Sparkle, sweetheart. Miranda Lambert took home the Female Vocalist of the Year Award at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and acknowledged in her acceptance speech that it’s been a rough year.
“Hi, guys,” the recently single Lambert, 31, remarked. “I needed a bright spot this year.”
Watch her speech and other moments from the CMAs above.
The songstress and husband Blake Shelton split this past summer. Just before the CMAs aired on Wednesday, Us Weekly exclusively revealed that the “Sangria” crooner, 39, is dating fellow Voice coach Gwen Stefani, who split from husband Gavin Rossdale in August.
The No Doubt singer’s rep confirmed the news directly to Us, saying: “Gwen and Blake are longtime friends who have very recently started dating. Beyond that, there will be no further comment.”
The slimmer-than-ever Platinum songstress, who beat out competitors such as Carrie Underwood and Kacey Musgraves, addressed her fellow country peers in a Chris Stapleton tour shirt, pink-streaked tresses, and fresh ink. Lambert showed off a tiny new arrow tattoo that pointed to her right ring finger.
Like Us, she was also equally enamored with Stapleton and Justin Timberlake‘s performance during the CMAs. “Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton . . . thank YOU very much,” she concluded in her short speech. “I’m gonna go home and practice.”
Wednesday night marked Lambert’s first solo CMAs in almost a decade since she and Shelton divorced this past summer after four years of marriage. The songstress and country crooner’s high-profile split was one of the hot topics in Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood‘s opening monologue on Wednesday, which Shelton previously anticipated.
“This year’s gonna be awkward at the CMAs, speaking of jokes,” the Voice coach said on Late Night With Seth Meyers this past week. “Because we are, it’s such a family. Everybody there is friends. There’s gotta be one about me and Miranda. Brad Paisley is not doing his job if he doesn’t look down there and go, ‘Ha ha!’ You have to address the elephant in the room. We’ve had the conversations like, ‘Okay, dude. I’ll sit there and let you kick me in the face a few times.’ I know it’s coming.”
