Backstage At The CMA Awards
The 48th Annual CMA Awards was a huge success, with over 18 million people watching on TV. But a small group of people saw the show from a different place: Backstage. Country Countdown USA was fortunate to be credentialed for the Media Room. That means we got to ask questions of the winners, and sit just a few feet away from the dressing rooms. In addition, because our host Lon Helton won the National Personality of the Year award, we even got to walk ON stage for a few minutes! That was pretty cool!
But let’s talk about the Media Room for a minute. It’s located in the back area of the arena, normally used as a rehearsal space. It’s a big room, with rows of tables set up for reporters from TV, radio, newspapers, and online. I was seated between a reporter from Fox News and Sirius Radio, three rows back from the stage. The front row is reserved for photographers. We captured photos, video, and audio from the winners. In fact, the next picture is the view from my seat.
Lon Helton received his award during something called the Pre-Show. It takes place around 6PM, an hour before the national TV show. Other winners announced at that time are the local radio personality and station awards, plus Musician of the Year, Video of the Year, and Musical Event. Chris Young was the host for the Pre-Show. Lon and I were escorted from the Media Room to the stage through the dressing room area. Because this is normally a hockey arena, the dressing rooms are in an area behind the stage and under the seats. They all open on to a huge hallway that is usually filled with people on Awards Night. It definitely was this year. All the stars and their staffs hanging out, catching up, and socializing. We walked through the middle of that area, and down a hall that led to the stage. We waited there, shot some photos, and were given instructions about the night. It was during this time that we were able to take pictures with the award. Then it was time for the Pre-Show. Lon accepted his award, gave a short speech thanking the CMA, our listeners, our syndicator, and our radio stations. After the Pre-Show, Lon went to his seat in the arena, and I returned to the Media Room.
We watched the show on large screen TVs on either side of the stage. No winners came back to see us for a long time. Football star Tim Tebow was a presenter, and he came back. Ashley Monroe sang with Blake Shelton, and she took a few questions. Our first winner was New Artist of the Year Brett Eldredge. It was his first award, and he told us, “It’s easy to get lost in all this, but it’s the time when I’m home with my family is when I get to soak in the people that mean the most to me. This year has been incredible, and I need to take a day off tomorrow and share it with the people who mean the most, because I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Kacey Musgraves won Song Of The Year for “Follow Your Arrow.” She came back with her co-writers Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. She said, “I can honestly say that for a song that I was told would never be a single, it blows my mind and gives me faith that people love connecting with a message. It’s an anthem for all kinds of people, and I could not be more proud.” As she was leaving, Kacey told us something that surprised all of us: “Just so y’all know, right before I sang, my panties totally came off. They were the stick-on kind. The curtain was about to come up, so I had to rip ’em off and throw them to the side, so they’re somewhere around here, so in case you see them, they’re mine!”
Vince Gill won the Irving Waugh Award, which has only been won by two artists: Johnny Cash and now Vince. I knew Vince had known Irving Waugh, who was the President of the Grand Ole Opry, and founder of Opryland and the CMA Awards. I asked him about receiving this award: “Irving was the consummate gentlemen and a young guy could learn a lot from a guy like Irving.”
Vocal Group of the Year was won for the third time by Little Big Town. Karen said, “We didn’t expect it at all. I thought, what did they just say? It’s such a surprise and an honor.” They were asked about the lighted outfits: “So many people, so many wires, it was a fragile situation, we couldn’t bend over or it would short out. We had extra tech people, after the rehearsal last night, they added another tech person. You don’t just sew lights on a costume. It takes a lot of planning. There’s a lady at the shoe department at Nordstroms who expects big things every time we perform on an awards show. She asks me every time, ‘What are you gonna do next?’ And we want to do something fun.”
Once the show was over, they were able to bring back the top 3 winners, starting with Male Vocalist Blake Shelton. It was his 5th win tied him with Vince Gill for most wins in this category. Blake said, “I mentioned that I was looking at the CMA book of past winners, and I saw George Jones, Ronnie Milsap, and couldn’t believe I won more than Ronnie Milsap. To be in that category with Vince and Strait is beyond a dream come true. It’s stupid. It was alarming to me to not see Dan Seals, Earl Thomas Conley, or even Conway Twitty or John Conlee on there, so to think those guys never got this award freaked me out.
Blake’s wife Miranda was next, and she won Female, Album, Single, and Musical Event. She walked on stage carrying all four awards, and had trouble because they were all so heavy. She handed them off, and took questions. “It’s really unbelievable. I think this year more than ever, being here, I’m in the moment, enjoying every second. I felt like this whole night was about celebrating music, and I’m part of it.” Miranda passed Reba for most wins as Female Vocalist. “I don’t even know what to say about that. Every time I’m around Reba I shut up and try to listen, because I know I can learn from everything she says. I’m thankful to have gotten to know her.”
Last to come to the press room was Luke Bryan. He posed for pictures, kissing the award, holding it over his head, and basically having a good time. It was his first-ever CMA Award, and it was Entertainer of the Year: “I have longed to get one of these in my hands. To win this is a gi-normous deal, something I could not express on stage. I’m humbled, I think about the hard work that it’s taken to get here, and I’m so blessed, I’ll never take a second of it for granted. The fact that I’ve never met Garth Brooks, and he handed me my CMA Award, that is crazy! As a kid watching his show, I always wanted to put on a show like Garth.”
That was it! That’s what it was like to sit backstage during the CMA Awards!
Category: Photos
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
