- Carly Pearce, Mickey Guyton and Gabby Barrett kicked off the show to introduce Miranda Lambert as the first performer.
- Miranda Lambert performed a medley of “Kerosene,” “Mama’s Broken Heart,” “Bluebird,” “Little Red Wagon,” and “Gunpowder and Lead”
- The announcer introduced the host for the evening, Luke Bryan
- Luke Bryan talked about how he moved from Georgia to Nashville 20 years ago.
- He pointed out that he’s not bitter even though he’s only nominated for one award tonight with Jordan Davis. He then asked Davis if they won (it was announced pre-show). They did not win.
- He pointed out that he HAS won 2 Entertainer of the Year awards in the past and just might’ve been cheated out of a couple more.
- In a foreshadowing of the diverse lineup ahead, he commented that “Whatever makes you country, you are welcomed here tonight.”
- He then made an “immunized” joke, poking fun at Aaron Rodgers.
- Jason Aldean is seated with Freddie Freeman, so Luke Bryan joked that Aldean used to look at him the way he’s looking at Freeman.
- Luke Bryan then rattled off some of the performers and presenters that we’ll be seeing tonight.
- He pointed out that Keith Urban’s “table game is strong, bro” after listing who was sitting at the same table.
- Lionel Ritchie and Katy Perry came out to interrupt the monologue to offer help (his co-hosts on American Idol). Bryan noted that he’s hosted other awards shows before, and that he doesn’t need help. Perry said, “yeah – we’ve seen them.”
- The 3 of them presented the first award of the night. The nominees for Song of the Year are “Forever After All” by Luke Combs, “The Good Ones” by Gabby Barrett, “Hell of a View” by Eric Church, “One Night Standards” by Ashley McBryde, and “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton. And the 2021 CMA Award for Song of the Year goes to “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton!
- We come back from commercial break, and Luke Bryan noted that he opened for next performer back in 2008. Darius Rucker then interrupted him, first joking that he was trying to co-host for the free ticket. They then introduced Dierks Bentley, Breland, and Hardy for their performance of “Beers On Me”
- The announcer then introduced Eric Church, who performed “Heart on Fire”
- We come back from commercial with Luke Bryan introducing Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce for their duet on “Never Wanted To Be That Girl”
- The announcer introduced Ingrid Andress and Hayley Orrantia (from The Goldbergs) to give out the Duo of the Year Award. The nominees are Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, and Maddie & Tae. And the 2021 CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year goes to Brothers Osborne, their 4th win in this category!
- Elle King came out to introduce the next performer, the Zac Brown Band who performed “Same Boat”
- Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan came back from commercial to introduce Gabby Barrett, who they first “discovered” on American Idol. Barrett performed her hit single “The Good Ones”
- The announcer introduced Dule Hill and Saycon Sengbloh from The Wonder Years. They were out to present the award for New Artist of the Year. The nominees are Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andress, Gabby Barrett, Mickey Guyton, and Hardy. The 2021 CMA Award for New Artist of the Year goes to Jimmie Allen! He thanked his late father for introducing him to country music and noted that he was able to perform with Charley Pride.
- The announcer introduced Scotty McCreery, who came out to introduce Kane Brown and Chris Young for their performance of “Famous Friends”
- We come back from commercial break with the announcer introducing Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood’s duet of “If I Didn’t Love You”
- Luke Bryan announced that the Musician of the Year was Jenee Fleenor
- Luke Bryan introduced the next performer, Blake Shelton who performed “Come Back as a Country Boy”
- The show came back from commercial to a voice over from Keith Urban talking about how so many come to Nashville to chase their dreams. It then lead to him taking the stage to perform “Wild Hearts”
- Deana Carter and Lainey Wilson came out to present the award for Single of the Year. The nominees are “Famous Friends” by Chris Young & Kane Brown, “The Good Ones” by Gabby Barrett, “Hell of a View” by Eric Church, “One Night Standards” by Ashley McBryde, and “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton. The 2021 CMA Award for Single of the Year goes to “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton!
- Faith Fennidy came out to introduce Mickey Guyton, Madeline Edwards, and Brittney Spencer, who performed a song that was inspired by Fennidy, “Love My Hair”
- Luke Bryan gave a shameless plug for his bar “down the road” before introducing Old Dominion who performed “I Was On a Boat That Day”
- Luke Bryan then introduced Chris Stapleton, who he noted wrote his hit single “Drink a Beer.” Stapleton performed “Cold” with a symphony of string instruments in the background
- Russell Dickerson did a piece about donating a vehicle with Chevrolet to a disabled girl named Sarah as well as a trip to the CMA Awards for her. They then cut to a live shot of her on stage with him. She stated that she wants to be a teacher. Russell then announced that 30 music teachers were in attendance. To date, the CMA Foundation has donated $27 million to music education. Sarah then introduced Luke Bryan back to his hosting gig.
- Luke joked that when tries to Google himself these days, “Luke” brings up Luke Combs instead of Luke Bryan. He then introduced Luke Combs, who performed a new song called “Doin’ This”
- The announcer introduced Zachary Levi and Kurt Warner who came out to present the award for Group of the Year. The nominees are Lady A, Little Big Town, Midland, Old Dominion and the Zac Brown Band. The 2021 CMA Award for Group of the Year goes to Old Dominion!
- Lady A came out with Luke Bryan, who asked if they also thought he needed help. They said no, we think you’re doing a great job. They then introduced Thomas Rhett, who performed “Country Again”
- Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins came out next. They will be co-starring in a new country music themed show on Fox called “Monarch.” They came out to present the award for Album of the Year. The nominees are 29 by Carly Pearce, Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen, Heart by Eric Church, Skeletons by Brothers Osborne and Starting Over by Chris Stapleton. The 2021 CMA Award for Album of the Year goes to Starting Over by Chris Stapleton!
- The announcer then introduced Dan + Shay who performed “I Should Probably Go To Bed”
- Luke Bryan introduced Chris Young, who had a promo about how he and Crown Royale honored military veterans. They then introduced Trisha Yearwood, who came out to introduce Jennifer Hudson and Chris Stapleton, who were out to honor Aretha Franklin and her country/gospel roots. The medley included songs such as “Night Life” (written by Willie Nelson) and a song we couldn’t identify – possibly “Shine” or “Sunshine”?
- Luke Bryan acknowledged that Marty Stuart was in the crowd, who will be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Hank Williams Jr and Dean Dillon
- Luke Bryan then introduced Jimmie Allen who performed “Freedom Was a Highway”
- Amy Grant and Lauren Daigle came out to present the award for Female Vocalist of the Year. The nominees are Gabby Barrett, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Carly Pearce. The 2021 CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year goes to Carly Pearce! She was so hysterical that Ashley McBryde came out to assist her with her acceptance speech!
- The announcer introduced Brothers Osborne. Before performing, TJ Osborne gave a speech about how he never thought he’d be up there due to his sexuality, and wishes his younger “me” could see “me” now. They then performed “Younger Me”
- Florida Georgia Line came out to introduce Luke Bryan who performed his new single “Up”
- Kelsea Ballerini and Freddie Freeman came out to present the award for Male Vocalist of the Year. The nominees were Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, and Chris Stapleton. The CMA Award for Male Vocalist of the Year goes to Chris Stapleton!
- The show is running late! The final award of the night is being presented by Alan Jackson! The nominees for Entertainer of the Year are Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood. The 2021 CMA Entertainer of the Year Award goes to Luke Combs!
- Luke Bryan closed the show with a performance of “I Don’t Want This Night to End” as the credits rolled
