“Son of a Sinner” Jelly Roll won the CMT Music Awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — “Son of a Sinner” singer Jelly Roll was the big winner at the CMT Music Awards, as the rapper-turned-country singer took home three awards Sunday as the outsider who beat fans with his songs of confession. .

the Tattooed singer He got emotional during the show in Austin, Texas, that aired on CBS, as he thanked the country’s radio industry for accepting it and shouted out to those who felt like him.

“You can be whatever you want to be. I promise you. I told them I wanted to be a country singer and I’m standing here at the CMT Awards with my male video of the year, baby,” he exclaims.

Earlier in the night, he brought in a choir for his prayer-themed song “need a favor” They made the crowd raise their hands to the roof.

The show began on a somber note as country singer and co-host Kelsey Ballerini read out the names of six of the victims of a school shooting. The two were killed in Nashville, Tennessee. And she noted how she shared their pain, explaining that in 2008 she witnessed a school shooting in the high school cafeteria in her hometown of Knoxville and called for “real action” that would protect children and families. Earlier in the evening, country artists wore black ribbons on the red carpet to honor the victims of the shooting.

But the show prioritized nostalgia in general as the shows fused rock, blues and country straight from the heart of Texas, mixing in homages and covers alongside new artists and fan favorite songs.

Country star and five-time Grammy winner Shania Twain She received an Equal Play Award, recognizing her for being a “visual and acoustic advocate” for diverse voices in country music. Texas-born and Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion introduced Twain and the pair danced and embraced to Twain’s song, “Oh man I feel like a woman.”

Twain said the song’s lyrics became an undercurrent of his decades-long advocacy work.

“I promise I will continue to stand up for the many outstanding country artists who are not currently being played, are not being broadcast, touring, signed, or awarded at the level they deserve,” Twain said. “I believe in inclusive country music.”

Lainey Wilson twice won Women’s Video of the Year for “Heart Like a Truck” and Collaborative Video of the Year for “Wait in the Truck” with HARDY.

Wilson said after winning the award for Female Video of the Year, describing the hit song as an anthem for surviving the scrapes, scrapes, scrapes and bumps along the way. “

Co-host Brown took home the final award of the night with his wife, Kaitlyn, winning Video of the Year for their duet “Thank God.”

“This is all new to me. When we recorded this song a year ago, I never thought in my life that this would ever happen,” said Caitlin Brown.

Later in the show, Ballerini takes to the stage surrounded by drag performers, as states across the country consider legally restricting drag shows, The Tennessee native sang “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too)” and danced with Kennedy Davenport, Jan Sport, Manila Luzon and Olivia Lux, all stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Ballerini’s home state of Tennessee was the first to place strict limits on drag shows, which were set to go into effect this month. The law is temporarily banned After filing a lawsuit earlier this week.

Collaborations took center stage for most of the three-hour show. Country Music Hall of Famer Winona Judd And Ashley McBride performed a cover of Foreigner’s song “I Want to Know What Love Is” as thick fog rolled across the stage and into the crowd.

Pop singer Stefani sang her mid-90s no-doubt pop-punk song “Just a Girl” alongside country singer Carly Pierce. Rocker Alanis Morissette brought more ’90s rock to the stage with a group performance of “You Oughta Know” featuring Wilson, Ingrid Anders, Madeline Edwards, and Morgan Wade.

Carrie Underwood, the most awarded female artist in CMT history with 25 awards, performed “Hate My Heart” as fireworks lit up the night in Austin. Four-time Grammy Award winner Clark Jr. paid tribute to late Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan at the top of the show.

Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd have been honored with a tribute performance following the death of their last original member, Gary Rossington in March. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Warren Haynes and Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers rounded out the show with vocalists Paul Rodgers and Cody Johnson and backup vocals from LeAnn Rimes and Judd.

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This story corrects an earlier version that erroneously identified singer Ashley McBride as actress Ashley Judd, sister of singer Wynonna Judd.

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Follow Christine M Hall at https://twitter.com/kmhall