Our Favorite Moments from the ‘2021 CMT Music Awards’

It was straight from the red carpet to the stage for Lady A, Lindsay Ell and Carly Pearce who rocked out to Lady A’s “Like A Lady” to start the show alongside Pop trio, The Shindellas. This performance was everything we ever wanted to kick off a good night, complete with confetti, glow sticks in the crowd and a killer guitar solo by Lindsay Ell who couldn’t be stopped by her broken foot. With a start like that, it was impossible to have a bad show.

Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini (who had a lot of fun with the fact that they share the initials KB) did a wonderful job hosting the night’s festivities. They kept the night interesting with outfit changes, playful banter and becoming award winners themselves. Kane won the Male Video of the Year category with “Worship You,” as well as Collaborative Video of the Year alongside Chris Young for the “Famous Friends” music video. Kelsea took home the award for CMT Performance of the Year for her appearance at the 2020 CMT Music Awards singing “The Other Girl,” with Halsey.

In the days leading up to the show, CMT revealed Linda Martell would be honored as the recipient of the Equal Play Award, and what a special tribute it was. Mickey Guyton took charge of presenting the award to Martell (who was watching from her home in South Carolina) and was backed by several artists thanking Martell for the path she paved through a special video tribute. Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood and the first recipient of the Equal Play Award, Jennifer Nettles were among those who expressed heartfelt thanks for Martell in the beautifully crafted video package.

Breland, Mickey Guyton and Gladys Knight stole the night (in our opinion) with a soulful performance of “Friendship Train,” by Gladys Knight & the Pips. The trio illustrated the song perfectly as they sang about equality and brought their three worlds together as a new artist, current fave, and seasoned pro. Full of good vibes, great vocals and backed by a groovy horn section, the three proved everything is better aboard the “Friendship Train.”

We’re still trying to pick our jaws up off the floor after this one. Who gave Stapleton and H.E.R. permission to absolutely nail that performance like they did?! The two joined for a special rendition of H.E.R.’s song, “Hold On,” and there’s no doubt it’s going down in history. The performance gave us everything we could ever want from the insanely talented musicians with passionate vocals and a guitar solo by each, it’s no wonder the crowd wouldn’t stop cheering at the end. Wow!