Several details regarding this year’s CMA Awards have been handed out and many others are still to be made. But for long-time CMA co-hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, it was a long 11-year learning curve, of close calls and near misses until they’re able to master their craft as hosts of the annual awards night.
Here are some of the experiences of Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s 11 years of experience of hosting:
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood have been a regular tandem in hosting the CMA Awards over the years. But behind the successful hosting moments, Paisley revealed some of the closest calls that he and Underwood had gone through.
“It happened frequently,” says Paisley as he talks about when Underwood almost did not make it out in time for the resumption of the show. Thanks to the frequent wardrobe change, Underwood would almost always appear on the last second on stage.
During one of his latest appearances, Paisley tells a story of how he had to do a script change on the spot. Underwood had a hard time zipping her dress backstage and it was time to get back on stage. As he walked out on stage without Underwood, he had to quickly do the “math” on his head. Paisley just went on to read the parts that was intended for Underwood while she was still back there.
Paisley and Underwood first co-hosted the shows in 2008. As they grew in experience over the years, their rapport towards one another became stronger. They eventually become known for the parodies and feisty onstage quips. In 2018, the duo surpassed Vince Gill for the record of the longest tenured hosts in CMA history.
Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton then replaced Paisley as Underwood’s co-host in 2019. This was in line with the celebration of country music’s women. Thereafter, Underwood announced that it will be her last CMA hosting job and would be stepping down.
This year’s CMA Awards will feature country superstar and 5 time CMA host Reba McEntire and first time host Darius Rucker. The annual awards ceremonies is set to air on November 11 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Relieved some of Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s greatest parodies of all time:
2009 – After a year of deciding to take on the hosting job, Underwood and Paisley did not waste their time. In 2009, when Underwood claimed that she was feeling under the weather, Paisley came up with a cure. The duo sang a song about Swine Flu using the tune of LeAnne Rime’s “Blue.”
2013 – In 2013, who would forget when Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood turned George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning” into “Obamacare by Morning?”
2016 – Football star Payton Manning was in attendance. Of course, the duo did not miss a beat and grabbed the opportunity to have a parody on the jingle for Nationwide Insurance where Peyton serves as the spokesman.
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Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood