Luke Bryan pulled double duty on the 57th annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, November 8, co-hosting the ceremony with NFL legend Peyton Manning and also serving as one of the event’s many performers.
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Bryan has scored dozens of No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, and his CMA performance showcased a variety of his biggest hits.
[RELATED: Luke Bryan Still Gets Nervous Performing at the CMA Awards]
To introduce Bryan, Manning welcomed veteran country star Craig Morgan to the stage. Manning noted that Morgan was a 17-year army veteran who not only was one of his favorite country artists, but that this past July he re-enlisted in the army reserve on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
After the football great thanked Morgan for his service, the singer declared, “Now it is my honor to introduce a good buddy. A country superstar with 30 number-one records. Here to perform some of his biggest hits … two-time Entertainer of the Year … Mr. Luke Bryan!”
Clad in a black leather jacket, Bryan immediately had the crowd on their feet, as they clapped along to his abbreviated renditions of five of his best-loved tunes.
Bryan began with his 2016 hit “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” which reached No 1. on the Country Airplay tally in 2016. He then moved on to the party anthem “One Margarita,” which topped the same chart in 2020. Up next was the rocking “That’s My Kind of Night,” a No. 1 hit on the Hot Country Songs list in 2013. That was followed by the soaring melodic ballad “Play It Again,” which topped both charts in 2014. Bryan finished his mini set with a revved-up performance of “Country Girl (Shake It for Me),” which reached the top 5 of both charts in 2011.
Before wrapping things up, Bryan yelled out to the audience, “Thank you for 30 number-ones. We love you!”
2023 marks the third straight year Bryan has hosted the CMAs and the second consecutive year that he’s been joined by Manning.
He has also performed at the CMA Awards many times over the years, and at a pre-show press conference, he shared that he probably gets more butterflies singing at the event than hosting it.
“I probably get a little more nervous about performing still,” he admitted. “That’s always very important to put your best foot out there and sing really well. Now I got this guy [Manning] to kind of bail me out. If you go out there and sing bad, it’s like a four-interception day.”
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
