Country Music Awards

Carrie Underwood may not have been nominated for a 2024 CMA award -- but she was a fan favorite at the Tuesday night event for her unexpected performance with Cody Johnson.

The singing sensation surprised the packed audience at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, when she suddenly appeared onstage with Cody.

The artists dove into a heartfelt version of their duet, "I'm Gonna Love You," which left the crowd mesmerized.

All hail the King of Country Music ... George Strait got his flowers at the Country Music Awards ... with a star-studded tribute and some impressive hardware.

George was honored at Wednesday's award show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award ... with Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Parker McCollum and Jamey Johnson tipping their cowboy hats with a tribute performance.

The gang played one of George's biggest hits, "Troubadour" ... and the crowd gave him a standing ovation when he grabbed the mic.

Some of Hollywood's biggest stars are descending on Nashville for this year's Country Music Awards ... and they're dressed to the nines on their way into the big event.

Kacey Musgraves, Shaboozey, Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan are among the country music stars showing off their fashionable looks Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena ... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes are in the house too ... looking like a super cute couple.

The CMA Awards are set to bring out the biggest stars in country music ... with Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning hosting the major awards show in Nashville Wednesday night.

Like in years past, a number of stars are expected to hit the stage as presenters, winners, and performers ... with this year's lineup already including Post Malone, Luke Combs, Shaboozey, and Kacey Musgraves, among others.

They follow in the footsteps of several greats, who've graced the CMA Awards stage with their superstar presence. In fact, with the awards show only hours away, we can't help but reminisce about some of the show's most iconic moments.

Billy Ray Cyrus is defending Beyoncé over her lack of CMA Awards nominations ... he says she's so accomplished she doesn't need their validation anyway.

Billy Ray says he's surprised Beyoncé got completely overlooked by the Country Music Association judges, saying her "Cowboy Carter" country album was "brilliant" and her "Texas Hold 'Em" single "ruled."

Beyoncé's first country album is getting some love from the Grammys -- she's got 11 Grammy nominations -- and with all the success she's had over the years, Billy Ray says she doesn't need a trophy from the CMAs, or their permission or approval to feel good about her work.

Dolly Parton is refusing to take sides in the drama between the CMAs and Beyoncé ... unwilling to acknowledge the singer may've been purposefully shut out of the awards show.

The country legend addressed Bey earning not one CMA Awards nomination -- despite having one of the biggest country albums and songs of the year -- confessing to Variety that she didn't realize the country newcomer was left out until recently.

While members of the Beyhive voiced their outrage after Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" was left off the nominations list, Dolly speculates the lack of honors has more to do with the amount of talent in the country scene right now ... that it's not a reflection of Bey's ability.

Darius Rucker says the time has come to forgive Morgan Wallen for using a racial slur ... and he wants to see Morgan get his due at award shows.

The country singer -- obviously famous from Hootie & the Blowfish -- says Morgan's worked hard to become a better person since he used the n-word during a drunken convo with a friend.

Appearing on Rolling Stone's 'Music Now' podcast, Darius said it still feels like Morgan hasn't been forgiven for the incident ... at least when it comes to CMA and ACM nominations.

Wynonna Judd's nerves are clearly settled -- the day after her CMA performance had fans worried about her health, she put on a great show in Texas ... with no apparent issues.

The country singer showed up and showed out for fans Thursday night at the Tobin Center in San Antonio as part of her "Back to Wy" tour.

The crowd seemed to love the show, and more importantly, she didn't seem to be giving anyone a reason to worry -- performing just like she usually does, although she did joke about forgetting some of the words at one point.

As we reported, the same couldn't be said for her performance at the Country Music Association Awards Wednesday night in Nashville ... remember, she joined Jelly Roll for his song, "Need A Favor," but then grabbed a hold of him, seemingly to stay upright.

Jelly made sure to stick by her side throughout their performance, fueling fans' belief something was wrong. After seeing the comments, Wynonna later posted a video chalking up her unsteadiness to nerves getting the best of her.

Los nervios de Wynonna Judd están claramente más asentados el día después de su actuación en los CMA, donde tuvo a los fans muy preocupados por su salud. Anoche dio un gran espectáculo en Texas y sin ningún problema aparente.

La cantante de country se presentó el jueves por la noche en el Tobin Center de San Antonio en el marco de su gira "Back to Wy".

El público parecía encantado con el espectáculo, y lo más importante, ella no dio ninguna señal que pudiera preocupar a alguien, actuando como lo hace normalmente. Aunque bromeó sobre olvidarse algunas de las palabras en un momento dado.

Como informamos, no se puede decir lo mismo de su actuación en los Premios de la Asociación de Música Country (CMA) el miércoles por la noche en Nashville. Recordemos, la cantante se unió a Jelly Roll para cantar la canción "Need A Favor" durante el show, y en un momento dado se agarró de él, al parecer para mantenerse en pie.

Jelly se aseguró de permanecer a su lado durante toda la actuación, alimentando la creencia de los fans de que algo andaba mal con ella. Después de ver los comentarios, Wynonna publicó un video en el que atribuía su inestabilidad a los nervios.

6:20 AM PT -- Wynonna Judd ha visto las críticas y la preocupación de sus fans y publicó de un video para hacerle frente a la situación. Le echa la culpa de todo el asunto a los nervios, diciendo que quería estar en su mejor momento para Jelly Roll. Wynonna dice que simplemente estaba aguantando y estará de vuelta en la carretera la noche del jueves para otro espectáculo.

Wynonna Judd se aferró a Jelly Roll durante su actuación la noche del miércoles en el Country Music Awards y sus fans están preocupados.

La leyenda de la música country subió al escenario con Jelly para cantar a dúo el tema de Jelly, "Need A Favor", en los Premios CMA 2023 en Nashville.

En un momento, Wynonna se acercó a Jelly y le agarró del brazo, dando la impresión de que necesitaba ayuda para mantenerse en pie. No está claro si Wynonna estaba sufriendo algún tipo de problema de salud, pero pudo terminar la canción y abandonar el escenario por su cuenta.

Aun así, sus fans expresaron su preocupación en redes sociales tras ver su inestable actuación. Recordemos que Wynonna perdió a su emblemática madre, Naomi, por suicidio en 2022, por lo que ha pasado por momentos difíciles últimamente.

Un fan escribió en X: "Apenas podía caminar. Estaba dando pasos de bebé".

Otro preguntó: "¿Soy el único preocupado por @Wynonna"?

Una tercera persona observó: "Algo está mal con ella. Espero que esté bien. Wynonna Judd se aferra a Jelly Roll para salvar su vida #CMAawards".

Y un cuarto dijo: "Fue muy bizarro. Me pregunto qué estará pasando. Apenas se movió una vez que se aferró a él".

Sin embargo, hubo buenas noticias, Jelly Roll se llevó a casa el trofeo a "Mejor Nuevo Artista".

¡Felicidades Jelly!

6:20 AM PT -- Wynonna Judd has clearly seen the criticism and worry from her fans, posting a video to address the performance -- she blames the whole thing on nerves, saying she wanted to be at her best for Jelly Roll. Wynonna says she was simply holding on for dear life ... and will be back on the road for another show.

Wynonna Judd clung to Jelly Roll during their performance Wednesday night at the Country Music Awards -- and now her fans are worried something is wrong with her.

The country music legend hit the stage with JR to sing a duet of Jelly's tune, "Need A Favor," at the 2023 CMA Awards in Nashville.

At one point, Wynonna walked over to Jelly and grabbed his arm, giving off the impression she needed help to stay on her feet. It's unclear if Wynonna was experiencing some type of health issue, but she was able to polish off the song and leave the stage on her own.

Still, her fans took to social media and voiced their concerns after watching her seemingly unsteady performance. Remember, Wynonna lost her iconic mother, Naomi, to suicide in 2022, so she's had a rough time lately.

One fan wrote on X, "She could barely walk. She took baby steps."

Another one asked, "Am I the only one concerned for @Wynonna."

A third person observed, "Something is wrong with her. Hope she is ok. Wynonna Judd is holding on to Jelly Roll for dear life #CMAawards."

And a fourth freaked out, "It was seriously bizarre. I wonder what’s going on? She barely moved once she got a death grip on him."

In some good news from the show ... Jelly Roll took home the trophy for "Best New Artist."

Congrats, JR!!

The Country Music Awards has some interesting moments Wednesday night ... and one of the baddest-ass moments was divorcées Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, and Kelly Clarkson rockin' out together.

The 3 singers joined forces for Country's biggest night in Nashville ... bringin' it all for a rendition of Kelsea's latest hit, "You're Drunk, Go Home." Needless to say, the crowd was lovin' it.

TMZ broke the story ... production sources for the CMAs told us the trio was planning the powerful performance last month -- doing a song all about female empowerment, and about guys who hit on women at bars after getting plastered.

As you know, Kelly and Carly both filed for divorce in June, 2020 ... Kelly from Brandon Blackstock after 7 years of marriage, and Carly from Michael Ray after less than a year.

As for Kelsea, she pulled the plug on her 5-year marriage with Morgan Evans -- the 2 finalized their divorce a week ago. She's been very open about how tough divorce can be ... recently posting an emotional confessional from the bathtub.

The biggest night in country music turned into a bit of a roast of Eli Manning -- with Peyton tossing several barbs his little bro's way throughout the evening ... and it was all hilarious!!

The Indianapolis Colts legend was co-hosting the annual CMA Awards show with Luke Bryan in Nashville -- and while a bunch of music stars caught playful shade from the duo ... Eli appeared to find himself as the butt of the jokes more often than not.

In fact, it only took about 10 minutes into the show for Peyton to make his first dig at the former New York Giants star, who he co-hosts his weekly "Monday Night Football" "Manningcast" with.

"Peyton, let me break it to you, I don't prepare," Bryan said during the opening monologue. "I'm just kind of a wing it kind of host."

"Trust me, that's clear," Peyton responded. "So, what you're saying is, this is my worst nightmare. But it's actually OK, because I do a show with my brother Eli -- I'm used to this lack of professionalism."

A couple hours later, Peyton threw some more quills Eli's way while chatting with the Brothers Osborne.

"So, let me guess," Peyton said turning to the country music group. "Your mom makes you work with your brother too, right?"

Eli certainly noticed it all -- and took to Twitter to gripe about his older bro.

"If my math is correct," the younger Manning said, "that is the 3rd shot Peyton has taken at me on the CMA's."

Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce all have one very significant life experience in common, and it's not just being super talented and famous ... they're all recent divorcees and will be hitting the stage together for the first time to sing about lousy men.

Production sources from the upcoming Country Music Association Awards tell TMZ the trio are planning a very big and powerful performance of Kelsea's song "You're Drunk, Go Home" next month.

The song's all about female empowerment, about guys who hit on women at bars after they've had too much to drink. Both Kelly and Carly were on the song's original release -- and Kelly actually got drunk herself when they got together to record it -- so they clearly all have a good time together.

Both Kelly and Carly filed for divorce in June 2020 ... Kelly from Brandon Blackstock after 7 years of marriage and Carly from Michael Ray after less than a year.

TMZ broke the story ... it was in March when Kelly and Brandon reached a settlement -- she got primary custody and he gets $115,000 a month in spousal support until 2024.

As for Kelsea, she pulled the plug on her 5-year marriage with Morgan Evans in August, and she's been very open about how tough divorce can be ... recently posting an emotional confessional from the bathtub.

So, given the shared lifetime experiences, the whole girl gang collab at country music's biggest night makes a whole lotta sense.

Peyton Manning is taking his talents to the stage yet again -- the NFL legend has been tapped to host another awards show ... it was just revealed he and Luke Bryan will lead the 2022 CMAs in November!!!

The Country Music Association and ABC confirmed the news on Monday morning -- saying Manning and Bryan will be hosting the 56th annual awards ceremony on Nov. 9.

"When I was asked if Peyton Manning was someone I would consider co-hosting with I didn’t hesitate," said Bryan, who hosted the show alone in 2021.

"We have become great friends through the years and what he brings to the table is gonna make it even more of a blast."

The former NFL quarterback joked he got the co-host spot because of his vocals ... sharing a video on his social media page of him singing along on a stage recently with Bryan.

"My @cma Awards audition tape must have been a hit!" Manning said.

This will be Manning's first time ever hosting the Country Music Awards show -- though it certainly ain't his first on-stage rodeo. You'll recall, Manning also hosted the ESPYs in 2017.

The show will go down in Nashville -- a familiar area for the former Volunteers QB -- and he said he's pumped for it all.