8 things to know about the 2020 CMA Awards
Country fans and Beliebers unite on country music’s biggest night!
November 11, 2020 5:02 p.m. EST
November 11, 2020 5:03 p.m. EST
The show must go on!
Despite a global pandemic, the biggest night in country music will air live from Music City Centre in Nashville—under strict safety guidelines to ensure all the performers and presenters are safe. In a statement, the CMA Awards said that this will "mark the first time the biggest names in Country music will come together—safely, all in one room—this year." I think it's safe to say that we can look forward to seeing some mask fashion hit the stage.Reba McEntire & Darius Rucker are set to host the CMA Awards (and perform)
Not only will Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker host the CMA Awards' first-ever Covid-era show but they'll also be taking the stage together for a groundbreaking performance. During a recent appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Rucker remained tight-lipped about what to expect. "I'm lucky, I get to do something really special with Reba. We've got something that we're really excited about, and no, I can't tell you," he said with a smile. It looks like the duo will perform "In the Ghetto" as a tribute to the late Mac Davis but that's all the info they're sharing before they take the stage.This will be Reba's 5th time hosting the CMA Awards
Reba will repeat her hosting duties again this year at the CMA Awards for the 5th time. She made her CMA Awards hosting debut in 1990 alongside Randy Travis and went on to host the 1991 awards show solo. She returned to the stage in 1992 with Vince Gill and in 2019 she hosted alongside Carrie Underwood and Dolly Parton. (Talk about iconic women sharing the stage!)“I’m thrilled to be back hosting the CMA Awards and even more thrilled that I get to share the stage with Darius Rucker,” McEntire said. Reba is a legend in the country world and known for hosting country music awards. She has hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards 16 times! Yes, you read that right.[video_embed id='2043206']RELATED: Reba McEntire has never ended a show without playing ‘Fancy’ [/video_embed]
Darius Rucker will be the 2nd Black host in the history of the CMA Awards
Darius Rucker will be the second Black host in the history of the CMA Awards. At the ninth annual CMA Awards, Charley Pride hosted the televised ceremony at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville alongside Glen Campbell in 1975. “Everything scares me about this,” Rucker said about hosting the show. “There’s nothing about it that doesn’t scare me. I want to work really hard at it. I’ll be prepared. The most important thing: being ourselves and having fun." Rucker added that his job for three hours is to make everybody have fun and forget about all their troubles while they're playing music and handing out awards.The world television premiere of “10,000 Hours"
Country fans and Beliebers unite! The Canadian pop star and country duo Dan + Shay are set to take the stage tonight for the world television premiere of their pop-country collab, “10,000 Hours." The hit collab is nominated for three big awards: Single of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year. Dan + Shay are also nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year.The song officially hit 500 million streams on Spotify and over 1.3 billion streams across all platforms this week, which is definitely something to celebrate. The duo took to Instagram to announce their excitement, writing, "This milestone means so much to us, and we're incredibly grateful to every single one of you for listening. The timing could not be more perfect because tonight, we perform live with our friend @JustinBieber for the first time EVER on the @CMA Awards. We promise this one will be extra special."This year's show features a star-studded list of live performances
The night will be filled with big performances by big names including Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Ingrid Andress, Little Big Town (who will pay tribute to Kenny Rogers), Old Dominion, Keith Urban, Morgan Wallen, Jimmie Allen, Brothers Osborne, Jenee Fleenor, Jon Pardi, Carley Pearce and Lee Brice.Other names that join the all-star list of performers on Country Music’s Biggest Night include Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin, Rascal Flatts, Rucker featuring country group Lady A, Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth, Thomas Rhett and show host McEntireBrothers Osborne, Fleenor, and Ashley McBryde will come together with Aldean and Bentley for the first time to perform a multi-song show-opening tribute to Charlie Daniels.The competition is fierce and female!
This year is a great year for female power! Miranda Lambert leads the pack of nominations with 7 nods including Entertainer of the Year. Lambert will have to battle it out with Carrie Underwood (and Eric Church, Luke Combs, and Keith Urban) for Entertainer of the Year. This is the first time in 20 years that two women have been nominated in the category that's often dominated by male country artists. The last time this happened was in 2000 when Faith Hill and The Chicks were both nominated (and The Chicks won).Miranda Lambert is the most-nominated female artist ever at the CMA Awards
Miranda Lambert cleaned up this year, receiving seven nominations in total, which is the most of any artist this year. But in addition to her seven new nods, she has now become the most-nominated female artist EVER at the CMA Awards (sorry Reba). The "Bluebird" singer has now accumulated a total of 55 nominations, breaking Reba McEntire's previous record of 51 nominations. Lambert is a force to be reckoned with because she also holds the title of the most-awarded artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards, with 32 trophies.If you're wondering, the all-time record for most nominations is held by George Strait, who has received 89 nods over the span of his entire career.Don’t forget to tune into The 54th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV2.
[video_embed id='2049925']BEFORE YOU GO: 'Horse girl' from Alberta can gallop and jump just like a horse[/video_embed]
