CMA Awards 2018: Keith Urban wins entertainer of the year
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley returned to host the 52nd Country Music Awards on Wednesday, live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. It was the duo's 11th time hosting the show together.
It was busy night for Underwood, who performed in addition to hosting. The pregnant singer won female vocalist of the year.
"It's definitely interesting to try to sing with a basketball where my lungs and diaphragm used to be. I don't know where they are now, they're squished in there somewhere," Underwood admitted to the AP. But she said she was confident she'd get through her song.
The CMAs honored the best in country music, with Chris Stapleton leading the charge with five nominations. Stapleton won three awards, but Keith Urban took home the big award of the night: entertainer of the year.
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Read live updates as they happened.
Keith Urban wins entertainer of the year
11:00 p.m.: Lionel Richie presented the night's biggest honor, entertainer of the year, which went to Keith Urban. He teared up onstage, as did Nicole Kidman from the audience.
"Baby girl, I love you so much," Urban said to Kidman from stage. He thanked his kids, his team and his "phenomenal" fans.
He closed off the night by saying, "God bless country music. God bless you all."
Carrie Underwood wins female vocalist of the year
10:55 p.m.: Eric Church performed "Desperate Man."
Dennis Quaid and Trisha Yearwood took the stage and talked about the honor of being named female vocalist of the year, before announcing that co-host Carrie Underwood won the award.
Underwood cried right away when accepted her award, and said she didn't know what she ever did to deserve the award.
"This means so much," she said between tears. "Thank you."
Chris Stapleton wins male vocalist of the year
10:45 p.m.: CMAs co-host Brad Paisley debuted his new song "Bucked Off" in front of a neon rodeo-themed backdrop.
Lara Spencer and Martina McBride presented male vocalist of the year; the win went to Chris Stapleton, his third win of the night.
"I want to thank my kids who put up with me being gone quite a bit and not getting to be as good of a dad as I'd like to be ... I love you so much," he said, before thanking his wife and his colleagues from his record label.
Kacey Musgraves performed "Slow Burn" atop a '70s-style red carpet, backed by musicians wearing '70s-style turtlenecks and blazers.
Mavis Staples performs
10:25 p.m.: Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne performed "Burning Man" together, encircled by flames. Thomas Rhett introduced a Crown Royal campaign called Purple Bag Project, in which people send care packages in purple bags to send to military members.
Rita Wilson introduced Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Morgane Stapleton, Marty Stuart and Chris Stapleton to the stage. The musicians performed "Friendship" by Chris Stapleton. A gospel choir later joined to support the singers. Later, they transitioned to "Let Me Take You There" by the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples' family band.
Garth Brooks performs
10:10 p.m.: Garth Brooks performed his new song, "Stronger Than Me," which is about his wife Trisha Yearwood. Yearwood looked on from the front row as Brooks sang and played his guitar; she teared up as her husband closed out his song.
Bobby Bones and his "Dancing with the Stars" partner Sharna Burgess presented vocal duo of the year, which went to Brothers Osborne. T.J. Osborne joked about the close race, "If this was in Florida, there would definitely be a recount." His brother, John Osborne, thanked fans for their support and said if they put their minds to it, "This could be yours as well."
Pistol Annies performed "Got My Name Changed Back" on a retro, Western-themed set complete with railroad tracks.
Keith Urban performs
9:53 p.m.: Paisley said that the country music community was thinking about those affected by the California fires.
"We send our love to all of you and the brave firefighters who are there putting themselves on the line trying to save homes and lives," added Underwood.
Luke Combs performed "She Got the Best of Me," with a red Solo cup in hand.
Keith Urban took the stage, standing on top of a screen that displayed a light show. He sang "Never Comin Down," and got the audience on their feet, including his wife, Nicole Kidman.
Kacey Musgraves wins album of the year
9:40 p.m.: Midland performed "East Bound and Down" in tribute to late actor Burt Reynolds - the song was on the soundtrack of "Smokey and the Bandit," one of Reynolds' most famous movies.
Little Big Town presented the award for album of the year, which went to Kacey Musgraves for "Golden Hour," her first win in the category.
Musgraves got emotional as she said, "This is really, really crazy timing because I just realized this morning - it sounds like a lot, 10 years ago today I moved to Nashville." Musgraves thanked her colleagues, her family and her husband, as well as her fans.
Underwood announced that Mack McAnally won musician of the year before introducing Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line on stage to perform "Meant to Be." The country duo and Rexha performed on a misty stage with a full orchestra.
Ricky Skaggs performs
9:27 p.m.: Ricky Skaggs, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year, performed "Black Eyed Suzie" with his band, Kentucky Thunder.
Keith Urban joined Skaggs to perform "Highway 40 Blues." Brad Paisley came on stage to perform "Country Boy" with Skaggs, who played a very impressive extended guitar solo.
Carrie Underwood performs "Love Wins"
9:17 p.m.: Carrie Underwood performed "Love Wins" against a cosmic backdrop, wearing a matching midnight blue gown and cape.
Olivia Culpo and Kane Brown presented vocal group of the year, which went to Old Dominion. Frontman Matthew Ramsey thanked his fans and held up his trophy saying, "We'll try and live up to this. We love you."
Brett Young sat on a stage, set low and close to audience members, as he performed an intimate rendition of "Mercy."
He congratulated the winners of the CMA's radio awards.
CMA audience members get hot chicken
9:02 p.m.: Paisley and Underwood handed out a Nashville classic to the audience - hot chicken - before introducing Kelsea Ballerini to the stage. Ballerini wore a burgundy blazer as she performed "Miss Me More," flocked by dancers who showed off acrobatic moves with chairs.
After Ballerini's performance, Paisley and Underwood passed out more hot chicken before introducing a performance of "Hotel Key" by Old Dominion. Appropriately, the band performed against a neon backdrop that said "Hotel" on it.
Backstage, Kellie Pickler introduced audience members to Daniel Sotoamaya, a country fan and veteran, who talked about his service and transition from the military to the workforce. Daniel said he was a huge fan of Brad Paisley, and Paisley surprised him, saying, "Welcome home."
Chris Stapleton wins single of the year
8:50 p.m.: Snow fluttered in the theater as Dan + Shay performed their song "Tequila." The performance took a fiery turn as their piano began to burn, emitting flames from its top, before the duo closed out their song.
Jimmie Allen, Carly Pearce and Dustin Lynch presented the award for single of the year, which went to Chris Stapleton for "Broken Halos."
Onstage, Stapleton said of the song, "We wrote it about people who have gone long before their time and you know, I want to think about the people out in California right now and ... dedicate [the award] to them."
Lauren Alaina paid tribute to late country star Dottie West, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. Alaina sang part of West's song "Lesson in Leavin.'"
Luke Combs wins new artist of the year
8:35 p.m.: Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert performed their duet, "Drowns the Whiskey," on stage. Underwood and Paisley welcomed Mackenzie Foy from "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" and Noah Schnapp from "Stranger Things" to the stage.
Foy and Schnapp presented new artist of the year, which went to Luke Combs. Combs thanked "everybody in this room for inspiring me." He said, "God, I love country music, man," before leaving the stage.
Thomas Rhett "woke up" in a college dorm-themed set to perform his song "Life Changes," which opens with the line "waking up in my college dorm." Rhett danced into the audience while he performed, accompanied by a young marching band. Later, he stopped to hug his dad as he sang, "I remember the day I told my Daddy and Mama you're gonna have a grandkid, yep."
Carrie Underwood reveals baby's sex
8:20 p.m.: Garth Brooks opened the CMAs on Wednesday with a tribute to the victims of the California bar shooting that left 13 dead, including the shooter. He said, "Tonight's show is lovingly dedicated to the 12 individuals who we lost far too soon just a week ago at the Borderline in Thousand Oaks, California," before asking the audience to join him in a moment of silence.
Next, Luke Bryan took the stage and said, "Let's do what we do and let's be proud of what makes us country tonight," before launching into a spirited rendition of "What Makes You Country." Several country artists including Chris Janson, Luke Combs, Cole Swindell and more joined Bryan on stage to close out the performance.
Hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood came to the stage to riff and jam on the CMA Awards, with Paisley playing the guitar while both of them sang.
"You have really let yourself go," Paisley told Underwood before she informed him that she's pregnant.
Paisley bugged Underwood to reveal the sex of her baby, and though she initially refused, he continued to press her, throwing the names of both male and female country stars at her.
Finally she confessed, "Willie, it's a Willie!"
Paisley said that her first son would come sing her a song, but really, young yodeler Mason Ramsey serenaded Underwood instead.
Later, Paisley joked to Underwood that she can drop off her children at his joint bar and daycare center. She asked him for the exact location so she can inform child protective services.
Paisley said he was going to floss and began to take out some dental floss, to take part of the flossing trend. Underwood said that he was thinking of the wrong kind of floss, and asked Bryan to demonstrate the floss dance for them from the audience .
Lady Antebellum presented the first award of the night for song of the year, which went to "Broken Halos" by Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson. They thanked their families and colleagues for the award.
Stars arrive on the red carpet
7:40 p.m.: Carrie Underwood has arrived on the red carpet. The singer is showing off her baby bump in a form-fitting gown.
Performers at the CMAs
Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton with Maren Morris and Mavis Staples, Jason Aldean with Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line with Bebe Rexha, Kacey Musgraves, Kenny Chesney, Pistol Annies, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban are all set to perform at Wednesday's CMAs.
Stapleton, Bryan, Aldean, Chesney and Urban are all competing for the most prestigious award of the night, entertainer of the year.
Underwood explained to the AP, "When I vote, I legitimately try to look at who deserves it. I know that you root for everybody, you're glad that everybody's there, you're glad your friends are nominated for things, but I just try to think who's killing it, who's crushing it this year."