CMA Awards 2014’s 12 Best Moments

Last year's CMA Entertainer of the Year George Strait effectively ended his touring career with an attendance-record-setting, Texas-sized stadium show this summer. Less than two weeks later, Luke Bryan headlined a stadium for the first time — one of many reasons it's not so surprising the "Play It Again" singer beat out Miranda, Blake, Keith and even King George himself to take home the CMA's top honor. But when a deliriously overjoyed, seemingly shocked Bryan took center stage to accept the award, his first words were for another one of country music's kings. "Well, first of all, I've never met Garth," Bryan said, turning toward four-time Entertainer of the Year Garth Brooks, who presented the award. "Hey Garth! Can I hug you again?" Ever the magnanimous megastar, Brooks happily obliged. Remarkably, this was Bryan's first-ever CMA win, and that's cool. But can anyone on the planet say they've got a better 'meeting Garth Brooks' story? That might be even cooler.

Harmonically, everything went to hell as soon as Eric Church and George Strait's tag-teamed version of "Cowboys Like Us" wallowed into its first chorus like the town drunk, stumbling from note to note. Perhaps one of the backup singers couldn't find the right part, or maybe the blame fell on Church, whose aviators couldn't hide the excitement of a fan who'd been asked to sing with one of his idols. As "Cowboys Like Us" lurched along, though, the pitchy performance became pretty endearing, with Church and Strait sounding less like two A-listers singing on prime-time television and more like a pair of half-lit good ol' boys swapping songs and swigs around a campfire. If that's not country music, we don't know what is.

For as consistent in his creativity and unassuming in his manner that he is, it's easy to take Vince Gill for granted. Fortunately, that wasn't the case last night, as the CMA bestowed upon Gill the Irving Waugh of Excellence Award and put together a moving montage of stars such as Merle Haggard and James Taylor giving him props. Gill, as he is wont to do, teared up as he watched from his seat in the audience — and why he wasn't seated smack dab in the front row is beyond us. When it was finally time for him to make his own remarks, Gill talked at length not about himself, but about the man for whom the award is named and praised the camaraderie between guys like Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and their peers. Bemoan the preponderance of pop in country music all you like, but cherish the fact that a true legend — and gentleman — is still working today.

Little Big Town's throwdown with Ariana Grande was an outsized country-pop mash-up spectacle, but the quartet's collaboration with Miranda Lambert later in the show was all subdued grace. Harmonizing on the woozy "Smokin' and Drinkin'," a standout track from Lambert's Album of the Year Platinum, the five singers turned in the most evocative performance of the night, summoning the nostalgia of the "back in the day" lyrics while making the song feel entirely urgent and of the moment. Points for the best onstage fashion of the night too: LBT's Kimberly Schlapman in a furry skirt and Karen Fairchild in floor-length fringe, and Lambert in an Elvis-worthy golden-bird belt. Plus, the lead guitarist rocked a sweet vintage Farrah Fawcett tee. Ah, nostalgia.

After kicking off his day with a 6:45 a.m. soundcheck and rain-soaked performance on Good Morning America, Keith Urban bookended the CMAs by cruising through "Somewhere in My Car" during the awards show. He seemed to have some trouble reaching every high note in the song's rapid-fire chorus, but all criticism flew out the window when he launched into the awe-inspiring guitar solo, making ample use of what might be the only wah-wah pedal in CMA history. On a night filled with backing tracks, Urban kept things raw and imperfect, trading the polish of an Auto-Tuned performance for the punch of something real.

Miranda Lambert might still be Blake Shelton's soulmate (The pair's love endured facing off as Entertainment of the Year nominees!), but last night the chemistry was all about Shelton and another blonde — Ashley Monroe. Like on Shelton's latest, Bringing Back the Sunshine, Lambert's Pistol Annie's bandmate dueted with the The Voice judge on the soaring country power ballad "Lonely Tonight." While Shelton wailed with his trademark bad-boy-with-soft-side Southern tenor, Monroe upped the ante, emoting with rafter-reaching aplomb and turning in arguably the finest vocal performance of the night. As for Shelton and Lambert, while they lost out to Luke Bryan in the Entertainer category, each respectively walked away with Male Vocalist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year trophies for the fifth consecutive year — not a bad consolation.

If Paisley were scripting the performances, Little Big Town and Ariana Grande might have written "One Less Pontoon Without You." If Grande's "The Way" piano sample were cheaper, we might have learned how "Boondocks" sounds over Brenda Russell. As it stands, we saw the two acts play their most recent hits – "Day Drinking" first, then "Bang Bang" – while wearing Tron-like LED dresses and leather jackets. Quoth Carrie Underwood: "That was amazing."

At April's ACM Awards, Florida Georgia Line filled the stage with over-the-top props — pyrotechnics, ramps, BMX riders, Luke Bryan. Last night, they stripped down, sitting in chairs while they strummed Anything Goes' lead single "Dirt," offering the most country original performance of the show's first half. Floor-seat reaction shots suggested that the Nashville establishment was feeling this development, possibly hoping that the Duo of the Year might soon tone down its tattooed aggression and return to drinking a brand of whiskey that doesn't contain cinnamon corn syrup.