The 54th Annual Country Music Association Awards were held on Wednesday, November 11, 2020, at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted by CMA Award winners Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker.[1]
| 54th Annual Country Music Association Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | November 11, 2020 |
| Location | Music City Center, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Reba McEntire Darius Rucker |
| Most awards | Maren Morris (3) |
| Most nominations | Miranda Lambert (7) |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | ABC |
| Viewership | 7.1 million |
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Background
editDarius Rucker is the second African-American male to co-host the award show after Charley Pride, who co-hosted the 1975 ceremony.
On October 22, the CMA announced that Pride would be the recipient of the 2020 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.[2] It would be Pride's last public appearance before his death that December.[3]
On November 9, following the announcement that two of the artists (Lee Brice and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line) originally scheduled to perform on the CMA Awards had tested positive for coronavirus, the CMA released a statement to Entertainment Tonight explaining that "We have been extremely diligent with our testing process in advance of anyone entering our footprint. Every single person has been tested, and many will be tested repeatedly throughout the week. This is in addition to wearing PPE and of course practicing social and physical distancing. We have an incredible show planned and look forward to bringing the country music community together. However, our number one priority has been and will continue to be the safety of our artists, our crew and our staff. That will never be compromised."[4][5]
In order to mitigate the likelihood of spreading coronavirus during the ceremony, only the nominees, their staff, guests and the crew were allowed into the venue and the traditional red carpet did not take place. Longtime CMA producer Roger Deaton confirmed to The Tennessean that the show would incorporate both live and pre-recorded performances (with around 60% being performed live) and that multiple stages throughout the venue would be utilized in order to account for how each stage must be fully cleaned and sanitized by crew members following a performance, taking about fifteen to twenty minutes. Seating arrangements for the attendees were designed to strictly adhere to social distancing guidelines, with a banquet-style layout akin to the inaugural untelevised CMA Awards wherein an artist and their guests each have their own table which is spaced eight meters apart from the other tables.[6] After Pride's death, speculation arose that he may have caught the virus from an asymptomatic carrier at the ceremony who had gone undetected.[3]
Winners and nominees
editThe nominees were announced on September 1, 2020 by Luke Combs and Carly Pearce on Good Morning America as well as by Ingrid Andress and Gabby Barrett on the CMA YouTube channel.[7][8] The eligibility period for the 54th CMA Awards was from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.[9]
Winners in Bold.
International Awards
edit| Award | Recipient[10] |
|---|---|
| International Country Broadcaster Award | Ben Earle |
| Jo Walker-Meador International Award | John Esposito |
| Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award | Ilse DeLange |
Performers
editThe first wave of performers were announced on October 29, 2020, followed by the second wave on November 5.[11][12][13][14]
Artists test positive for COVID-19
editOn November 8, 2020, Lee Brice was forced to pull out of performing his multi-nominated song "I Hope You're Happy Now" with Carly Pearce after testing positive for coronavirus. Charles Kelley from Lady A was later announced to be performing Brice's part alongside Pearce.[15] On November 9, Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line revealed that he had also tested positive, resulting in the duo's performance of "Long Live" being cancelled, with their slot being given to Kelsea Ballerini who was originally not scheduled to appear. Both Brice and Hubbard received their positive test results before entering CMA rehearsals.[16] Jenee Fleenor also tested positive for COVID-19 and her part in the Charlie Daniels tribute was given to Dan Hochhalter, the fiddle player in Dierks Bentley's band. Ahead of the awards, Lady A announced that, while the band themselves had all tested negative, a member of their immediate family had tested positive and they had made the decision not to attend the show, therefore not appearing alongside Thomas Rhett and Darius Rucker as planned. Kelley's performance with Pearce had been pre-recorded and aired as part of the show. Rascal Flatts also did not perform "Bless the Broken Road" after a member of the band tested positive.[17]
Charley Pride later tested positive after the show, an infection that later proved fatal. It is under investigation how Pride caught the virus.[3]
Presenters
edit| Presenter(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| Bobby Bones | Single of the Year |
| Taylor Hill | Song of the Year |
| Lauren Akins | New Artist of the Year |
| Dierks Bentley | Vocal Duo of the Year |
| Lauren Alaina and Patrick Schwarzenegger | Vocal Group of the Year |
| Jake Owen | Album of the Year |
| Charles Esten | Female Vocalist of the Year |
| Sara Evans | Male Vocalist of the Year |
| Darius Rucker and Reba McEntire | Entertainer of the Year |
CeCe Winans introduced Darius Rucker & Reba McEntire's performance.
Nominee milestones
edit- As the top nominee with seven nods, Miranda Lambert overtakes Reba McEntire as the most nominated woman in CMA history, with 55 total nominations to McEntire's 51. Lambert is now the fourth most-nominated artist behind Brad Paisley (58), Alan Jackson (81) and George Strait (83).
- Additionally, with Lambert's nominations for Album, Single and Song of the Year, she matches Jackson (1990, 1991, 1993 and 2002) as the only artist in CMA history to be nominated in all three categories four times (after previously sweeping the categories in 2010, 2014 and 2017). She also ties Paisley as the second most-nominated artist in the Single of the Year category with 8 nominations behind Strait's nine.
- Keith Urban's Entertainer of the Year nod brings his career total to 13 nominations, second only to Strait's 19.
- Lambert and Underwood's nominations for Entertainer of the Year marks the first time that two women have been nominated in the category at the same time since 1979 when Crystal Gayle and Barbara Mandrell were nominated. It is also worth noting that Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks were both nominated in 2000, but Lambert and Underwood is the first time that two solo women have been nominated since Gayle and Mandrell.[19]
- Lambert, Morris and Barrett's nominations for Single of the Year also mark the first time three women have been nominated in the category since 1994 when Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Loveless and Reba McEntire were all featured.
- Andress, Barrett and Pearce's nominations for New Artist of the Year mark the first time three female artists have been nominated in the category since 1999 when Sara Evans, Chely Wright and eventual winner Jo Dee Messina were nominated. Additionally, Jimmie Allen's nomination in the category is the first for an African American artist since Darius Rucker won in 2009.
- Brooks & Dunn's 21'st Vocal Duo of the Year nomination extends their lead as the highest nominated act in that category.
- For the first time since the 1977 CMA Awards, all five Single of the Year nominees reached the top thirty on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- "10,000 Hours" is the fourth collaboration with a pop star to be nominated for Single of the Year, following Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias' "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's "Don't You Wanna Stay" and Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line's "Meant to Be".
Controversies
editGarth Brooks
editOn July 30, 2020, Garth Brooks announced that he wants his name to be permanently out of contention for Entertainer of the Year.[20] After he won the 2019 Entertainer of the Year award, it caused a social media firestorm; many fans and artists believed Carrie Underwood or Eric Church deserved to win the award over Brooks. Brooks stated that after the last win, that it was "not that fun, to tell you the truth." As he absorbed the backlash after the November awards show, Brooks said, he couldn't shake the sentiment expressed in one of the tweets he read: "It said, 'Hey man, this guy, why doesn't he step down and just [leave] the entertainer for the next generation?'" He said he realized that taking his name out of the running was his only way forward. The timing of his announcement came just two days before the second round of voting begins for the annual awards, "I'm very grateful for the time that I've got to go [win]," he said, but now, "somebody else needs to hold that." According to a statement released July 30, 2020 by the Country Music Association, "The long-standing CMA Awards rules do not allow individuals to remove themselves from the balloting process at any point."
In 2021, Brooks restated that his position on receiving a nomination for Entertainer of the Year still stands.
John Prine
editAfter airing, the CMA Awards received criticism from artists Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires for failing to mention John Prine who had passed away in April following complications from COVID-19 as well as Billy Joe Shaver and Jerry Jeff Walker who both died in October, with Isbell noting that he and Shires had returned their CMA membership cards in protest. A statement from Prine's label Oh Boy Records read "we're disappointed John won't be a part of the CMA award show tonight. Country music was both the inspiration and foundation for his songwriting and performing. While there may be a number of artists who have had more commercial success than John, there are very few who achieved more artistically".[21][22]
References
edit- ^ "Reba McEntire And Darius Rucker To Host 54th Annual CMA Awards". Deadline Hollywood. October 5, 2020.
- ^ "Charley Pride to Receive CMA Awards' 2020 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award". Billboard.
- ^ a b c Chris Morris (December 12, 2020). "Charley Pride, Country Music's First Black Superstar, Dies of COVID-19 at 86". Variety. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ https://www.etonline.com/kelsea-ballerini-among-country-music-stars-to-perform-at-2020-cma-awards155570 [dead link]
- ^ "The CMA Awards Promise to Bring Top Country Stars Together 'Safely, All in One Room'". Billboard.
- ^ "How the CMA Awards will keep attendees safe from coronavirus". Fox News. 10 November 2020.
- ^ "54th CMA Awards nominations announced". September 1, 2020.
- ^ Leimkuehler, Matthew. "CMA Awards 2020: Here's the full list of nominees". The Tennessean.
- ^ "CMA Awards Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises". Billboard.
- ^ "CMA Announces Dean Dillon, Marty Stuart And Hank Williams Jr. As The Country Music Hall Of Fame Class Of 2020". CMA World. August 17, 2020.
- ^ CMA Country Music [@CountryMusic] (October 29, 2020). "#CMAawards PERFORMERS! @Reba McEntire with @DariusRucker, Darius feat. @LadyA, @GabbyBarrett_ feat. @CharliePuth, @EricChurch, @LukeCombs, @FLAGALine, @MirandaLambert, @AshleyMcBryde, @MarenMorris, @RascalFlatts and @ThomasRhett feat. Reba, @HillaryScottLA & @ChrisTomlin!! https://t.co/PJr94SPJQo" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Breaking News - Performers Announced for "The 54th Annual CMA Awards," Country Music's Biggest Night(TM), Broadcasting Live from Nashville's Music City Center Wednesday, Nov. 11, on ABC". TheFutonCritic.com. 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
- ^ CMA Country Music [@CountryMusic] (November 5, 2020). "MORE #CMAawards PERFORMERS! @Jason_Aldean, @DierksBentley, @BrothersOsborne, @JeneeMusic, @AshleyMcBryde, @DanAndShay with @JustinBieber, @JimmieAllen, @IngridAndress, @LittleBigTown, @OldDominion, @JonPardi, @CarlyPearce & @LeeBrice, @KeithUrban, & @MorganWallen! 🤩 https://t.co/BXnRa21Agi" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ CMA Country Music [@CountryMusic] (November 9, 2020). "Just announced!! Two-time #CMAawards nominee this year @ChrisStapleton will take the stage to perform his new single "Starting Over" and we are PUMPED! Watch the CMA Awards Wednesday at 8|7c on @ABCNetwork! https://t.co/FPBanHFyvr" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Country Star Lee Brice Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Will Miss CMA Awards Performance". 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard is Second CMA Awards Performer to Cancel After Testing Positive for COVID-19". 9 November 2020.
- ^ "CMA Awards 2020: Lady a exits show after family member tests positive for COVID-19".
- ^ "Miranda Lambert Is the Top CMA Awards Nominee in a Much-Improved Year For Women". Billboard.
- ^ Black, Lauren Jo (September 1, 2020). "For the First Time in 41 Years, Two Solo Female Artists Are Nominated For CMA Entertainer of the Year".
- ^ "Garth Brooks Pulls His Name from Consideration for CMA Entertainer of the Year". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- ^ "Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson criticise CMAs after John Prine snub". NME. 13 November 2020.
- ^ Oh Boy Records [@ohboyrecords] (November 11, 2020). "We'll be tuning in tonight for the great performances and to root on our favs, but we just wanted to share this too #countrymusic https://t.co/eUjSjetC5i" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.