Last night’s (Wednesday, November 8th) 51st annual Country Music Awards not only celebrated music, but displayed the true meaning of family and unity. Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley hosted the event, held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, for the 10th year in a row. They kicked off the show paying respect to the many lives lost in the numerous tragedies that have taken place in the U.S. over the past few months. Paisley added in their touching introductory speech that those lives “will not be forgotten.”
Eric Church got the performances rolling by opening the show with “Amazing Grace,” followed by Darius Rucker, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum performing Hootie & The Blowfish’s “Hold My Hand.”
The big winners of the evening included Garth Brooks with Entertainer of the Year, Keith Urban with Single of the Year for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” Chris Stapleton with Album of the Year From a Room: Volume 1 and Taylor Swift, who won Song of the Year for writing Little Big Town’s “Better Man.”
WINNERS
- Entertainer of the Year: Garth Brooks
- Single of the Year: Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
- Album of the Year: Chris Stapleton, From a Room: Volume 1
- Song of the Year: Taylor Swift, “Better Man”
- Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
- Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Stapleton
- Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town
- Vocal Duo of the Year: Brothers Osborne
- Musical Event of the Year: Glen Campbell with Willie Nelson, “Funny How Time Slips Away”
- Musician of the Year: Mac McAnally
- Music Video of the Year: Brothers Osborne, “It Ain’t My Fault”
- New Artist of the Year: Jon Pardi
