Carrie Underwood Announced as CMA Awards Host Alongside Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton

Carrie Underwood will host the 53rd Annual CMA Awards with special guest hosts Reba McEntire and [...]

By Libby Birk

Carrie Underwood will host the 53rd Annual CMA Awards with special guest hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, marking the first time in 12 years that the event hasn't been hosted by Underwood and Paisley. The association announced the change in a video Monday morning.

Although the CMA announced its plans to have Underwood, McEntire and Parton at the helm of the awards show, exact details the plans to highlight women throughout the ceremony have not yet been revealed.

"It's an incredible honor to welcome Carrie, Reba and Dolly to the CMA Awards stage this year,"CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said in a press release. "In addition to awarding the year's best and brightest in the genre, the 53rd Annual CMA Awards will celebrate the legacy of women within country music, and we couldn't think of a more dynamic group of women to host the show."

Between the three of them, Underwood, McEntire and Parton have a total of 124 CMA Award nominations and 22 wins, with 11 wins for Female Vocalist of the Year and an especially notable 14 combined nominations in the Entertainer of the Year category. Parton won the award in 1978 and McEntire took it home in 1986.

Previously, Underwood and Paisley had hosted the awards ceremony together every year since 2008.

The news comes a few weeks after Parton boasted about "girl power" after performing with The Highwomen at Newport Folk Festival in July. "Girl power!" Parton captioned an Instagram post recapping her surprise performance with the group, which includes Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hembry, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires.

"Such a delight to share the stage with so many amazing women at [Newport Folk Festival]! Thanks to [Brandi Carlile] for getting the whole gang together [heart emoji] #NewportFolkFestival," Parton wrote.

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McEntire recently praised the generation of female country singers that paved the way for her in the industry.

"Lots of great women inspired me, starting with my mother," McEntire told Woman's Day. "Then there's Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Barbara Mandrell, Anne Murray, Tammy Wynette — all ladies I looked up to and highly respected and watched. Minnie Pearl is another lady I got to meet, later on, before she passed. I'm just a huge fan, but also an admirer of their strengths and what they gave to society, especially country music."

The Grand Ole Opry member also opened up about younger female artists. "I always learn stuff form the younger females," she said. "It's a lot of fun. We just did a thing for Spotify with RaeLynn, Maddie & Tae, Abby Anderson, and Lauren Jenkins. I would say, 'Who are you listening to in the country music business now?' And they'd tell me. And then I'd say, 'Well, who do you think is really working hard and isn't getting the attention?' And oh my gosh! They were jumping up on the soapbox to talk about this person who was not getting the recognition they should. It was so inspiring to see them say that instead of 'I have no idea what anybody else is doing.'"

Nominees for the 2019 CMA Awards will be announced on Aug. 28 on Good Morning America and via a livestream. The 53rd Annual CMA Awards are set to air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on ABC on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. ET.

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