2020 CMA Awards: See More of the Night’s Big Performances
The Country Music Association lined up more than 20 performers for Wednesday night's (Nov. 11) 2020 CMA Awards. From pop stars to country newcomers -- and, of course, the genre's superstars -- plenty of artists took the stage on Country Music's Biggest Night.
A number of originally announced performances had to be altered due to positive COVID-19 tests: Carly Pearce sang her hit duet "I Hope You're Happy Now" with Charles Kelley, not Lee Brice, though Kelley's trio Lady A also had to pull out of the show at the last minute, as did fiddler Jenee Fleenor and Rascal Flatts. Ahead of time, Florida Georgia Line also had to cancel.
Nonetheless, the show still boasted performances from newbies Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andress and Morgan Wallen; country superstars Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert and Eric Church; and pop stars Justin Bieber (with Dan + Shay) and Charlie Puth (with Gabby Barrett), among others.
Additionally, Thomas Rhett was joined by Chris Tomlin and Reba McEntire for a version of their song "Be a Light," and McEntire and Darius Rucker, this year's CMA Awards co-hosts, gave a collaborative performance of Mac Davis' "In the Ghetto." Rucker also offered up a rendition of his single "Beers and Sunshine."
And then, there were the tributes. Sadly, the country music community has lost a number of big names this year, necessitating some star-powered memorial segments. The 2020 CMA Awards opened with a multi-song tribute to Charlie Daniels, who died in July, from Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde. Later in the night, Old Dominion marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Urban Cowboy by performing the Johnny Lee classic "Looking for Love;" Little Big Town sang a tribute to Kenny Rogers, who died in March; and Jon Pardi paid tribute to Joe Diffie, who died on March 29 of COVID-19.
A full list of 2020 CMA Awards performers is below. The show aired live on ABC from Nashville's Music City Center. It was moved there, from Bridgestone Arena, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which also mean no fans were in attendance at the show this year.
2020 CMA Awards Performers
Ashley McBryde, "One Night Standards"
Brothers Osborne, "All Night"
Carly Pearce and Charles Kelley, "I Hope You're Happy Now" (Editor's Note: Pearce's original duet partner, Lee Brice, tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the 2020 CMA Awards, meaning he was not able to attend or perform at the show. Charles Kelley, who was supposed to fill in, also skipped the show due to COVID-19 exposure, but the pair pre-taped their performance.)
Charlie Daniels Tribute from Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde (Editor's Note: Jenee Fleenor tested positive for COVID-19 just ahead of the 2020 CMA Awards and, therefore, was not part of this performance as planned.)
Chris Stapleton, "Starting Over"
Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber, "10,000 Hours"
Darius Rucker, "Beers & Sunshine" (Editor's Note: Lady A skipped the 2020 CMA Awards due to COVID-19 exposure and were not part of this performance as originally planned.)
Eric Church, "Hell of a View"Florida Georgia Line, "Long Live" (Editor's Note: Tyler Hubbard tested positive for COVID-19, he revealed on Monday (Nov. 9), necessitating the duo's removal from the 2020 CMA Awards lineup.)
Gabby Barrett and Charlie Puth, "I Hope"
Ingrid Andress, "More Hearts Than Mine"
Jimmie Allen, "Best Shot"
Jon Pardi, "Pickup Man" in tribute to Joe Diffie
Keith Urban, "God Whispered Your Name"
Kelsea Ballerini, "Hole in the Bottle"
Little Big Town, "Sweet Music Man" in tribute to Kenny Rogers
Luke Combs, "Cold as You"
Maren Morris, "The Bones"
Miranda Lambert, "Settling Down"
Morgan Wallen, "More Than My Hometown"
Old Dominion, "Looking for Love" in tribute to Johnny Lee and Urban Cowboy's 40th anniversaryRascal Flatts, "Bless the Broken Road" (Editor's Note: A positive COVID-19 diagnosis within the country trio meant that Rascal Flatts were not at the 2020 CMA Awards after all.)
Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker, "In the Ghetto" in tribute to Mac Davis
Thomas Rhett and Friends, "Be a Light" (Editor's Note: Hillary Scott skipped the 2020 CMA Awards due to COVID-19 exposure and was not part of this performance as originally planned.)
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