WATCH: Luke Combs Kicks Off 2021 CMT Artists of the Year with ‘Forever After All’

Country superstar Luke Combs put his love story on full display with a touching performance of his chart-topping single, “Forever After All,” at the 2021 CMT Artist Of The Year ceremony.

Combs performed the Platinum-certified track from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center stage in Nashville, Tennessee, as his fellow honorees watched on. 

The heart-melting track, co-written by Combs alongside Drew Parker and Rob Williford, is the third single of a three-part trilogy about his wife, Nicole Hocking Combs, as the singer previously shared, “first came ‘Beautiful Crazy,’ then “Better Together,’ and now ‘Forever After All.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The North Carolina native released the song on the deluxe edition of his chart-topping 2019 album, What You See Is What You Get, dubbed What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, which featured a total of five brand-new tracks. 

2021 CMT Artists of the Year special aired live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

The show honored Randy Travis with the highly-coveted Artist of a Lifetime title, Combs, Chris Stapleton, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini as the 2021 Artists of the Year and Mickey Guyton with the Breakout Artist of the Year honor.

The 90-minute special, which aired on Wednesday, October 13 at 9/8c, also featured performances by Combs, Barrett and more.

Additionally, the ceremony included several star-studded collaborations and tributes, including Boyz II Men with Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix honoring Stapleton, Brown paying homage to Travis, and Mickey Guyton performing “Remember Her Name” with Yola. Ballerini joined forces with the Jonas Brothers for a cover of a Joe Cocker hit.

Making his award show debut, Walker Hayes closed out the show with a performance of “Fancy Like.”

Eric Church, Lady A, Nelly, Connie Britton, Michael W. Smith, Copeland, Morgan Evans and CMT’s Cody Alan made special appearances as presenters throughout the evening as well.