The host delivered snippets of country hits like “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” “Redneck Woman,” and “Girl Crush”
While Luke Combs may have officially opened the 59th CMA Awards with a blistering performance of “Back in the Saddle,” it was host Lainey Wilson who welcomed the crowd in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and watching at home. The CMAs host delivered a folksy monologue highlighted by her memories of growing up in Baskin, Louisiana, capped by a musical medley.
Along with guests like Keith Urban, Little Big Town, and Charlie Worsham, Wilson sang country hits like Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” and Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” making her way through the crowd to often sing right in front of the artist who made the song famous. For “Redneck Woman,” she crooned to an excited Gretchen Wilson, during “Gunpowder & Lead” she shimmied with Miranda Lambert, and for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” she twirled with Shaboozey. The medley concluded with a surprise appearance by Keith Urban, who played guitar and sang “Where the Blacktop Ends.”
Wilson, one of the night’s top nominees with six, tying Ella Langley and Megan Moroney, is the first woman to host the CMA Awards solo since Reba McEntire in 1991. Wilson expressed disbelief at that statistic during a recent appearance on Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast. “I looked it up too and I was like, there’s no way. I let Reba know I was doing this and she was so excited,” Wilson said. “It’s been a long time since a woman has done it solo. I’m glad they trust me. I like to run my mouth and I love country music.”
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She also said she hoped she’d be able to poke fun at her peers. “I go way back with these people,” she told Nashville Now. “Let me make fun of Luke Combs, please.”
The 59th annual Country Music Association Awards are airing live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC and will stream on Hulu beginning on Thursday.