (Shake It For ME)”. He looked like he was having the time of his life on stage dancing to his recent hit! This performance definitely brought up the level of excitement in the enormous room.
Rascal Flatts was backed by a very talented choir as they sang “I Won’t Let Go“. It was touching and I was very impressed with their humble performance. For the first time in 3 years Big and Rich graced the stage with a little help from their favorite redneck woman, Gretchen Wilson. The three rocked the stage with “Fake ID“, a comical tale of a youngster looking for a good time!
My all-time favorite part of the night by far was Sheryl Crow with host Kid Rock and their performance of “Collide“. These two always hit the ball out of the park when the team up, “Picture” is still a classic in my mind! Tonight the duo was both sincere and entertaining, ending the song with a slow dance. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, that is country music at its finest!
Zac Brown Band kept it tropical and breezy with “Knee Deep“. Sugarland had an emotional performance with “Stand Up“, having two sisters from Joplin, Mo join them on stage to wave the “LOVE Flag”. Keith Urban shared with us “Long Hot Summer“, which is sure to be the next summer hit. Lady Antebellum gave us a surprise when they followed up their song “Just A Kiss” with “Kiss” by Prince. The extra something at the end was fun and livened up their whole performance!
Probably the most shocking part of the night was Jason Aldean with Ludacris and their re-vamped version of “Dirt Road Anthem“. Aldean always impresses me with his “rapping” abilities and having the rap star Luda join him was a refreshing and impressive event that I enjoyed. The show ended with a “good night” from Kid Rock and Aldean back on stage with “My Kinda Party“!
If you didn’t get a chance to watch the show don’t get flustered, CMT will be airing it on re-run and it is also online at cmt.com!