‘CMA Country Christmas,’ Hosted by Trisha Yearwood, to Air in December

Country music fans have another way to get in the holiday spirit this year. CMA Country Christmas, hosted by Trisha Yearwood, will air on Dec. 3, and include performances by Lady Antebellum, Runaway June, Chris Young, Kristin Chenoweth, Rascal Flatts and more.

This year’s CMA Country Christmas marked Yearwood’s first time hosting a televised music show, following in the footsteps of former host, Reba McEntire, which she admits gave her mixed emotions.

“I’ve never done anything quite like this,” Yearwood told PopCulture.com and other media. “And I had done the show before. Performing and coming out and doing a song or two songs is one thing. But hosting, the biggest thing is Reba; quick change is Reba’s second nature. She could probably do it in her sleep.

“I’ve never done this before, so I’m in there looking at four outfits and I’m trying to think how do I get this done,” she added. “And I want it to be good. I want it to be fun for everybody, so I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’ve been really nervous. I didn’t sleep last night. I just want it to be good.”

Yearwood might be a seasoned performer, but she acknowledges it is entirely different hosting an event than singing as part of one, and credits her Trisha’s Southern Kitchen cooking show in helping her prepare for the big night.

“I think the biggest thing is being comfortable in front of a crowd,” said the singer. “I know it sounds crazy, because what I do for a living is seen by people, but I’m an introvert, which is hard to probably believe. So singing in front of an audience and talking to an audience was something I only had to learn to be comfortable doing. And the cooking show has really helped me because it’s not scripted.

“There’s a lot of people in here,” she continued. “I think as far as, especially since we’re taping it, if we have to stop for some reason, we have everybody in the crowd waiting for the next [thing]. I think I can be good on my feet that way just because I’ve done it a lot on the cooking show, that whole show is pretty much by the seat of your pants.”

CMA Country Christmas will air on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: CMA / Hunter Berry