Maren Morris brought her smash hit “The Bones” to life during the 54th annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, November 11.
“The CMA Awards are special because it really is sort of our country royalty night, it’s like our Oscars,” Morris said ahead of her performance. “And I obviously have such a close spot in my heart for the CMA Awards, I won Best New Artist just a few years ago and that was such a shock and it feels like a decade ago with everything that’s happened now but it’s always sort of a landmark night for me on a personal level.”
“The Bones” was co-written Jimmy Robbins and Laura Veltz, and it was produced by Greg Kurstin. The song is the second single from her second studio album, GIRL. A remix to the song was later released featuring Irish singer Hozier.
“The Bones” is the first song by a solo female artist to top the Billboard country charts since last summer when her critically-acclaimed track “GIRL” reached the No.1 spot. Prior to that, a solo female artist had not claimed the top spot on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart since February 2018 when Kelsea Ballerini’s “Legends” reached No.1.
Morris received 3 nominations at this year’s award show including Single Of The Year (“The Bones”), Song Of The Year (“The Bones”) and Musical Event Of the Year (“The Bones” featuring Hozier).
The 54th Annual CMA Awards also featured performances from Chris Stapleton, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Luke Combs, Darius Rucker, Eric Church, Jon Pardi, Keith Urban, Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andress, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Old Dominion and Kelsea Ballerini.
Additionally, the show included star-studded collaborations by Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber, Reba McEntire featuring Darius Rucker, Gabby Barrett and Charlie Puth, Carly Pearce with Charles Kelley as well as Thomas Rhett together with McEntire and Chris Tomlin. The show opener featured an all-star performance from Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde paying tribute to the late Charlie Daniels.
Hosted by Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker, “Country Music’s Biggest Night” aired on Wednesday, November 11 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET) on ABC.
