For the sixth time, Garth Brooks walked away with the coveted Entertainer of the Year award at the 51st annual CMA Awards on Wednesday night.
The front-runners of the night, Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert, were both nominated for five awards, but both walked away with only one. Keith won Single of the Year, while Miranda won Female Vocalist of the Year for the seventh time.
Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne each nabbed two awards. Chris scored Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. Brothers Osborne won Vocal Duo of the Year for the second year in a row, along with the previously announced award for Video of the Year.
For the sixth consecutive year, Little Big Town was crowned Vocal Group of the Year. Although she wasn’t present to accept it, Taylor Swift snagged Song of the Year for “Better Man,” which is her first CMA Award since 2013.
Jon Pardi became emotional during his speech, after winning his first CMA award for New Artist of the Year.
Winners List:
- Entertainer of the Year – Garth Brooks
- Female Vocalist of the Year – Miranda Lambert
- Male Vocalist of the Year – Chris Stapleton
- Vocal Duo of the Year – Brothers Osborne
- Vocal Group of the Year – Little Big Town
- New Artist of the Year – Jon Pardi
- Album of the Year – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1
- Song of the Year – Taylor Swift – “Better Man”
- Musical Event of the Year – Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell – “Funny How Time Slips Away”
- Video of the Year – Brothers Osborne – “It Ain’t My Fault”
- Musician of the Year – Mac McAnally
Most Talked About Moments:
- Eric Church opened the night with an acoustic performance of "Amazing Grace."
- Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood kicked off their opening monologue on a somber note, referencing the recent tragedies and dedicating the night to "all those we've lost and those who are still healing."
- Afterwords, they picked up the mood by joking about the CMA "media guidelines" that were sent out and retracted a few days ago, singing parodies about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and more.
- Brad and Carrie also chatted about special moments they shared while hosting over the past decade. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill joined them onstage, surprising them with their own "Barbies," in reference to the hilarious opening monologue in 2011.
- Darius Rucker performed the Hootie and the Blowfish hit "Hold My Hand" along with Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and several more of the night's performers.
- There was not a dry eye in the room when Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley and Eddie Montgomery paid tribute to the late Troy Gentry by singing Montgomery Gentry's hit "My Town."
- Pop star Pink performed her song "Barbies."
- Tyler Perry took to the stage as a presenter. He received a standing ovation after speaking about the need for equality.
- Little Big Town performed a tribute to Glen Campbell, singing his hit "Wichita Lineman."
- Sugarland made an appearance together for the first time in years to present the award for Duo of the Year.
- Carrie Underwood paid tribute to all who have passed this year by singing the hymn "Softly and Tenderly (Come Home)." Pictures of those we lost flashed on the screen behind her, including victims of the Las Vegas shooting.
- Alan Jackson ended the night with two of his hits, "Chasin' the Neon Rainbow" and "Don't Rock the Jukebox."
Carrie Underwood gave a beautiful performance of Christian hymn "Softly and Tenderly" at the 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 8), as the show's "In Memoriam" video tribute played in the background.
The "In Memoriam" montage paid homage to several of the legendary performers who had already received musical tributes at the CMA Awards previously in the night. Glen Campbell, Don Williams, Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry and former CMA executive director Jo Walker-Meador all were shown in brief video footage as well.