CMT Awards: Carrie Underwood Fans Cheer Acrobatic 'Ghost Story' Performance

By Daniel S. Levine

During Monday night's 2022 CMT Music Awards, Carrie Underwood took the stage to perform her latest single, "Ghost Story." This was her second live performance of the song, following the Grammy Awards last week. Fans loved the performance as much as the first one. The song is featured on Underwood's upcoming ninth album, Denim & Rhinestones.

This year, Underwood was nominated for two CMT Music Awards for "If I Didn't Have You," her duet with Jason Aldean. The track is up for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year. Underwood has already won 23 CMT Music Awards, including eight Video of the Year wins. Last year, she won Video of the Year for "Hallelujah," her duet with John Legend. Underwood's performance and the rest of the 2022 CMT Music Awards are available to stream on Paramount+.

"If I Didn't Love You" was written by Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan, and Lydia Vaughan. They came up with the song when Aldean needed a duet for his album Macon, Georgia. When Aldean heard the song, he knew he needed Underwood to join him, but he wasn't sure if she had the time. Thankfully, she did.

'This is insane!!'

"From the moment she came in and started singing on it, me and (my producer) were like, 'Holy (moly), this is going to be good. We thought it was going to be good, but this is going to be pretty special," Aldean said at a BMI party in Nashville, reports CMT. "I think this will go down as one of the biggest duets in country music. I'm really proud to be a part of it."

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'The queen'

Aldean also performed during the CMT Music Awards but was joined by Bryan Adams instead. Other performers included the Judds, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barlett, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Ryan Hurd, Thomas Rhett, Riley Green, Kenny Chesney, Kane Brown, and Cody Johnson. Ballerini performed and co-hosted from home after she tested positive for COVID-19. Brown stepped in to co-host at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium with actor Anthony Mackie.

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'Now that is a entertainer'

"Ghost Story" is the lead single for Denim & Rhinestones, Underwood's first album of completely new songs since Cry Pretty in 2018. The song was written by Josh Kear, Hillary Lindsey, and David Garcia. The album will be released on June 10.

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'Best performance tonight'

"They are such talented, amazing songwriters who know me so well, and from the first time I heard it, I knew I had to record it," Underwood told CMT of the "Ghost Story" writing team. "I have always loved performing songs that tell a story and inspire some kind of cinematic imagery when you hear them, and that is definitely true of 'Ghost Story.' It creates a mood and a vibe that is different than anything else I've recorded before."

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'The best vocalist and entertainer in the business right now'

"Literally the best vocalist and entertainer in the business right now. [Underwood] is at the top of her game!" one fan wrote.

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'Nobody is doing it like Carrie'

"The strength, agility and lung capacity it takes to do what [Underwood] just did... I'm speechless," one fan wrote.

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