Carrie Underwood Reacts to Being Named CMA Awards Host Alongside Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire

It was announced this week that Carrie Underwood will return to host this year’s CMA Awards, but this time, she’ll be doing so alongside country music legends Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire as special guest hosts.

On Tuesday, Underwood shared her reaction to the news, posting her thoughts alongside the promotional photo for this year’s show on Instagram.

“So thankful to the @cma for wanting to honor the women of Country Music for this year’s #CMAAwards!” she wrote. “I couldn’t be more excited to get to stand up there with 2 of my personal heroes… @reba and @dollyparton are trailblazers, icons and legends. We’re gonna make Country Music proud on November 13th! #DreamComeTrue #WomenOfCountryMusic #Sheroes.”

Both Parton and McEntire had already reacted to the announcement on social media, with the two women sharing their excitement at joining Underwood.

“Talk about girl power,” Parton wrote on Instagram. “I’m so excited to be joining @carrieunderwood and @reba to celebrate the legendary women of country music as a guest host of this year’s #CMAawards on November 13.”

“Can’t wait to join @carrieunderwood and @dollyparton at this year’s #CMAawards!!!” McEntire added on Instagram.

Underwood, Parton and McEntire are some of country music’s most awarded women and hold 124 CMA Awards nominations and 22 total wins between them. Underwood, who is currently on her Cry Pretty Tour 360 and released her album of the same name last September, will likely add to her nomination total this year. During last year’s ceremony, she was awarded Female Vocalist of the Year.

Underwood has hosted the show for 11 years with Brad Paisley, but this year’s focus on women in country music means Paisley will be sitting in the audience this time around, something he tweeted he’s happy to do.

McEntire has served as the host of the ACM Awards for the past two years and previously hosted the show numerous times.

Variety reports that last year’s CMAs took a noticeable ratings dive, down 34 percent in the demo and 29 percent in total viewers from 2017. In addition to the new hosts, this year’s show will also see a new director, with ABC bringing in Alex Rudzinski, who has previously worked on the MTV VMAs.

The nominees for the 2019 CMA Awards will be announced next week and the show will take place on Nov. 13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It will air at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty / Erika Goldring