The 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards, commonly known as the 51st CMA Awards, was held on November 8, 2017, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted for the tenth time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
The nominations were announced on September 4, 2017, on Good Morning America by Lauren Alaina, Dustin Lynch, and Brothers Osborne.
Winners and nominees Note: The winners are shown in Bold. Entertainer of the YearAlbum of the Year Garth Brooks Luke Bryan Eric Church Chris Stapleton Keith Urban From A Room: Volume 1 — Chris Stapleton The Breaker — Little Big Town Heart Break — Lady Antebellum The Nashville Sound — Jason Isbell The Weight of These Wings — Miranda LambertMale Vocalist of the YearFemale Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton Dierks Bentley Eric Church Thomas Rhett Keith Urban Miranda Lambert Kelsea Ballerini Reba McEntire Maren Morris Carrie UnderwoodVocal Group of the YearVocal Duo of the Year Little Big Town Lady Antebellum Old Dominion Rascal Flatts Zac Brown Band Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Florida Georgia Line LoCash Maddie & TaeSingle of the YearSong of the Year "Blue Ain't Your Color" — Keith Urban "Better Man" — Little Big Town "Body Like a Back Road" — Sam Hunt "Dirt on My Boots" — Jon Pardi "Tin Man" — Miranda Lambert "Better Man" — Taylor Swift "Blue Ain't Your Color" — Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey, Steven Lee Olsen "Body Like a Back Road" — Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne "Dirt on My Boots" — Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley "Tin Man" — Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon RandallNew Artist of the YearMusician of the Year Jon Pardi Lauren Alaina Luke Combs Old Dominion Brett Young Mac McAnally, Guitar Jerry Douglas, Dobro Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar Dann Huff, Guitar Derek Wells, GuitarMusic Video of the YearMusical Event of the Year "It Ain't My Fault" — Brothers Osborne; (Dir. Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver) "Better Man" — Little Big Town; (Dir. Becky Fluke and Reid Long) "Blue Ain't Your Color" — Keith Urban; (Dir. Carter Smith) "Craving You" — Thomas Rhett feat. Maren Morris; (Dir. TK McKamy) "Vice" — Miranda Lambert; (Dir. Trey Fanjoy) "Funny How Time Slips Away" — Willie Nelson and Glen Campbell "Craving You" — Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris "Kill a Word" — Eric Church and Rhiannon Giddens "Setting the World on Fire" — Kenny Chesney and P!nk "Speak to a Girl" — Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Special Recognition Awards The CMA Special Recognition Award recipients were announced on 4 April 2017. Award Recipient International Country Broadcaster Award Bob Harris Jo Walker-Meador International Award Rob Potts Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award The Shires International Artist Achievement Award Carrie Underwood Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award Richard Wootton
Performers
Performer(s) Song(s) Eric Church Lady Antebellum Darius Rucker Keith Urban Brooks & Dunn Reba McEntire Little Big Town Thomas Rhett Garth Brooks Luke Bryan Kelsea Ballerini Tim McGraw Faith HillTribute to the Victims of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting"Amazing Grace" "Hold My Hand" Thomas Rhett"Unforgettable"Dierks Bentley Rascal Flatts Eddie Montgomery Tribute to Troy Gentry "My Town"Kelsea Ballerini Reba McEntire"Legends" Luke Bryan"Light It Up"Miranda Lambert"To Learn Her"Garth Brooks"Ask Me How I Know"Brothers OsborneTribute to Don Williams "It Ain't My Fault" "Tulsa Time"Tim McGraw Faith Hill"The Rest of Our Life"P!nk"Barbies"Old Dominion "No Such Thing as a Broken Heart"Little Big Town Jimmy Webb Tribute to Glen Campbell "Wichita Lineman"Chris Stapleton "Broken Halos"Maren Morris Niall Horan"I Could Use a Love Song" "Seeing Blind"Carrie Underwood In Memorium"Softly and Tenderly"Brad Paisley Kane Brown"Heaven South"Jon Pardi "Dirt on My Boots"Dan + Shay Lauren Alaina"Get Together"Keith Urban"Female"Eric Church Joanna Cotten The McCrary Sisters"Chattanooga Lucy"Alan Jackson "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" "Don't Rock The Jukebox"
Presenters Presenter(s)AwardBrittany Snow and Ruby RoseSingle of the YearBobby Bones, Karlie Kloss, Brett Young and Luke CombsSong of the YearJoanna Garcia-Swisher and Jason RitterNew Artist of the YearTyler PerryAlbum of the YearSugarlandVocal Duo of the YearBrett Eldredge, Dustin Lynch and Lea MicheleVocal Group of the YearMichelle Monaghan and Jimmie JohnsonFemale Vocalist of the YearTrisha YearwoodMale Vocalist of the YearReba McEntire Entertainer of the Year
Critical reception The 51st Annual CMA Awards received 14.29 million viewers, the highest ratings since 2014 (which received 16.1 million. Among adults 18–49, the show received a 3.2 rating, up from the 2.9 rating of the previous year.
The ceremony was noted for its parody of political subject matter in awards shows, specifically in the opening monologue by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, who told jokes referencing both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Paisley also performed a parody song about Trump's tweeting habits to the tune of Underwood's hit "Before He Cheats."
Underwood's performance during the in memoriam segment, in which she broke down crying, received acclaim, with many citing it as one of the best and most moving and emotional performances of the night. People.com referred to the performance as "heartbreaking," before describing how Underwood took to the stage to honor country music legends (such as Don Williams, Glen Campbell, Troy Gentry, and Jo Walker-Meador) and the 58 victims of the Las Vegas shooting. In addition, ET called Underwood's performance "beautiful" and "gorgeous," mentioning a statement made by Paisley at the opening of the show about coming together in the face of tragedy.
Garth Brooks, who won the prestigious Entertainer of the Year award, was heavily criticized for lip-syncing during his performance. Of his decision, Brooks stated that "we made a game-time call on whether to sing to a track or lip-sync and we decided to lip-sync it. My voice just isn't going anywhere, and we wanted to represent country music as best we can."
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