CMA AWARDS: More Performers and Presenters
Chris Stapleton has joined the lineup of performers for the 54th annual CMA Awards. And Charles Kelley of Lady A will step in for Lee Brice, who was diagnosed with COVID-19, to perform "I Hope You're Happy Now" with Carly Pearce.
Thomas Rhett's wife Lauren Akins has been tapped as a presenter, along with Lauren Alaina, Bobby Bones, Jake Owen, Sara Evans, Charles Esten, supermodel Taylor Hill, CeCe Winans and actor Patrick Schwarzenegger.
The CMA Awards air live on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
TYLER HUBBARD: Diagnosed with COVID-19
Tyler Hubbard is the latest country artist to be diagnosed with COVID-19. He's asymptomatic and quarantined on his tour bus away from his family.
We haven't gotten official word, but Florida Georgia Line is no longer listed as performers for Wednesday night's CMA Awards show.
CMA AWARDS: Different Look and Feel
Wednesday night's CMA Awards will have a different look and feel than previous years, thanks to the pandemic.
The changes will reflect the early days of the awards, when nominees sat at tables on the floor of an auditorium. This year, tables will be set eight feet apart with only one artist and one guest sitting with them. There will be multiple stages for performances, with each being cleaned after the artists leave the stage.
Reba McEntire, who is co-hosting the show with Darius Rucker, tells theTennessean, “It's going to be a good night. We're all just going to join together, and do the best we can, and look forward to the day when we can have the awards show with all the fans there in the arena back again.”