Kelsea Ballerini Shares Emotional Tribute to Nashville School Shooting Victims at 2023 CMT Music Awards

slain at the Nashville Covenant School shooting last Monday and recounted her own experience of being in a school shooting in Knoxville, Tennessee.“The community of sorrow over this and the 130 mass shootings in the U.S. this year alone stretches from coast to coast,” the 29-year-old singer said.“I wanted to personally stand up here and share this moment because on Aug.

Making a statement — or two. Kelsea Ballerini did more than just host the 2023 CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2.

Iconic!!

Chase Stokes was one proud boyfriend during Sunday night’s 2023 CMT Music Awards.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic During the opening monolog at Sunday night’s CMT Music Awards, broadcast from Austin on CBS, there was a comedic bit in which Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown exchanged anniversary presents to celebrate their cohosting of the show for the third consecutive time. Brown gave Ballerini a cowboy hat, and she reciprocated by giving him a pink hat to put on in return. At least a few audience members shared a joke about the exchange: By wearing pink, would Brown be breaking Tennessee’s recently passed law that some believe would ban most drag performances in the state, if they were back home? Viewers whose minds went there during that silly opening were just kidding — but Ballerini really went there later in the three-hour telecast, when she chose four “RuPaul’s Drag Race” queens to perform with her as she sang “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).” That song, off her 2022 album “Subject to Change,” is Ballerini’s anthem of female friendship — and, with the way the CMT Awards routine played out, she very much seemed to be counting drag performers as among those friends. The performance was playful and ostensibly non-political, and in a different year might not have raised very many shaved or unshaved eyebrows. In spring 2023, it was hard to read it as anything other than a statement of: If drag queens are brought down, the rest of us will be dragged down with them.

The CMT Music Awards 2023 proved to be a big night for Jelly Roll who topped the night as the most-awarded artist taking home three trophies.

A true Texas telecast. The 2023 CMT Awards were held in Austin, Texas for the first time, and the ceremony got a warm welcome from Matthew McConaughey, who made a surprise appearance on the Sunday, April 2 CBS show.

She’s all that! Kelsea Ballerini didn’t only slay as cohost of the 2023 CMT Music Awards, but she served stellar looks too.

Everything is bigger in Texas! Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown took home the top honor of Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2.

The winners have been announced at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. The show – which was co-hosted by Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown – was held at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Date night at the CMT Music Awards! Several stars brought dates to the red carpet in Austin on Sunday, April 2, including both cohosts, Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini.

Kelsea Ballerini kicked off the 2023 CMT Music Awards with a dedication to the victims of the Nashville school shooting. The country music star, 29, said, "On March 27, 2023, three nine-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs along with Dr.

Kelsea Ballerini opened the 2023 CMT Music Awards with a call to action regarding last week's shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, also telling audiences she is the survivor of a 2008 school shooting in the same state. «On March 27, 2023, three 9-year-olds -- Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs -- along with Dr. Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill walked into Covenant School and didn't walk out,» Ballerini began the CMT broadcast.«The community of sorrow over this and the 130 mass shootings in the U.S.

A major milestone! Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes were all smiles during their red carpet debut at the 2023 CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2.

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes made their adorable red carpet debut! On Sunday, the «Window With a View» singer and the star arrived together at the 2023 CMT Awards — marking their first major public appearance as a couple. Ballerini, who is co-hosting the ceremony alongside Kane Brown — wore a body-hugging corseted dress with pointed heels. It's possible that this isn't the only outfit the 29-year-old musician will wear this evening. Ballerini and Stokes have been linked since January, and she later confirmed their romance on the  podcast.

Gwen Stefani on the red carpet ahead of the show. «My second concert ever was No Doubt,» Jelly Roll told ET's Cassie DiLaura. «We was at an amphitheater, it s**t storm rained, I mean just rain storm, we were mud sliding dancing to 'Spiderwebs,' it was awesome.» Stefani is set to perform at Sunday's CMT Awards, and Jelly Roll added he'd seen a sneak preview of her performance.

CMT Music Awards!This year, Lainey Wilson leads the charge with four noms, including Performance of the Year and Female Video of the Year, with three nominees tied for second place -- Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, and CMT Music Awards co-host Kane Brown.Across all categories, CMT is recognizing 21 first-time nominees, with Carrie Underwood, the most awarded artist in CMT history, also earning another nod this year. Hosted by Brown and Kelsea Ballerini -- also a nominee this year — the CMT Music Awards air at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS Sunday from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Lights! Camera! Fashion! The 2023 CMT Music Awards are almost upon Us — and fans can expect the biggest names in country music to slay. 

Nothing brings people together like music. The 2023 CMT Music Awards will be a star-studded event — not only for the show’s nominees and performers, but also for its presenters.