Country Music Awards

Ya can't even get through a country music awards show without hearing about Aaron Rodgers ... 'cause the Green Bay Packers QB's COVID-19 drama was the butt of a joke during Luke Bryan's opening monologue.

The country singer welcomed the crowd at the 55th Country Music Awards Wednesday night by thanking everyone for going through the proper protocols to be present for the event ... which turned into the perfect opportunity to poke fun at the NFL MVP.

"Rest assured, we're following all the health protocols to keep everyone safe," Bryan said. "And, it is so great to be here with all my favorite artists, tested and together ... or immunized???"

Of course, Bryan's line is mocking Rodgers' now-infamous response to questions surrounding his COVID-19 vaccine status back in August ... when he did not say he got the jab, but rather was "immunized."

Most people brushed over the comment, thinking he was vaxxed ... but Rodgers' status came to light when he tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

A couple 'Pat McAfee Show' appearances later, Rodgers has since apologized for misleading people with his initial response ... but that hasn't stopped the jokes and criticism from pouring in.

Earlier this week, Jon Stewart railed AR12 at the Stand Up for Heroes event in NYC ... and Howard Stern said he would kick the QB out of the NFL if he were Roger Goodell.

Alan Jackson -- one of the OG kings of country music -- is ready to get dethroned ... from his castle-like pad, that is, 'cause he's selling his massive estate.

The two-time Grammy and 16-time CMA Awards winner has listed his majestic hilltop estate in the countryside of Franklin, Tennessee for a whopping $23 million. The 5-bedroom, 8-bathroom crib also has 4 half bathrooms. The house is 22k square feet on just over 4 acres.

The estate is super private ... surrounded by 120 acres of green space. The monumental stone house has a private gated entrance manned 24/7. It's also perfect for a little honky-tonk action. Party in the grand public rooms, sumptuous suites and expansive outdoor living areas ... where you'll find a pool, pool house, outdoor kitchen and terraces.

No barn here, but those with lots of horsepower should get a load of the heated and cooled garages ... big enough for 15 whips. Saddle up!!!

Hollywood and Anytown, USA collided for the 53rd annual CMA Awards ... and they blended perfectly.

Gigi Hadid, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman were on hand Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Gigi hung out with Kacey Musgraves, who performed with Willie Nelson. Kacey also brought home some hardware as Female Vocalist of the Year and for Music Video of the Year for her song "Rainbow" off her "Golden Hour" album.

Gwen Stefani was arm in arm with Blake Shelton, who won Single of the Year with "God's Country." Lil Nas X also attended ... and he, along with Billy Ray Cyrus, won Music Event of the Year with the smash hit "Old Town Road."

Reese also announced the winner for Entertainer of the Year ... with Garth Brooks beating out Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and Nicole's hubby, Keith Urban.

Lil Nas X is doing everything he can to change his tune, so don't even TRY to talk to him about the biggest #1 song of all time -- 'cause if you do, he's got a one-word answer for you.

We got Lil Nas Thursday night outside NYC's Soho Grand Hotel and asked him about securing a CMA nomination this week for "Old Town Road." You'd think it's kind of a big deal -- getting a nod for Musical Event of the Year ... especially considering the country music industry hasn't exactly embraced his monster hit.

But, check out the clip ... Lil Nas seemed to downplay the achievement.

As for why the man who just had the #1 song in the country for a record-setting 19 weeks doesn't wanna talk about it? Seems he's fully on to the next. Watch the clip and count how many times he says "Panini" ... his follow-up track to "Old Town Road."

Fact is, no one sets out to be a one-hit wonder, and LNX is working overtime to make sure he doesn't end up in that category. We've got 2 words for him: smart businessman.

Country stars Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker will take the stage together tonight at the CMT Music Awards, but the girl power will only grow from there ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the show tell us ... during Carlile and Tucker's performance of the latter's 1972 hit, "Delta Dawn," the ladies will be joined on stage one-by-one by 6 more popular female artists -- a mix of country legends and rising stars.

We're told it's CMT's tribute to the power of women in country music, and the special guest performers will include Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Lauren Alaina, Deana Carter, Rae Lynn and Carly Pearce.

Our sources say the ladies will join in on "Delta Dawn," but we imagine they'll put their own spin on it ... and it's certain to be a showstopper.

Brandi and Tanya's collab comes on the heels of Carlile producing Tucker's upcoming album, "While I'm Livin" ... her first new music in 17 years.

The CMT Music Awards air live Wednesday night from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville at 8 PM ET.

Garth Brooks opened the 2018 Country Music Awards with a dedication to the 12 people who were shot dead last week in the horrific massacre at a country bar in California.

Garth began the evening by lovingly dedicating the award show to the dozen people who were killed at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks during last week's College Country Night.

Garth told the audience the show would celebrate the lives of the men and women who were shot dead, and asked everyone to let music unite them in love in their enduring memory.

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood kicked off the 51st Annual CMA Awards with a heartfelt message to all the victims of recent tragedies in the U.S. ... and a song poking fun at President Trump's Twitter habit.

After sarcastically mentioning to the audience they were directed to steer clear of political commentary ... Paisley and Underwood fired off some play-it-safe jokes about Anthony Scaramucci, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

But right as Carrie seemed to be moving into the first award of the night ... Brad rocked a "Before He Cheats" spoof that took a few jabs at the Prez. Remember covfefe? They sure do.

Before the parody tune, Paisley and Underwood dedicated the night's ceremony to victims of the mass shootings in Vegas and Texas, attacks in Charlottesville and NYC, and all the recent natural disasters.

John Legend is letting CMA honchos off the hook for scrubbing any sign of Beyonce from their award show ... 'cause he says racism is bigger than country music.

We got the singer at LAX Friday where he all but stopped short of saying country music itself has an issue with race. He clearly feels it's a problem affecting about half the country, regardless of genre.

Rose McGowan is disgusted at the people who posted racist comments about Beyonce and the Dixie Chicks, but she's even more pissed off at the CMA honchos who bowed to the "deplorables" by scrubbing CMAWorld.com of all things Bey and Chicks.

Rose is reacting to the TMZ story ... the CMA bosses panicked when they saw some users lash out against Beyonce and the Chicks in the comment section of the site and on social media ... some calling Bey the n-word and others saying country music is for white folks only.

The CMAs have flip-flopped a second time ... reposting some of the items.

2:45 PM PT -- The CMAs have started repopulating its social media with images of Beyonce and the Dixie Chicks. The images were only posted AFTER they became aware we were working on the story.

Even the Dixie Chicks, who rarely say anything in the media these days, are reacting to the controversy on Twitter.

Those reposted images of Bey on Instagram and Twitter are already getting blasted with comments -- some racist and some in support of Beyonce. We'll say this ... the Beyhive is woke.

The folks at the Country Music Awards don't have the stomach for 4 strong women, 1 of whom is black, because they have scrubbed all references and images of Beyonce and the Dixie Chicks from their website.

The performance of Beyonce's hit, "Daddy Lessons," with the Dixie Chicks was by all rights the highlight of the show. Thursday morning Bey and the Chicks had a prominent presence on CMAWorld.com. But check it out now ... it's gone ... completely.

Sources directly connected with the CMAs tell TMZ, the honchos folded to fans who posted racist and other harsh comments. We're told the honchos were especially concerned about the reaction to Beyonce's support and the support of the Dixie Chicks for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Some of the comments included, "That's right folks. Beyonce performed at the CMAs last night & is on a mission to take country music away from us, hardworking white people!" And, "Beyonce overrated racist n***er bitch."

The comments go on ... "@Beyonce the cop hater? No thanks," and, "What place does @Beyonce who vilifies police officers who keep us safe have to do with #CMAawards50?"

In addition to its website, the CMAs have scrubbed the women from all social media platforms. They did not delete the women from Snapchat ... they only deleted the ladies from CMA accounts where users can place comments.

We're told the CMA people "just want this to go away" and feel it was probably a mistake to invite the 4 women in the first place.

The Brothers Osborne were embraced Wednesday at the 50th CMA Awards ... but guess who wasn't? -- Brooks Brothers.

No boring duds for these stars ... it was all glitter and yellow and boots for Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood ... and, of course, Dolly Parton ... who snagged the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

J.J. Watt threatening to fight Carrie Underwood's hockey player husband??? That happened ... sorta.

It was all part of Watt's big comedy bit at the CMT Music Awards Wednesday night -- when Watt jokingly hit on a bunch of hot married famous chicks ... including Carrie. It culminated in a funny standoff with Mike Fisher.

MVP meets CMT.

J.J. Watt has officially been tapped to co-host the CMT Music Awards next month -- after impressing producers as a presenter during last year's show.

CMT announced Watt will join Erin Andrews -- who hosted the show last year along with Brittany Snow. But Snow's out -- and Watt's in.

"I am very excited to be involved in a much larger capacity this year as co-host,” Watt said.

"I can’t wait to host the awards with Erin and be part of such a great night, honoring the biggest stars in country music.”

Hip-hop and R&B producer supreme Timbaland is ready to get his twang on, y'all ... and he's gonna do it with his pal Justin Timberlake.

Timbaland was on TMZ Live Tuesday and we brought up JT bringing down the house at the CMAs with his Chris Stapleton duet. Since Timberlake and Timbaland are connected at the musical hip ... we had to know if a country record was in the works.

Tim told us, "We are country! He's from Tennessee, I'm from VA!"

Watch the rest of his answer -- it sure looks like Justin and his fav producer will be dipping their feet in the Nashville pool soon.

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton finally stopped hiding from fans and cameras, and they picked country music's biggest night for their coming out.

The pic we got of their fingers interlocked -- while sipping drinks at a CMA after-party -- kinda tells the story!

Kim Kardashian and the fam have an unlikely ally in Nashville, and his name's Steven Tyler ... who's ready and willing to make room for their asses on any stage they want.

Steven was leaving a CMA after-party when we asked him about Rebel Wilson going off on the Jenner/Kardashian clan ... blasting them as talentless hacks.

Check it out ... the Aerosmith frontman did NOT hesitate to tell us where he stands on the issue.

Sorry, Rebel ... Tyler's never been one to turn down hot chicks.