Wild child! Miranda Lambert set the 2020 Country Music Association Awards stage on fire with her first live performance of “Settling Down” on Wednesday, November 11.
Lambert, 37, opted for a stripped down version of her hit single, captivating the audience with her acoustic rendition of the track.
The “Vice” singer was the top nominee at the 54th annual awards show, which took place live in Nashville.
Lambert received seven nods, including Best Female Vocalist, Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Wildcard), Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “Bluebird.”
Settling Down. #CMAawards pic.twitter.com/9EXfcsU2tk
— Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) November 12, 2020
Nominations for Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year brought her career total to 51 nods, making her the most nominated female artist in the awards show’s history. The “House That Built Me” singer is the fourth highest-nominated artist of all time, behind George Strait, Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley.
Ahead of the show, Lambert won Music Video of the Year for “Bluebird.”
Country music’s biggest night was the first awards show of the year to be done with a real audience and to have celebrities in attendance amid the coronavirus pandemic. All others have been done virtually or without fans.
Lambert, who had 13 CMA award wins heading into the night, first appeared on the iconic awards show stage 15 years ago with her 2005 performance of “Kerosene.”
“I was terrified to get on that stage. It was the year it was at Madison Square Garden. Not only was it my first time in New York City, but it was the CMAs,” the Texas native said in a CMAs video posted last month, reflecting on the big moment. “I had a million things going through my mind. Now, I definitely know the feel of butterflies was because I cared so much. I felt like a lot was riding on that performance. It was sort of my first time to say, ‘Hey, here’s who I am as an artist.’”
Lambert’s Wednesday performance came weeks after the release of her music video for “Settling Down,” in which her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, made a cameo — and his music video debut.
“I think we understand why we had him in my video,” the songstress told her fans during a live Q&A on YouTube in October, after the clip for her new song was released. “Because he’s really pretty and I needed a video babe and he was there, so I mean, it just worked out.”
The Grammy winner added: “My favorite part of filming was watching my husband sort of come to life on camera. It was his video debut and he’s so sweet and humble about it, but he really killed it, so that was fun to watch.”
Lambert and McLoughlin, 30, tied the knot in January 2019. The pair met two months prior on the set of Good Morning America where the former NYPD officer was working security.
The country singer was married to Blake Shelton from 2011 to 2015. He announced his engagement to Gwen Stefani late last month.
