Little Big Town Recalls Their Worst CMT Music Awards Performance Ever

Little Big Town will return for the second year in a row to host the 2019 CMT Music Awards, where they will also perform "Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time" with Thomas Rhett, from Rhett's recently-released Center Point Road album.

While the quartet, made up of Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook, are seasoned performers, they recall one time they took CMT Music Awards stage when it didn't go so well. In 2012, moments before they were going to perform their hit, "Pontoon," Sweet accidentally stepped off the upper deck of an actual pontoon, falling several feet.

"Two big dudes lifted me up and stood me back up. My sunglasses were sideways, and they were like, 'Get it together!'" Sweet told PEOPLE. "It knocked the wind out of me."

"He was a clutch performer," Fairchild boasted. "He was in so much pain, but you would have never known. He put his sunglasses back on and just played and sang."

Sweet, who admits he doesn't remember much of the performance, does think one thing helped him recover so quickly.

"Thank goodness I had a shot of whiskey before I went on," Sweet quipped. "It probably helped, too."

With their inaugural season as hosts underway, LBT are even more prepared as they had into Wednesday night's live broadcast.

"[We learned] to just to relax and have fun," Westbrook said. "I think that was the biggest lesson. There's a little bit of the unknown when you walk into it, but it was a lot of fun. I remember thinking at the end of the night, man, that was awesome!"

When it comes to style inspiration, the women are looking to frequent CMA Awards host – and seasoned concert performer – Carrie Underwood.

"When you're with this girl," Schlapman said, pointing to Fairchild, "you know you're gonna have a lot of wardrobe changes. It's her favorite thing about the show."

Underwood's current Cry Pretty Tour lasts longer than the two hours of the broadcast of the CMT Music Awards, which means Fairchild and Schlapman might do more costume changes in a shorter amount of time.

"So proportionally," Fairchild boasted, "we might have her beat!"

Toby Keith and Cole Swindell have just been added to the lengthy list of performers, which also includes Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Boyz II Men, Brandi Carlile, Brett Young, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Tanya Tucker, Trombone Shorty and Zac Brown Band.

The 2019 CMT Music Awards will air live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 5, at 8 p.m. ET on CMT.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Jeff Kravitz