Jelly Roll returns to the Country Music Television Awards in style. The rising star repeated his three-award win from last year, taking home CMT Performance of the Year, Male Video of the Year and Video of the Year for “Need a Favor” Sunday night. After sweeping the awards ceremony, he said he’d party on 6th Street, closing the show with a fiery performance of “Halfway To Hell.”
Many other artists shared the same sentiment as Jelly Roll. After a week of tapings at the Tower, the CMT awards aired live on CBS from the Moody Center at 7 p.m. CT on Sunday. Kelsea Ballerini hosted the awards for her fourth and final year.
Tower performances included Kelsea Ballerini’s re-imagined first single, “Love Me Like You Mean It,” which was released on streaming platforms on Friday. There were also performances from Jason Aldean, Bailey Zimmerman, a collaborative performance between Old Dominion and Megan Moroney and a taping of CMT Crossroads featuring Jordan Davis and NEEDTOBREATHE. Moroney also graced the Moody Center stage, performing her hit “No Caller ID.”
The CMTs brought other stars together too. Brittney Spencer joined forces with Parker McCollum to perform McCollum’s “Burn It Down.”
Spencer also accompanied co-features on Beyoncé’s “BLACKBIRD” Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts as presenters.
Ballerini and Melissa Etheridge teased the crowd with a mini-performance of Etheridge’s “Come To My Window.” Little Big Town and Sugarland came together once again, performing their take on Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home” and announced their upcoming joint tour: the “Take Me Home Tour,” named after the classic.
Carly Pearce accepted the award for Collaborative Video of the Year for her collaboration with Chris Stapleton, “We Don’t Fight Anymore.” Lainey Wilson brought the energy with a performance of her latest release, “Country’s Cool Again.” Wilson also took home Female Video of the Year for “Watermelon Moonshine.”
CMT paid an emotional tribute to the late Toby Keith, who passed away in February. Baseball legend Roger Clemens raised a toast to Keith after Keith’s longtime band joined Brooks and Dunn, Sammy Hagar and Lainey Wilson on performances of Keith’s time-honored hits, including “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “I Love This Bar” and “How Do You Like Me Now?”
Trisha Yearwood debuted her new single, “Put It In A Song” after accepting the first ever June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award. The award recognizes artists, like the late Carter Cash, who dedicate their time to philanthropy and humanitarian efforts. Yearwood was honored for her work with Habitat for Humanity and the creation of the Dottie’s Yard Fund, which helps rescue dogs find forever homes through grants to nonprofits.
Keith Urban brought up young and upcoming artists Maggie Baugh and Anna Vaus to perform his energetic recent release, “Straight Line,” released on Feb. 2. Dasha also got the crowd dancing with her performance of TikTok’s famous hit “Austin.”
The CMTs honored breakout artists, with Warren Zeiders taking home Breakthrough Male Video of the Year for “Pretty Little Poison” and Ashley Cooke winning Breakthrough Female Video of the Year for “Your Place.”
The 2024 CMT Awards shone a light on the next biggest country superstars and showcased emotional and energetic performances from some of the biggest names in country music right now, all while honoring the legacies of those who paved the way before them.
