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Carrie Underwood won video of the year at the 2022 CMT Music Awards for a record-extending 10th time, this time for “If I Didn’t Love You,” her hit collaboration with Jason Aldean. Her winner in this category last year was also a collab, “Hallelujah” with John Legend, from her Christmas album, My Gift.
Underwood and Aldean also took the award for collaborative video of the year. Both artists are previous winners in that category. Underwood won for collabs with Brad Paisley (“Remind Me”), Miranda Lambert (“Somethin’ Bad”) and Keith Urban (“The Fighter”). Aldean previously won for a collab with Luke Bryan and Eric Church (“The Only Way I Know”).
These awards brought Underwood’s career total of CMT Music Awards to 25, more than any other artist.
Cody Johnson was the only other artist to win two awards on the night – male video of the year for “Til You Can’t” and CMT digital first for “Dear Rodeo” from CMT Campfire Sessions. To win male video of the year, Johnson beat three former winners in the category – Luke Bryan, a three-time category champ; Kane Brown, a two-time winner; and Thomas Rhett, who won six years ago.
Lambert won female video of the year for “If I Was a Cowboy.” This is her sixth win in the category, which puts her second only to Underwood, who has won eight times in the category. Lambert beat last year’s winner, Gabby Barrett, who was nominated this year for “Footprints on the Moon.” Barrett won last year for “The Good Ones.”
Maddie & Tae, who are often bridesmaids at awards shows but rarely the bride, were surprise (and surprised) winners for group/duo video of the year for “Woman You Got.” They beat a high-powered field that included Dan + Shay, three-time winners for duo video of the year; and Zac Brown Band and Old Dominion, both former winners of group video of the year. (This is the second year in a row that the separate group and duo awards have been combined.)
Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” won trending comeback song of the year. It’s a highlight of her re-recorded album Fearless (Taylor’s Version). Swift’s original “Love Story” won two awards — video of the year and female video of the year — in 2009. Trending comeback song of the year is a new category this year, honoring “iconic stars and their hits that not only stood the test of time, but also recently found new popularity,” according to CMT. Last year, another track from Fearless (Taylor’s Version), “The Best Day (Taylor’s Version),” won best family feature.
Rather incredibly, George Strait won the first CMT Music Award of his career. He won CMT performance of the year, which is given to a performance on a CMT program in the previous year. He won for his performance of “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” from CMT Giants: Charley Pride. Pride’s original version of the song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Singles chart in April 1970.
Parker McCollum’s “To Be Loved by You” won breakthrough video of the year, beating such strong contenders as Tenille Arts’ “Back Then, Right Now.” (Arts’ clip was nominated for female video of the year.) Previous winners of breakthrough video of the year include such major stars as Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Stapleton, Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde and Barrett.
Carrie Underwood can officially say she knows how to fly. For her 2022 CMT Music Awards performance on Monday night (April 11), the singer stunned with a live rendition of “Ghost Story” taken from REFLECTION, her Las Vegas residency at the Resorts World Theatre.
The American Idol winner dazzled on stage in a silver sequined one piece — with one leg removed to serve her later on — and bare feet. Underwood emotively belted out the track, which sees her haunting a past lover long after their relationship ended. “I’m gonna be your ghost story/ That keeping you up, all night memory/ I’ll be haunting you, you’ll be wanting me/ I’m gonna be your ghost story,” she sings during the chorus.
Joining Underwood onstage was a series of aerial silk performers hanging from the ceiling of the Resorts World Theatre, elegantly contorting their bodies into stunning shapes for the audience. The song led up to a climatic finish, with Underwood taking to the aerial silks herself, performing intricate upside-down spins and poses alongside her backup performers while maintaining her vocal agility despite being suspended several feet above the stage.
The “Ghost Story” singer is looking to win her 10th video of the year award at the 2022 CMT Music Awards, this time for “If I Didn’t Love You,” her hit collaboration with Jason Aldean. She has already taken home the collaborative video of the year award tonight for the Aldean collab, and won CMT’s video of the year awards last year “Hallelujah,” which featured John Legend.
It’s been 32 years since the Judds released their final album Love Can Build a Bridge, and more than 20 years since they performed on a nationally televised awards show. So when the mother-daughter duo performed on the 2022 CMT Music Awards broadcast on Monday (April 11) night, it was both a glorious return and a welcome comeback.
After a heartfelt introduction from superfan Kacey Musgraves, the cameras cut to the duo performing outside under the stars. Naomi and Wynonna sang their 1990 single “Love Can Build a Bridge,” a top 5 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. They were joined by a gospel choir that helped elevate the message and theatrics of the unification anthem to beautiful, warm heights.
“Love Can Build a Bridge” came at a tough time for the duo; mother Naomi’s health forced her to retire in 1990 despite the Judds’ ongoing success. Performed in 2022, in the midst of an overseas war and a divided nation, the song can arguably take on new meanings.
The Judds will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in May, decades after their final album. The beloved family duo will also embark on a farewell tour this year, with special guest Martina McBride, kicking off Sept. 30 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and wrapping Oct. 28 in Nashville. The Judds, one of the most legendary duos in the history of the genre, have won five Grammys and earned 14 No. 1 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart.
“I never thought I’d be on the CMT stage,” CBS News’ Gayle King told the audience at the 2022 CMT Music Awards on Monday night (April 11).
Before announcing the first-ever live performance of “Pray” from Jimmie Allen, Monica and Little Big Town, King told a sweet anecdote about her time in Nashville for the ceremony. Earlier in the day, she went to local spot Milk and Honey for brunch and was surprised to hear that her bill was paid for — by none other than Carly Pearce, one of the “really, really good soul people” of country music.
The genre-crossing performance of “Pray” found Allen, Monica and Little Big Town dressed in white on a stage that looked straight out of heaven, filled with clouds and dreamy smoke. The group delivered the angelic song, complete with soaring harmonies, as powerful scenes of prayer from all religions and belief systems were shown in the background — adding to the growing unity and inclusion within the country music world.
The emotional ballad is featured on Allen’s 2021 Bettie James Gold Edition project. “This song is powerful, because to me, it wasn’t a religious song. I’m not really a religious guy,” he told Billboard at the time of the album’s release. “I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious. When I heard it, it’s just pushing the idea that at some point in everyone’s life, we all go through something that causes you to stop and realize that you need a higher power to help you get through the situation you’re in.”
Watch the performance below:
Now that’s how you put on a show 💥 @JimmieAllen @MonicaDenise @littlebigtown gave a moving performance at the #CMTAwards! pic.twitter.com/DCo5Ufb5Hc
— CMT (@CMT) April 12, 2022
Back in 2008, Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams teamed up for an episode of CMT Crossroads, for the ultimate country/rock crossover. And on Monday night (April 11), they reunited to perform Adams’ 1985 hit “Heaven” at the 2022 CMT Music Awards.
They took the rainy outdoor stage on Nashville’s Broadway for the duet, trading lines of the opening verse before joining together on the chorus. Soggy fans rocking ponchos in the crowd belted out every word of the song, which spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985 — marking the Canadian rocker’s first of four No. 1s on the chart.
Aldean and Adams were nominated for collaborative video of the year at the CMT Music Awards back in 2010 for their “Heaven” performance on Crossroads.
At Monday’s show, Aldean took home the very first award of the night, along with collaborator Carrie Underwood, for their duet “If I Didn’t Love You.” The pair are also up for video of the year at the show.
We’re in heaven anytime @Jason_Aldean sings @bryanadams to us…😇
What an iconic moment! #CMTAwards pic.twitter.com/hCNujNywGF
— CBS (@CBS) April 12, 2022
With two nights at Allegiant Stadium in tandem with viewing parties at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena, merch-adorned hotel rooms, a Korean food cafe and exclusive pop-ups, the BTS ARMY turned out for “BTS Permission to Dance The City,” blanketing the Strip with dance party vibes, light “bombs,” TinyTan and buckets of tears (of joy).
While BTS performed “Permission to Dance” multidate concerts in both Seoul and Los Angeles, their fans knew that Las Vegas would be different. Lit up like “Dynamite,” Las Vegas showed up for the BTS ARMY with a never-before-seen takeover of events leading into the weekend’s live performances on April 8 and 9, which captivated all on their own with a symphony of lights, harmonious lyrics and fervent dance. If you haven’t seen BTS live, it is an unforgettable, unrivaled experience that has new recruits enlisting with every song.
“Tonight is a very special night,” said BTS member RM, addressing the crowd during the April 9 night encore. “Of course, we have a BTS concert with 50,000 ARMYs … I had my first American trip when I was 15. It was 2009 and the last stop was Las Vegas. But what caught my mind was the neon, the lights and the people’s faces, they all looked happy. So I was like, when I grow up, and if I earn some money, I’ll definitely come back and enjoy Las Vegas.”
He continued, “It feels really strange, because at 15 I was thinking about giving up the music and going back to studying again. I never thought that I would come back and [have] these amazing stays with all of my lovely friends. Thank you for my coming back to Las Vegas — making this, tonight, very special. And I want to tell the little RM from 15 years old, your life and your next Las Vegas will be amazing.”
The teenage dream did indeed come to fruition as BTS “Permission to Dance” gave the crowd just that — nonstop license to feel the music for two and a half hours. While much of the flow and content didn’t appear to vary from the previous versions of “Permission to Dance,” the experience remained transformative and fresh for the audience, which poured in from destinations all around the world. Starting promptly at 7:30 p.m., the videos for the hits “Dynamite” and “Butter” played as a sea of ARMY bombs, or light sticks, turned purple in chorus. They were followed by a video vignette known as “VCR,” showing BTS as prisoners in an interrogation room, escaping their shackles and becoming free — permission to dance granted? Presumably, so.
BTS first appeared onstage for a high-energy Act One with songs such as “On,” “Fire,” “Dope” and “DNA,” sporting red and white tracksuits. Alongside dozens of dancers in white, light sticks turned to red across the stadium for “Fire.”
During a “VCR 2” video vignette, the seven-member group play pool, dance and hang out, prior to their emergence for the next act, where the show turns dramatic in tone. Act Two feels as if it is the real start to the “Permission to Dance” manifesto, the crowd of swooning, screaming, adulating fans growing moreso with every chord.
The poignant and beautiful “Black Swan” filled the stage as the large troupe of dancers, now also clad in black, wore plumed sleeves. Remnants of feathers floated through the air as the movement surrounding the band members became more exaggerated, each with a chain accent on their black suits. The stunning staging of “Fake Love,” set amid a verdant sculpture of outstretched hands transforming into a lotus blossom, closed out this set.
In “VCR 3,” we find BTS in a hotel room, getting ready to stage an epic party, and then finding a case of magic. With one touch in the video, a rain of rainbow confetti covers the audience, linking what we see on the screen and to joy in real life.
Act Three brings with it BTS’s biggest hits in the U.S., including “Dynamite” and “Butter.” Outfitted in Easter egg pastels with a nod to ’70s glam chic, the band’s stylized dance moves were reminiscent of Saturday Night Fever and matched the carefree lyrics, as did the pyro and fireworks, which punctuated all the major moments. J-Hope’s pink fedora stole the show.
Giving fans a glimpse of Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, Jin and Jungkook up close, the band circled the audience on two orange construction lifts, perched atop encased purple balloons. During “Wings,” flowers, stuffed animals and other tokens of appreciation showered down from the crowd.
Heading into the extended encore, BTS closed their main set with a thunderous, animalistic “Idol” wrought with ecstatic dance moves.
In a 30-minute slice of the encore, each BTS member had a chance to address the crowd. The most noticeable difference between Saturday’s show and the previous night’s came during the encore. Friday night’s closer was packed with “Home,” “Airplane Pt. 2,” “Silver Spoon” and “Dis-ease.” On Saturday, the ARMY was treated to the unmissable “Anpanman” and “Go Go,” before large glowing orbs floated through the stadium for the closing eponymous song “Permission to Dance.”
Flashes of Jungkook’s abs, poster’s of J-Hope’s meme-able “Wow,” Jimin’s new haircut, Jin’s injured hand and V’s references to Johnny Depp in Cry-Baby barely satiated the insatiable ARMY.
“BTS Permission to Dance” proved the supply chain on rainbow confetti is not broken, nor is their fans’ hunger for band-related content.
On the business side, “The City” shifts the paradigm on the concert business model — stretching an artist’s IP well beyond merch and meet and greets, into new territories.
The concept, an “urban concert playpark,” creates an extensive and immersive fan experience with entertainment activations for fans to enjoy before and after the concerts. Las Vegas is the perfect testing ground for such an event.
Through this partnership with HYBE, the management behind BTS, MGM Resorts offers BTS -themed rooms in 11 hotels across the Las Vegas Strip and Korean dishes favored by BTS at the CAFÉ IN THE CITY. The Bellagio Fountains feature BTS’ “Butter” and “Dynamite” in a new water display.
At Area 15, an art and entertainment attraction located off the Strip, ARMY accessed the “BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance,” ongoing through April 17, a free ticketed immersive journey through the band’s history, music videos and moments with exclusive merchandise. Also, a $25 ticketed photography “Behind the Stage” features behind-the-scene photography of the making of “Permission to Dance.”
And as the rainbow streamers settle, it’s time to do it all over again next weekend, as BTS returns in concert April 15 and 16 with a livestream event on the closing night.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Unlimited Love leaps onto the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 16) at No. 1, marking the band’s second leader and first chart-topping effort since 2006’s Stadium Arcadium. The new set was released on April 1 and bows with 97,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 7, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. In total, the group has tallied eight top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.
Unlimited Love replaces Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout atop the chart (the latter falls to No. 9 in its second week), giving the list back-to-back rock albums at No. 1 for the first time in over four years. It last happened when The Killers’ Wonderful Wonderful debuted at No. 1 on the Oct. 14, 2017 chart, a week after Foo Fighters’ Concrete and Gold opened at No. 1. (Rock albums are defined as those that have hit Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart.)
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 16, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on April 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Unlimited Love’s 97,500 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 82,500 (it’s the top-selling album of the week); SEA units comprise 14,500 (equaling 18.96 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs); and TEA units comprise 500.
Notably, Unlimited Love is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in nearly 16 years — since Stadium Arcadium spent its first two weeks atop the list (May 27-June 3, 2006 charts). The last act to go longer between No. 1 albums was Celine Dion, who waited 17 years and nearly eight months between A New Day Has Come (one week at No. 1 on April 13, 2002) and Courage (one week at No. 1 on Nov. 30, 2019).
Unlimited Love notches the largest week, by equivalent album units and album sales, for any rock album in over a year. The last larger week by a rock set was registered by Paul McCartney’s McCartney III when it debuted at No. 2 on the Jan. 2, 2021-dated chart with 107,000 units — of which album sales comprised 104,000.
Unlimited Love’s first-week sales were boosted by its availability across multiple color vinyl LP variants and special editions (including versions for Target, Walmart, Amazon, independent record stores and the band’s official webstore). All told, the set sold 38,500 copies on vinyl — the largest sales week for an album on vinyl in 2022, and the second-biggest sales week for a rock album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. Only the debut frame of Jack White’s Lazaretto (40,000) posted a larger week for a rock album on vinyl (June 28, 2014 chart) since 1991. Thus, Unlimited Love claims the largest week on a vinyl for a rock album by a group in that 31-year span.
Unlimited Love was ushered in by the No. 1 hit “Black Summer” on the Alternative Airplay chart — the band’s 14th leader on the tally. The new album is the group’s first with guitarist John Frusciante since Stadium Arcadium in 2006. The new set’s release was celebrated with some Los Angeles-specific celebrations — appropriate, since the band formed in L.A. The group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 31, staged a surprise show at the Fonda Theater on April 1 and played an in-store performance at Amoeba Music in Hollywood on April 7 (the store’s first in-store performance in over two years, and first at its new location). The group’s Flea even played “The Star-Spangled Banner” on bass guitar at the Los Angeles Lakers’ home game against the Denver Nuggets on April 3. (No doubt Lakers fans were also delighted to know that Unlimited Love was also pressed on limited edition purple and gold vinyl.)
At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Lil Durk’s chart-topping 7220 holds in the runner-up spot with 51,000 equivalent album units earned (down 18%). A trio of other former No. 1s is next, with the Encanto soundtrack steady at No. 3 (50,000; down 14%), Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album stationary at No. 4 (44,500; down less than 1%) and Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour a non-mover at No. 5 (40,000; up 20% following her multiple Grammy Award wins on April 3, as well as her performance of “Drivers License” on the CBS-TV awards broadcast).
The Weeknd’s compilation The Highlights is likewise steady at No. 6 with 34,000 equivalent album units earned (up 2%).
Yeat’s 2 Alive returns to the top 10, bolting from No. 69 to No. 7 with 31,500 units (up 141%), following its deluxe reissue on April 1 with additional bonus tracks. The album debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the March 5-dated chart.
Drake’s former leader Certified Lover Boy falls 7-8 with nearly 31,000 equivalent album units earned (down 1%), Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout falls 1-9 in its second week (30,500; down 67%) and Doja Cat’s Planet Her is pushed down 9-10 (30,000; up 4% following her televised Grammy Award win on April 3 for best pop duo/group performance for the album’s “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA).
Luminate, formerly MRC Data, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to the final calculation.
