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Post by Admin on Jun 5, 2020 9:03:26 GMT
 On Wednesday night, CMT premiered CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special with appearances from several country music stars, as well as some actors and actresses, who honored the inspiring Americans on the frontlines of the outbreak. The special included emotional live-from-home performances from stars like Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini and Thomas Rhett, as well as special tributes from Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Scarlett Johansson and many more. CMT Celebrates Our Heroes didn't just honor healthcare workers but also shed light on heroes making a difference in the categories of education, community and neighbors, food industry, American ingenuity, infrastructure, first responders and U.S. military. The night was kicked off by Little Big Town, who performed an emotional rendition of their song “Bluebird," before Shelton stepped in to talk about a tight-knit community in Kodiak, Alaska that banded together to turn schools into make-shift food pantries to feed those most in need. For Underwood — who has several teachers in her family — the event hit close to home as she expressed gratitude to seven standout educators who pivoted their job to a virtual classroom. "There was no playbook for this. There was no lesson plan,” the star said as she commended them for their efforts. Rhett also gave a shLater, Ballerini sang a cover of “You’ve Got a Friend" and Lambert shared an acoustic rendition of “Bluebird” from her porch in Nashville.out-out to both of his daughter’s teachers before performing his new song, “Be a Light.” After several more tributes to delivery drivers, farmers, grocers, sanitation workers and utility laborers, veterans, as well as to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, ambulance drivers and EMTs, Kane Brown closed out the show with a special performance of “Stand By Me.” |
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Post by Admin on Jun 5, 2020 19:20:01 GMT
Tim McGraw performs "I Called Mama". For more from CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special head to www.cmt.com/ McGraw’s emotional new single “I Called Mama” is brought to life in a brand new video, featuring clips of the superstar’s fans and their mothers as well as footage of McGraw and his mom, Betty Trimble, and wife, Faith Hill. The touching new video is a tribute to moms everywhere and showcases the unique bond mothers have with their children. Florida Georgia Line Performs "U.S. Stronger" | CMT Celebrates Our Heroes The video opens with a clip of McGraw surprising a fan via Facetime and goes on to show clips of mothers everywhere. From surprise military homecomings to social distancing visits, the “I Called Mama” music video tugs at fans’ heartstrings. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 6, 2020 0:07:44 GMT
In a pre-pandemic world, tonight CMT would have held its annual CMT Music Awards. But with most people still sheltering in place and the country still struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19, CMT postponed the show to Oct. 14.
Instead, the cable music outlet pivoted to CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special. Simulcast also on Paramount Network, TV Land and Pop TV, the two-hour special featured country artists saluting the now-familiar undeniably deserving heroes, such as frontline medical workers, and the less obvious, including farmers, truckers, grocery store workers, the military and other unheralded groups who have risen to the occasion.
Kelsea Ballerini, Carrie Underwood & More to Honor Coronavirus 'Heroes' on 'CMT Artists of the Year Special'
To CMT’s credit, it took what has now become a standard and somewhat predictable pandemic exercise featuring artists earnestly performing from their homes — whether it be iHeart’s Living Room Concert for America or the Jersey 4 Jersey benefit — and managed to tailor it for the country music audience. CMT Celebrates Our Heroes leaned heavily on middle America — and middle class — appeal, saluting postal service workers, bus drivers, teachers, sanitation workers and the folks who have gone to their jobs every day, including energy infrastructure workers, so most of us can stay safe.
Assembled largely before George Floyd’s death at the hands (and knees) of four Minneapolis police officers and the ongoing protests in more than 100 cities across the country, the special acknowledged the current strife with words on the screen as the event opened: “As social unrest grips the nation, we want to say thank you to those taking action against injustice.”
Country music is all about family and in her segment, Carlile, flanked by bandmates and twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth—it turns out they are all quarantining together—saluted parents and spoke for everyone who has not been able to see their mom or dad during the shut down. “We wanted to [perform] a song for our heroes, our folks,” she said, before playing “Most of All,” a track from her Grammy-winning album By the Way, I Forgive You. Like so many songs performed during the night, even though it was written long before the pandemic, the words took on a new meaning, as she sang about remembering her father’s advice about the love that comes back to you when you give love away.
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Post by Admin on Jun 6, 2020 6:33:34 GMT
Brandi Carlile pays tribute to mom and dad
Country music is all about family and in her segment, Carlile, flanked by bandmates and twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth—it turns out they are all quarantining together—saluted parents and spoke for everyone who has not been able to see their mom or dad during the shut down. “We wanted to [perform] a song for our heroes, our folks,” she said, before playing “Most of All,” a track from her Grammy-winning album By the Way, I Forgive You. Like so many songs performed during the night, even though it was written long before the pandemic, the words took on a new meaning, as she sang about remembering her father’s advice about the love that comes back to you when you give love away.
Thomas Rhett shines brightly
Rhett’s inspiring current chart climber “Be a Light” features Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin. But tonight, Rhett, in a salute to teachers, delivered a subtle, heartwarming version accompanied only by his band. The unadorned take allowed the words to take center stage. While the evening was about the pandemic, with lyrics “In a world full of hate, be a light” and “in a place that needs a change make a difference,” the song unintentionally addressed the protests as well.
Sam Hunt channels the Boss
After Kristen Bell introduced a taped segment saluting infrastructure heroes, Hunt, accompanied only by acoustic guitar, sang Bruce Springsteen’s “Jack of All Trades.” In his voluminous canon of songs saluting blue collar workers, Springsteen’s tune, featured on 2014’s Wrecking Ball, is an especially poignant tale of a worker looking for any kind of work from mowing lawns and harvesting crops to fixing engines to stay afloat as he attempts to convince his wife that things will be alright. It was a reminder of the devastating economic toll the pandemic has taken on millions as well.
Kelsea Ballerini soothes
Like Hunt (and Darius Rucker, who covered Randy Travis’s “Forever & Ever, Amen”), Ballerini turned to music made famous by another artist for her segment. She delivered a sweet version of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” as a salute to kids and young adults who have stepped in to help, including a seven-year-old who has created a community food pantry, a teen who is making masks for frontline workers, and a boy scout making 3D ear protectors. “I want to honor all the youth and kids who have …stepped up and been wonderful and bold,” she said.
Kane Brown takes us home
To close the evening, Brown paid tribute to the food industry — from restaurant staffers, restaurant workers, truckers, farmers and more — with a moving version of the classic “Stand By Me.” Brown continues to impress with his vocals and he ended the show on a unifying note through his graceful, R&B-tinged delivery.
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