On Wednesday evening (November 10), at the 55th Annual Country Music Awards, amid friends, collaborators and other award winners, legendary country music artist Miranda Lambert kicked off the show with a mix of some of his greatest successes.
Oh, and there was pyrotechnics too!
Watch Lambert perform below with a full band behind her, going from song to song like “Kerosene”, “Mama’s Broken Heart”, “Bluebird”, “Little Red Wagon” and “Gunpowder & Lead”.
“How are you tonight, Nashville?” Lambert, the most nominated female artist in CMA history, shouted to the hundreds in attendance for the most sparkling night in country music, which fell on Lambert’s 38th birthday.
Backup singer Gwen Sebastian took to social media to wish her boss a happy birthday after the big night. “We shared a lot of laughs, tears, shoes and sandwiches,†Sebastian wrote. “I am so grateful that you were born and that I can see all the ups and downs of the world with you. Happy birthday Janice. I love you!”
After the four-and-a-half-minute performance, which earned Lambert a standing ovation, country legend Luke Bryan took the stage to host the annual event. He was then joined by his American Idol co-judges, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, for some benevolent ribs.
Lambert’s opening night set the tone for a wonderful evening, which included performances by Jennifer Hudson, Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood, the Osborne brothers and many more. Namely, Keith Urban took to the streets of downtown Nashville to play his new single “Wild Hearts” while walking down Broadway to Bridgestone Arena.
For a full list of CMA winners, see below:
HOST OF THE YEAR  
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
The prize is awarded to artists, producers and mixing engineers
- “Start Over” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mixing engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The prize is awarded to artists, producers and mixing engineers
- Start All Over – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mixing engineer: Vance Powell
SONG OF THE YEAR
The prize is awarded to the composer (s)
- “Restart”
Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
- Chris Stapleton
VOICE GROUP OF THE YEAR
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
- Osborne Brothers
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
The prize goes to artists and producers
- “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (with Kenny Chesney)
Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
- Jenee Fleenor, violin
MUSICAL VIDEO OF THE YEAR
The prize is awarded to artists and directors
- “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (with Kenny Chesney)
Director: Patrick Tracy
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
