From Blake Shelton to Carrie Underwood — 6 major moments from CMT Awards you might have missed

The CMT Music Awards were held in Nashville’s Lower Broadway on Wednesday night. The event had some exciting key moments.

From first time winners to Carrie Underwood winning her 18 awards, the ceremony thrilled and brought tears to many. Here’s a rundown of six key moments that stood out according to USA Today.

1. Blake Shelton stole the show:

Shelton owned the CMT Music Awards on Wednesday. His song, I’ll Name the Dogs took the award for Video of the Year as well as Male Video of the Year. He featured in the show’s opening performing Turn Me On from the roof of his new bar on Lower Broadway, Ole Red.

The song is from his current album Texoma Shore. “I can’t believe (I’ve had) 18 years of making records,” Shelton said after winning Video of the Year.

2. Dan + Shay’s surprise win:

The duo picked up their first awards show trophy on Wednesday night. They surprised everyone when they beat favorites Florida Georgia Line and Brothers Osborne for Duo Video of the Year with Tequila.

John Osborne of Brothers Osborne met Shay Mooney and Dan Smyers in the aisle as they walked to the stage. He greeted both of them with bear hugs.

“First and foremost, thank you God from all of us who are lucky enough to sit over here and do what we get to do. Thank you to the fans.”

Carrie Underwood, USA Today, June 6, 2018

3. Carrie Underwood continued her winning streak:

Underwood won the award for Female Video of the Year. The award is her 18th win at the CMT Music Awards, the most by any artist in the show’s history.

Her win was for The Champion which is her collaboration with Ludacris. The song opened the television broadcast of Super Bowl LII.

4. CMT Music Awards spoof the Royal Family:

In the opening skit of the CMT Music Awards, Little Big Town posed as news anchors. They were supported by fellow country singers Kelsea Ballerini, Blake Shelton, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi and, Dustin Lynch for a spoof.

Trace Adkins, Darius Rucker and Florida Georgia Line jokingly poked fun at England’s Royal Family. Rucker dressed as Queen Elizabeth while Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard posed as Prince Harry and Prince William in the back of a horse-drawn carriage.

5. CMT’s first-time winners:

Carly Pearce, Kane Brown, Backstreet Boys and Dan + Shay all accepted their first CMT Music Awards. Ludacris was also a first-time winner but was not present.

Tears flowed as Pearce revealed that the win was a dream come true. Brown, who won for Collaborative Video of the Year for What Ifs featuring Lauren Alaina, called his win “surreal.”

6. The award’s summer song television debuts:

Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne performed Burning Man. The song is from Bentley’s new album called The Mountain which will be available on Friday.

Luke Bryan used Lower Broadway as a backdrop during the national television debut performance of his new single Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset. Florida Georgia Line premiered their new single Simple.

Sam Hunt simulated a bar crawl through Lower Broadway for Downtown’s Dead. The Backstreet Boys performed a choreographed version of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart while Kelly Clarkson sang her own version of American Woman.

The show closed with a collaborative performance from Rucker, Aldean, Bryan, and Kelley on Straight to Hell. For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa.