Niall, Carrie and Pink among the top performances at the CMAs

The awards got under way with the unique voice and twang of Eric Church, singing a solo version of 'Amazing Grace.' It was hard not to think of the many people lost and affected by the recent shootings in America, and this was very much a nod towards that.

This then led into Darius Rucker taking to the stage to bring to us ‘Hold My Hand’ a throwback to his Hootie and the Blowfish days, he was accompanied by Lady Antebellum, then towards the end of the song, up went the curtain to reveal all of Country Music singing along.

There are moments like these that separate this genre from any other. The sense of family, community and love between these artists is truly unique and we saw more of this as the night progressed.

In a year where country lost so many greats, there was a lot of looking back, emotional reflection, contemplation and remembrance.

The first of these came in a tribute to the late and great Troy Gentry. Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flats led this with their take on ‘My Town’ by Montgomery Gentry. Troy tragically lost his life earlier this year when the helicopter he was traveling in went down in New Jersey. His wife and daughter were in the audience last night and it was clear to see the performance on stage was making the emotions run high for the two as well as many others in the stadium.

The song finished up with Eddie Montgomery taking to the stage for the final verse, giving it his all with that familiar charisma that we had been missing since the tragedy back in September.

The next cover came from the fantastic Brothers Osborne who scooped Vocal Duo and Best Video awards. They delivered a superb version of ‘It Ain’t My Fault’ which suddenly dropped its beat and slowed down into a rendition of the late Don Williams’ song, ‘Tulsa Time’.

Later Little Big Town led the way with the next tribute. It was a celebration of country icon Glen Campbell who lost the battle to Alzheimer’s earlier in the year. Led by Jimmy Webb who penned the song, the band performed a stripped back, perfectly harmonized rendition of Wichita Lineman. Again, like Gentry earlier, Campbell’s wife and daughter Ashley Campbell were in the crowd, and again brought to tears by the heart-warming take on this country classic. A big well done to Little Big Town.

The next big hitter came from Carrie Underwood with a gospel song in the form of ‘Softly and Tenderly’ as a tribute to all those who had died recently in the country community. The vocals were flawless and the delivery perfect.

CMAs never disappoint when it comes to collaborations and there is always a unique one that stands out and that came in the form of Maren Morris dueting with Ex-One Direction star Niall Horan, now a global success story as a solo artist. They performed two songs together, Maren’s ‘I Could Use a Love Song’ and Niall’s ‘Seeing Blind’. It’s sure to be Horan’s biggest performance since he toured with One Direction. It was a five-star performance from the two of them and Dublin is in for a treat at the weekend when Maren will be in concert..

Kelsea Ballerini and Reba McEntire performed Ballerini’s current single ‘Legends’ on stage together with Ballerini leading the way and McEntire joining in half way through.

Another star performer who shone brightly was Pink, who is usually associated for her pop prowess.. Her song ‘Barbies’ lifted off her most recent album ‘Beautiful Trauma’ was accompanied by a quartet which surrounded her on stage which would be at home in any country music environment.

The show finished up with brand new Country Music Hall of Fame member Alan Jackson forth to sing 'Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.' Jackson also brought the curtain down by rocking out 'Don’t Rock the Jukebox' with the show’s co-hosts, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

Here is the complete CMA Awards Show set list:

'Amazing Grace'/'Hold My Hand'–Cast

'Unforgettable' – Thomas Rhett

'My Town' – Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, Eddie Montgomery

'Legends' – Kelsea Ballerini, Reba McEntire

'Light It Up' – Luke Bryan

'To Learn Her' – Miranda Lambert

'Ask Me How I Know' – Garth Brooks

'It Ain’t My Fault' – Brothers Osborne

'The Rest of Our Life' – Tim McGraw, Faith Hill

'Barbies' – Pink

'No Such Thing as a Broken Heart' – Old Dominion

'Wichita Lineman' – Little Big Town, Jimmy Webb on piano

'Broken Halos' – Chris Stapleton

'Seeing Blind' – Maren Morris, Niall Horan

'Softly and Tenderly' — Carrie Underwood

'Heaven South' – Brad Paisley, Kane Brown

'Dirt on My Boots' – Jon Pardi

'Come Together' – Lauren Alaina, Dan + Shay

'Female' – Keith Urban

'Chattanooga Lucy' – Eric Church

'Chasin’ That Neon Raibow' – Alan Jackson

'Don’t Rock the Jukebox' – Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood

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