On Sunday, country music's hottest stars were celebrated at the annual CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards. Highlights from the night included a heartfelt duet, one singer's surprise cameo and another singer's emotional return to the stage. There was also plenty of talk about politics, courtesy of the industry's highly acclaimed women stars.
First up was country singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini, who opened the show with a moving tribute to the victims of last week's shooting at Nashville's Covenant School in Tennessee.
"On March 27, 2023, three 9-year-olds — Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs — along with Dr. Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak, and Mike Hill, walked into the Covenant School and didn't walk out," Ballerini, who co-hosted this year's show with Kane Brown, tearfully said. "The community of sorrow over this and the 130 mass shootings in the U.S. this year alone stretches from coast to coast."
Ballerini then shared her own personal experience with campus gun violence, saying she witnessed a classmate die in a shooting at her high school in Knoxville, Tennessee.
"I wanted to personally stand up here and share this moment, because on Aug. 21, 2008, I watched Ryan McDonald, my 15-year-old classmate at Central High School, lose his life to a gun in our cafeteria," she continued. "Tonight's broadcast is dedicated to the ever-growing list of family's friends, survivors, witnesses, and responders whose lives continue to forever be changed by gun violence. I pray deeply that the closeness and the community that we feel through the next few hours of music can soon turn into action — like, real action — that moves us forward together to create change for the safety of our kids and our loved ones."
Later in the broadcast, Ballerini took center stage to perform her 2022 single "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)'' alongside "RuPaul's Drag Race" alums Manila Luzon, Kennedy Davenport, Jan Sport, and Olivia Lux. After the show, she tweeted a message of support, writing "if you go down, i'm going down too [pride flag] // thank you to these iconic queens and @manilaluzon @kennedyddoftx @janjanjan @TheOliviaLux and @CMT for celebrating love, self expression, and performance."
if you go down, i’m going down too 🏳️🌈 // thank you to these iconic queens and @manilaluzon @kennedyddoftx @janjanjan @TheOliviaLux and @CMT for celebrating love, self expression, and performance.
— Kelsea Ballerini (@KelseaBallerini) April 3, 2023
📸 John Shearer @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/jZ3JTVI3ny
It seemed fitting for Ballerini, a Tennessee native, to call out the tumultuous political climate of her home state at an awards show that has traditionally taken place in Nashville — this year's festivities were held at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Tennessee has faced criticism for a string of controversial legislation, including pro-gun and anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
In July of 2021, Gov. Bill Lee enacted a law that allowed the permitless carry of handguns, both concealed and unconcealed, for anyone over the age of 21. Under the provisions, law enforcement officials and military members between ages 18 and 20 are allowed to carry their handguns without a permit. Anyone over the age of 18 can purchase rifles and shotguns and carry them without a permit. However, they can't do the same with firearms "if it is not concealed on or about the person and must be unloaded" and the owner is not allowed to carry its ammunition on their person or in their "immediate vicinity," the law specifies.
Then, in March, Tennessee enacted its first-in-the-nation law that criminalizes "adult cabaret performances" in public or in the presence of children and bans them from happening within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship. Supporters of the law asserted that it "gives confidence to parents that they can take their kids to a public or private show and will not be blindsided by a sexualized performance." But many opposers, including the Memphis-based LGBTQ+ theater company Friends of George's, Inc., noted that the law demonizes drag performers (even though the word "drag" is not written in the law) and violates the First Amendment.
On Friday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Tennessee law after Friends of George's, Inc. filed a lawsuit against it. Judge Thomas Parker cited constitutional protections of freedom of speech in issuing a temporary restraining order, according to NBC News.
Ballerini's recent statements also underscore an ongoing trend of women in country taking a stance against the conservative politics that are often celebrated in the biz. As Kate Mossman of the New Statesman wrote, "The genre is transforming, the think-pieces said: there are liberal, outspoken young females in Nashville for the first time (as though the Dixie Chicks never happened)."
Take for example Grammy-winning country star Kacey Musgraves, whom Mossman dubbed a "liberal misfit." She's best known for her progressive lyrics about LGBTQ+ acceptance, sexuality and individuality, which is distinct from the conservative nature of much of mainstream country music. Of course, there's also Dolly Parton. There's Mickey Guyton. And, there's Shania Twain, who took home the Equal Play Award at Sunday's CMT Awards.
For a man who clearly loves being well-liked, it’s indescribably mind-numbing to see him blatantly and murderously ignore doing ONE THING that would not only make people happy but would SAVE PEOPLE’S LIVES. True leaders don’t stand back and watch the world burn. @realDonaldTrump
— K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) August 5, 2019
In her acceptance speech, Twain called for more equity and diversity in the country music industry, saying, "When I wrote the phrase 'Man, I feel like a woman' I honestly had no idea at the time it would become an undercurrent of a decades-long career. It's amazing how one statement can empower so many."
She continued, "I believe in an all-inclusive country music. We're family. This is a genre of music with a rich history that raised and nurtured my own songwriting and performance and recording career from childhood. Currently, the industry standard does a real disservice to this."
"I will continue to do my best as a trailblazer. Together, let's ensure all our fellow artists get equal play regardless of gender, age or race."
