The Highs, Lows and Wildest Moments From the 2024 CMT Music Awards

AUSTIN, TEXAS - APRIL 07: (L-R) Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and Trisha Yearwood attend the 2024 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 07, 2024 in Austin, Texas.

Country's biggest night has returned! On Sunday, April 7, many of country music's biggest stars converged in Austin, Texas for the 2024 CMT Music Awards. The night, which honors country music videos and TV appearances, as voted on by fans, featured more than a dozen buzzy performances. Lainey Wilson, Sugerland, Keith Urban and Jelly Roll all took the stage, performing for the genre's A-listers and fans across the globe.

As expected, the evening, hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, included impassioned acceptance speeches, quippy jokes, and unforgettable red carpet looks. Of course, there were also plenty of weird, wild and unexpected things that happened as well.

Here's a rundown of all the evening's biggest, most memorable moments:

The highs, lows and wildest moments that happened at the 2024 CMT Music Awards

High: Cody Johnson opens the show with "That's Texas"

With the CMT Music Awards taking place in Austin, Texas this year, it was only fitting that the show opened with a Texas-themed number. Nominee Cody Johnson got the show off to a high-energy start with his hit "That's Texas."

Related: The 2024 CMT Music Awards Red Carpet: See the Festive Fashions Worn by Your Favorite Music Stars

High: Kelsea Ballerini pokes fun at her Grammy's reaction at the top of the show

At the 2024 Grammys earlier this year, Lainey Wilson won Best Country Album over Kelsea Ballerini. The cameras cut to a seemingly annoyed Ballerini and created a now iconic meme. To start her fourth time hosting the CMT Music Awards, Ballerini poked fun at herself by showing the clip and then entering a bit about reading minds.

Wildest: Buc-ee the Beaver crashed the party

It wouldn't be Texas without Buc-ee's, and the mascot of the famed roadside convenience store showed up at the CMTs. Early in the ceremony, the giant beaver mascot was spotted sitting next to Keith Urban. Was it Nicole Kidman in the costume? We may never know.

High: Brittney Spencer's bellbottom jumpsuit

Parker McCollum took the CMT stage to perform his hit "Burn It Down" and was joined by Brittney Spencer. Spencer, winning the "who wore it best?" competition, donned a fire velvet jumpsuit with flared legs and platform heals. It was giving Donna and the Dynamos in the best possible way.

Related: The Best, Worst and Wildest Moments from the 2024 Golden Globe Awards

High: Kelsea Ballerini and Melissa Etheridge duet "Come to My Window"

In a bid to snag a little of that good juju from the Luke Combs x Tracey Chapman Grammy's performance, Ballerini teamed up with Etheridge for a little duet of Etheridge's iconic hit.

High: Trisha Yearwood wins the inaugural June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award

The CMT Music Awards launched their humanitarian award this year with the creation of the June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award. Jane Seymour presented Trisha Yearwood with the award to honor the work she does for Habitat for Humanity and animal rights.

Related: Country Superstar Trisha Yearwood Has Cooked Up Quite the Net Worth in 2024

Low: A long, chaotic hugging segment

While Kelsea Ballerini provided the evening with plenty of cheerful energy, the show was largely performances strung together by a series of so-so bits. In one of the weirder ones reminiscent of a writers' strike segment, Jelly Roll wandered around the stage giving hugs to people. He and Ballerini wandered a bit too far from the teleprompter and forgot who the next performer was and stalled by giving more hugs.

Low: A fake auction for a Lainey Wilson collaboration

In another of the show's more bizarre bits, Ballerini held a fake auction for a collaboration with Lainey Wilson. After running around the stage coaxing bids from country musicians, she ends up declaring that Jane Seymour (who doesn't sing) has won the collab for $50K. We perhaps could skip the bits and just launch right into performances.

High: Jelly Roll delivers an impassioned winner's speech

Jelly Roll (post-hugging) took home the win for CMT Performance of the Year and delivered a heart-felt speech thanking fans for his incredible year and rise to fame.

Related: She's No Dumb Blonde! Get to Know Jelly Roll's Wife Bunnie XO

Wildest: Kelsea Ballerini seemingly wears shoulder pads under a t-shirt

Ballerini delivered a number of impressive wardrobe changes throughout the evening. At one point she rocked a St. Jude's Children's Hospital t-shirt with oversized dress pants. She seemed to have snuck some shoulder pads under the tee for a fun '80s vibe.

Low: Beyoncé does not make an appearance

Despite having the biggest country album in America, Beyoncé did not make a surprise appearance at the CMT Music Awards (which wasn't particularly shocking given the reception to her "Daddy Lessons" performance at the 2016 CMA Awards). In her place however, her four "Blackbiird" collaborators, Brittany Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy appeared to pass out the Duo/Group Video of the Year award.

High: Toby Keith tribute

The centerpiece of the 2024 CMT Music Awards was the Toby Keith tribute. Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens introduced the segment which included Brooks & Dunn performing "Should've Been a Cowboy," Sammy Hagar singing "I Love This Bar" and Lainey Wilson covering "How Do You Like Me Now?" Then Clemens led the audience in a red Solo cup cheers.

High: Dasha's backup dancers

After a dozen or so performances that mostly involved people standing around, Dasha bumped up the CMT energy level with her performance of "Austin." Her backup dancers were firing on all cylinders, and prompted the question: "Why hasn't there been more dancing?"

High: Little Big Town and Sugarland perform a Phil Collins cover

In order to celebrate Little Big Town's 25th anniversary and the launch of their tour with Sugarland, the two groups joined forces at the CMT Music Awards to perform a cover of Phil Collins' "Take Me Home," which they also released as a single.

Related: Wait, Did Sugarland Break Up? Everything to Know About What Happened to the Band

High: Jelly Roll sweeps

Jelly Roll was THE winner of the night in every sense of the word. Not only was he utilized in multiple bits and constantly referenced, but he also won three CMT Music Awards, more than any other performer. He won Video of the Year, Male Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year before giving the final performance of the night. Perhaps the biggest loser of the night, however, might be Gayle King, who is set to interview Jelly Roll tomorrow morning. Jelly Roll, however, stated he would be late (and is likely to be hungover).

Next, The 2024 CMT Music Awards Complete List of Winners