It’s been a great year for inspired acceptance speeches (looking at you, Jelly Roll!), but some of the most highly anticipated performances let us all down
The 57th CMA Awards were full of historic moments: Lainey Wilson became the first woman to be named Entertainer of the Year since Taylor Swift in 2011; Tracy Chapman is now the only Black songwriter to win CMA Song of the Year; and Chris Stapleton broke his own record by scoring his seventh consecutive win as a male singer. They’re all things to be celebrated (and opportunities to ask: What took so long?), as are many of the performances (we’re still raving about Stapleton’s “White Horse” and Kelsea Ballerini’s “Leave Me Again”) .
But it wouldn’t be the CMAs without some expectations not met or some completely cringe-worthy moments. Here’s the best and worst of the big night – along with a few things that made us wonder what the hell they were thinking.
The best thing: acceptance speeches were on fire.
Photo credit: Terry Wyatt/Getty ImagesTypically, at any country awards acceptance speech, you can expect two shout-outs: one to country radio and one to God (in that order). But this year’s CMA speeches were particularly inspired, spontaneous and even graceful. Luke Combs was classy when he won Single of the Year for his version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” and immediately thanked the songwriter (who later became the first Black songwriter to ever win CMA Song of the Year) by name. Chris Stapleton paid tribute to his mentor and SteelDrivers bandmate Mike Henderson, who passed away in September, and Lainey Wilson honored the dreams of aspiring female country singers around the world in her EOTY performance. Then there was Jelly Roll, who turned the stage into a pulpit when she won Best New Artist: “Keep going, baby!” he screamed. But any trophy for best speech has to go to the Brothers Osborne, who once again showed why they are the most normal “stars” in Nashville. John Osborne talked about his high school geekdom, while brother TJ poked fun at his fellow nominees’ “ay” names: “Dan + Shay, Maddie & Tae, the War and Treat-ay, Brooks & Dunn-ay.” And brothers Osborn-ay.” It was a word nerd’s dream. –JH
WTF: Kelsea Ballerini is getting snubbed.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/VarietyThings went wrong from the start, as after a year she made her debut on Saturday Night Live, appeared on the cover of Time magazine as part of the Next 100 list, and released the absolutely stunning album Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (after the same great). Subject to change) and capped off with a hometown arena show in Knoxville, there was no Entertainer of the Year nomination for Kelsea Ballerini. That was the show’s first mistake, because Ballerini not only secured the awards and appearances, she did it all while remaining sonically true to the country music genre and bringing others along for the ride. The second mistake was sending her home with zero – yes, not one – awards. That’s not to say Lainey Wilson doesn’t deserve it, but that’s what happens when the country music machine continues to only allow one woman at a time: Truly great work (and singers) go unrecognized. We are very lucky that she still agrees to stay here. —MM
Best: Dan + Shay level up.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/VarietyWe all know that Dan + Shay can sing any song with aplomb, but at the CMA Awards they reached their highest level yet, delivering arguably the most powerful and seemingly spontaneous performance of the night with “Save Me the Trouble.” Shay Mooney strutted around the stage like a pissed off, jilted lover, tucked up in a tight black T-shirt. (If we’re being honest, he kind of scared us.) Then he boldly chose a knee slide that would make a young Springsteen proud. It was both theatrical and grand. But none of this would have worked without his musical partner Dan Smyers, who led the band just a few meters away. After nearly falling apart during the pandemic, they instead rallied and reinvented themselves. Nashville is better for this. –JH
Best: Jimmy Buffett’s homage brought the Parrothead vibes.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/VarietyWe all know how awards show tributes can go: rushed medleys, choppy verses, funny pairings and maudlin comments. So when Jimmy Buffett’s chief heir Kenny Chesney and Buffett’s longtime musical collaborator Mac McAnally took the stage alone to duet “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” it was a welcome and fitting way to set the tone for the ending, which is a heartfelt tribute to the late singer. The tribute only kicked into high gear when the camera cut to a barefoot, shorts-wearing Zac Brown and a aviator-wearing Alan Jackson, both former Buffett compatriots, who led the crowd in a sing-along to “Margaritaville.” Everyone in the arena seemed to be standing, grinning, and engaging in the audience’s participation in the lyrics (“Salt! Salt! Salt!”). Somewhere Jimmy is smiling. –JB
Worst: Post Malone didn’t live up to the hype.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/VarietyOn paper, Post Malone singing a medley of country songs with Morgan Wallen and Hardy sounds like a slam dunk. The only problem is that that didn’t actually happen. Instead we got a pair of Joe Diffie classics. To be clear, we have no problem with this at all (the late Diffie is a fucking legend), but only Wallen and Hardy sang the first song: “John Deere Green.” Posty didn’t appear until the second Pickup Man. It’s no coincidence that both songs and all three artists appear on Hardy’s new mixtape, which was released immediately after the show, making the entire performance feel like an advertisement at best and overly rehearsed karaoke at worst. Here’s hoping Malone’s country medley at Stagecoach 2024 delivers what it could have been. –JH
Best: Ashley McBryde shows the power of three chords and the truth.
Image source: Christopher Polk/VarietyAshley McBryde didn’t have to do much at all in the way of musical or visual accompaniment – some light drumming and mandolin here, a few simple overhead lights there – to make her performance of the wistful ballad “Light on in the Kitchen” one of the most heartfelt moments of the At evening. Hearing the song’s “Trust Yourself” refrain, McBryde’s single sounded like a vital anthem full of self-made wisdom (“There’s more to life than being thin”) and feel-good aphorism (“You better love yourself”) through an evening, where some of the most acclaimed and larger-than-life performances seemed like background noise. –JB
WTF: No Zach Bryan appearance?
Photo credit: John Shearer/Getty ImagesHe was right there, sitting next to Jelly Roll in a Bob Dylan T-shirt and white baseball cap: Zach Bryan, arguably one of the genre’s biggest and most zeitgeisty stars (and a New Artist of the Year nominee). Between sold-out stadium shows and Billboard Number Ones, Bryan showed up – but did he show up? No: Instead we got two stage performances each from Jelly, Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton and a medley from Luke Bryan with about 350 number one songs, give or take. Perhaps their choice of hosts suggests that the CMA has no desire to stay relevant anyway, but Zach’s cross-genre appeal could have attracted a whole new group of viewers (and given Stapleton some nice relief from being the palate cleanser at every event to have to). A performance from Zach-Kacey Musgraves would have been the icing on the cake – I guess we’ll just have to wait for the Grammys to get that right. —MM
Best of all, The War and Treaty hosted a singing master class.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/VarietyVocal duo Michael and Tanya Trotter, performing as War and Treaty, delivered the evening’s most impressive display of controlled and crafted singing as the duo traded verses on “That’s How Love Is Made.” War and Treaty began the song holding hands and shrouded in smoke, presenting their single from their latest album, Lover’s Game, as a simple, emotional performance of intimacy and vulnerability, with Michael and Tanya singing directly into each other’s eyes. It brought the Bridgestone Arena crowd to its feet. (Luke Combs could be seen greeting the couple with his red mug over his head.) The strummed romantic ballad also became one of the most traditional roots country moments of the night. –JB
Worst: Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan falsify the monologue.
Photo credit: Christopher Polk/VarietyOne Oscar-loving fan commented online about CMA hosts Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning: “If anyone can create a LaLa Land moment tonight, it’s these guys.” Unfortunately, they didn’t mistakenly chose the winner of “Entertainer of the Year.” Years” but they made their opening monologue look like a big butt. The jokes were stupid, the performances were often pathetic, and the lack of topical humor – well, maybe the producers wisely decided to leave it out. This was the second year the NFL star and American Idol judge hosted the CMAs. Maybe the third time will be the charm, but we somehow don’t want to find out. –JH
WTF: The finale was a lot of naps.
Image source: Christopher Polk/VarietyJelly Roll’s opening performance of “Need a Favour” was a spirited, non-obvious opening to this year’s awards show (and included a surprise appearance from Wynonna Judd!). But it made a lot less sense for the breakout star to also end the show with R&B/country singer K. Michelle. Together they sang a reverent if staid rendition of the Judds’ 1990 reunion ballad “Love Can Build a Bridge.” We see here what the producers had in mind: The country and the genre were so divided, they believed, that a ballad about healing and unity could make a nice ending. And both Jelly and Michelle actually delivered excellent performances. But choosing this song as the finale put us to sleep after an already long show. –JB
