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Reba & Rucker
Reba McEntire and co-host Darius Rucker kicked off the 2020 CMA Awards with a monologue, standing a socially distant six feet apart from each other.
In the opening monologue, the pair joked about being happy to see a live (albeit small) audience after being quarantined for all these months.
Rucker got the biggest laugh of the night when he joked about Morgan Wallen being bounced from "SNL" after ignoring COVID-19 protocols.
"For your safety," Rucker joked, "I've had Morgan Wallen quarantined in my dressing room for two weeks now... so he might make this show."
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Morgan Wallen Delivers The Goods
Speaking of Morgan Wallen, the mullet-topped singer may have been bounced from "SNL", but he put out an extra-fiery performance of his chart-climbing new hit "More Than My Hometown" at the 2020 CMAs.
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Dan + Shay + Bieber
Dan + Shay were joined by Justin Bieber, performing “10,000 Hours” together for the first time ever in a highly anticipated performance from the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
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Chris Stapleton Is 'Starting Over'
With a new album on the horizon, country music powerhouse Chris Stapleton delivered an absolutely mesmerizing performance of his hopeful new single “Starting Over”, live from downtown Nashville.
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Charlie Daniels Tribute
Jason Aldean was among the performers to pay tribute to the late Charle Daniels, who passed away in July at age 83.
Joining Aldean for the all-star tribute to the "Devil Went Down to Georgia" singer was Ashley McBride, Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne.
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Charlie Puth Joined Gabby Barrett
Charlie Puth isn't exactly a name that brings up images of cowboy hats and honky-tonks, but the pop phenom demonstrated his country cred when he joined Gabby Barrett for a duet of "I Hope" at the 2020 CMAs.
"I'm a country artist now," Puth later declared on Twitter. "Thank you for having me @GabbyBarrett."
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Kelley & Carly
Carly Pearce and Lady A singer Charles Kelley performed “I Hope You're Happy Now”, a performance that nearly didn't happen.
Lady A had been scheduled to perform at the live show, but the vocal trio was forced to pull out at the last minute when a family member of the group tested positive for COVID-19.
However, this duet was recorded ahead of that positive result, so fans got to see the duet — even if they didn't get to see Lady A.
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A Nashville Legend Honoured
One of the most moving moments of the 2020 CMA Awards came when trailblazing country music icon Charley Pride accepted the this year's Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, nearly five decades after winning his first CMA Award.
Pride was joined by country star Jimmie Allen; after performing his new single "Best Shot", the pair sang a heartfelt duet on Pride's iconic country hit "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'".
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Pardi Pays Tribute To Diffie
Singer Jon Pardi paid tribute to the late Joe Diffie — who passed away from COVID-19 earlier this year — with a heartfelt performance of Diffie's hit "Pickup Man".
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Emotion Overtakes Ingrid Andress
Accompanied by a full orchestra, singer Ingrid Andress delivered an emotional performance of her hit single "More Hearts Than Mine".
"Emotional" may have been an understatement; by the song's end, Andress was so overcome with emotion that she broke down in tears, one of the most heartfelt, memorable moments of the 2020 CMAs.
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Honouring The Gambler
Little Big Town paid tribute to the late, great Kenny Rogers, who passed away earlier this year at age 81.
The group honoured the "Gambler" superstar by blending their sublime harmonies together for a heartfelt performance of his song "Sweet Music Man".
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Maren Morris Lands The Hat Trick
Maren Morris earned the most CMA Awards of the night, taking home three (including Female Vocalist of the Year).
In her acceptance speech, the Highwomen member also paid tribute to the "amazing Black women" in country music, singling out such artists as Linda Martell, Yola, Mickey Guyton, Rissi Palmer, Brittney Spencer and Rhiannon Giddens.
"There are so many amazing Black women that pioneered and continue to pioneer this genre, and I know they're going to come after me, they've come before me, but you've made this genre so, so beautiful," she said.
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Miranda Lambert Strips Down For 'Settling Down'
“I’m just doing a stripped down version of ‘Settling Down,’ my single, I really enjoy playing live live,” said Miranda Lambert ahead of her CMA Awards performance, joined by guitarist Luke Dick, one of the song's co-writers.
"We’re just simple," she explained, "we’re just gonna get up there with two guitars and sing our song.”
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Big Night For Luke Combs
Luke Combs took the Male Vocalist of the Year award at the 2020 CMA Awards.
"I never know what to say up here, I don't write speeches for these things," he said in his acceptance speeh. "Let me tell my beautiful wife thank you for always being there for me through thick and thin; my family, my parents ... I talked to my Grandma on the phone yesterday. Grandma, I know you're watching. I love you — I told you I'd say I love you if I won anything."
He continued, "I don't deserve this any more than anybody else in this category. Especially this year has been so crazy, and I know everybody in this category worked their a** off. I'm just lucky. I'm a lucky guy."
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Eric Church Is A Uniter Not A Divider
Eric Church won the year's Entertainer of the Year honours, following his sizzling performance of "One Hell of a View".
"If there was ever a year not to win this award," Church said in his acceptance speech.
"And I really believe this, it's going to be music that brings us out of this. That is the one thing that is going to save the entire world," Church continued. "Politicians are about division. Music is about unity. And I promise you, it's going to take everybody in this room to unite."
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