The 51st Annual

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

, commonly known as the 51st CMA Awards, was held on November 8, 2017, at the

Bridgestone Arena Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose venue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predators o ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

and was hosted for the tenth time by

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

and Carrie Underwood. The nominations were announced on September 4, 2017, on Good Morning America by

Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, ''Wildflower,'' was released on October ...

Dustin Lynch Dustin Charles Lynch (born May 14, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Broken Bow Records. Lynch has released four albums and one EP for the label: a self-titled album in 2012, '' Where It's At'' in 2014, '' Curren ...

, and

Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo consisting of brothers T.J. Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). Born in Deale, Maryland, the duo signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...

Winners and nominees

Note: The winners are shown in Bold.

Special Recognition Awards

The CMA Special Recognition Award recipients were announced on 4 April 2017.

Performers

Presenters

Critical Reception

The 51st Annual CMA Awards received 14.29 million viewers, the highest ratings since 2014 (which received 16.1 million. Among adults 18–49, the show received a 3.2 rating, up from the 2.9 rating of the previous year. The ceremony was noted for its parody of political subject matter in awards shows, specifically in the opening monologue by

and Carrie Underwood, who told jokes referencing both

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. Paisley also performed a parody song about Trump's tweeting habits to the tune of Underwood's hit "

Before He Cheats "Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, '' Some Hearts'' (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a wo ...

." Underwood's performance during the

in memoriam segment An in memoriam segment is a memorial to the people, of one particular field or industry, who have recently died. Typically, such memorials air on television, mostly during awards ceremonies. These segments consist of images or video clips of the ...

, in which she broke down crying, received acclaim, with many citing it as one of the best and most moving and emotional performances of the night.

People.com ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the l ...

referred to the performance as "heartbreaking," before describing how Underwood took to the stage to honor country music legends (such as

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

, Troy Gentry, and Jo Walker-Meador) and the 58 victims of the Las Vegas shooting. In addition, ET called Underwood's performance "beautiful" and "gorgeous," mentioning a statement made by Paisley at the opening of the show about coming together in the face of tragedy. Garth Brooks, who won the prestigious Entertainer of the Year award, was heavily criticized for lip-syncing during his performance. Of his decision, Brooks stated that "we made a game-time call on whether to sing to a track or lip-sync and we decided to lip-sync it. My voice just isn't going anywhere, and we wanted to represent country music as best we can."

References

{{Country Music Association Awards Country Music Association CMA

Country Music Association Awards November 2017 events in the United States 2017 awards in the United States 21st century in Nashville, Tennessee Events in Nashville, Tennessee