Carrie Underwood Reveals The Gender Of Baby No. 2
Just as she did with her firstborn child, Underwood revealed the gender of her second child with husband Mike Fisher, announcing that she is expecting another baby boy during the opening monologue.
“Remember last time when I accidentally revealed the gender of your baby? Tonight we’re going to reveal something even more exciting — who your baby’s father is!” her co-host Paisley jokingly said at the podium, before listing off several names that’d indicate whether she was having a boy or girl. “Garth or Trisha?” he continued, along with a number of other famous country couples, before posing the trick question: “Willie or Waylon?” She eventually caved and said the upcoming baby was “a Willie.”
#CarrieBlewIt! After some pushing, Brad Paisley gets co-host Carrie Underwood to spill the beans on the gender of her baby at the 2018 #CMAAwards (it’s a “Willy”)! pic.twitter.com/sFW1WA8rgW
— Access (@accessonline) November 15, 2018
Luke Bryan Shines Light On Cole Swindell & More Newcomers During Opening Number
Luke Bryan has a long and lengthy history with the annual show, so it wasn’t surprising to see the veteran superstar shine some light on budding new country stars during his performance of recent single, “What Makes You Country.”
For the opening ceremony number, which was preceded by a moment of silence for the 12 victims of the Thousand Oaks shooting, the 42-year-old superstar kicked off the toe-tapping country anthem at the center of the stage. “Let’s be proud of what makes this country tonight,” he said at the top of his performance. Towards the middle of the number, Bryan took the sidelines by welcoming folks like Jon Pardi, Luke Combs, Cole Swindell, Lindsay Ell, Ashley McBryde and Chris Janson to take over the song on both vocals and instrumentation fronts.
THE #CMAawards are LIVE on @ABCTelevisionNetwork! Nominee @LukeBryanOnline just kicked off the night with @LukeCombs, @LindsayEll, @Janson_Chris, @AshleyMcBryde, @JonPardi & @ColeSwindell! ???? pic.twitter.com/8aWcc42ZXL
— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) November 15, 2018
Thomas Rhett Couldn’t Stop Giggling After Kissing His Wife Mid-Performance
Nothing like the good ol’ college days. Thomas Rhett brought the University of Georgia to the 2018 Country Music Awards as he performed his hit single “Life Changes” with UGA as the backdrop. The real-life college dropout kicked off his performance hopping out of dorm room bed before knocking over a few books. He then began singing with a full-on marching band, seemingly ditching his studies completely to have some fun. #Relatable
The most memorable part of Thomas’ performance though was when he hugged his wife, Lauren Akins, who was in the crowd, and couldn’t stop giggling as they held on to each other. (Talk about couple goals!)
Early front-runner for the most adorable moment of the #CMAawards: Thomas Rhett hugging his wife Lauren Atkins during his performance of “Life Changes.” ???? #CMAsOn2 pic.twitter.com/WK8JuMQzra
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) November 15, 2018
Garth Brooks & The CMAs Pay Tribute To The Victims Of Thousand Oaks
Brad and Carrie Pass Out Nashville Hot Chicken
Country stars gotta eat too!
Keith Urban Tearfully Accepts Entertainer of the Year Award
Kacey Musgraves Wins Album Of The Year For Golden Hour
Kacey Musgraves proved to be a true believer when the singer/songwriter took to the 2018 CMA Awards and won Album of the Year for her critically-acclaimed Golden Hour despite calling out the ceremony for their gender disparity. “This is really, really crazy timing, because I just realized this morning — it sounds like a lie — 10 years ago today I moved to Nashville,” Musgraves kicked off her acceptance speech alongside the album’s co-producers Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian. “We poured everything we had into this [album], and I’m so proud of it.” Prior to her big win, Musgraves performed “Slow Burn” off the LP, offering the audience with a taste of the heartfelt spirit of her album.
Earlier this year, Musgraves was honored with an Album of the Year nomination for Golden Hour, but still made it a point to call out the academy for their lack of female nominees. “I have the biggest heart for country music,” Musgraves told Billboard. “And I’m honored to represent the female creative spirit as — unfortunately — the only female album nominated this year.”
Garth Brooks Tearfully Dedicates “Stronger Than Me” To Trisha Yearwood
Florida Georgia Line, Bebe Rexha Add Serene Twist To ‘Meant To Be’
Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha brought their smash collaboration, “Meant to Be,” to the show, but the acts decided to switch things up from their usual routine of the mid-tempo number. More than halfway through the ceremony, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley stood in front of the crowd in matching white suits as they kicked off the gentle remake of “Meant to Be.” After their opening verse, Rexha appeared for her contributions decked out in some retro fashion alongside a piano and orchestra, alluding to the “little surprise” that the duo teased earlier in the press.
“We’ve got a different type of performance scheduled. We’ve got a little surprise, a little different version of it, but it’s gonna be super-powerful,” Brian admitted to ABC. “We’re just excited about getting out there, performing together. We’ve done it a couple of times, but I think this’ll be the best, this’ll be the most powerful and we’re just excited about seeing the faces of our friends and family and fans….seeing their reactions and [hearing] their thoughts.”
That performance by @BebeRexha and @FLAGALine was “Meant to Be”! Many more stars will take the stage soon – watch the #CMAawards on @ABCNetwork NOW! pic.twitter.com/UPKFSq4OxX
— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) November 15, 2018
Jason Aldean & Miranda Lambert Perform ‘Drowns The Whiskey’ During CMAs
Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean took to show and celebrated their No. 1 collab, “Drown the Whiskey,”which serves as the second single from the latter’s current album, Rearview Town.
During the performance, the country titans stood side-by-side in front of a shining light set that sporadically illuminated behind their band. “Whiskey’s supposed to drown the memory/ I’ve gone from one to one too many/ And the thing that really gets me/ Is how your memory drowns the whiskey,” the pair crooned during the chorus to the heartbreak anthem.
WATCH: @Jason_Aldean and @mirandalambert perform #DrownsTheWhiskey LIVE on ABC!#CMAawards pic.twitter.com/r4kJzDixgd
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 15, 2018
