By Emmy Lindfors

Managing Editor

On one night and one night only, the lights of Nashville shine brighter. It is when all of country’s top stars get together to celebrate country music: the CMA Awards.
The night was hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, who have hosted the show for the past four years.
Ignoring Underwood’s multiple costume changes, she and Paisley stepped up their hosting gig this year with their hilarious monologue. While the beginning was getting the audience ready for an awards show and playing with the new Tim McGraw and Faith Hill dolls, the best part came when Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet (He plays Cam) walked onstage.
Stonestreet, Underwood and Paisley began to sing about Kim Kardashian getting divorced.
“I’m going to love you forever, or 72 days Amen, as long as Justin Bieber is not a conceiver, as long as Taylor Swift is with her current boyfriend,” the three sang. “I’m going to love you for 20 million dollars, for a hit TV series or pics in Us Weekly, for 72 Days, Amen.”
Even though the monologue was creative, that is not why the CMA Awards take home Emmy’s Emmy for Best Award Show.
The CMA’s win because of their performances. Ones from big name stars like Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Sugarland and the Zac Brown Band focus on the song and its lyrics more than trying to outdo everyone in performances — something that is often done at the Grammys and American Music Awards.
Not only that, but the show focuses on the closeness of the country stars.
When Blake Shelton was awarded Top Male Vocalist of the Year for the second year in a row, fellow nominee Keith Urban was right there to shake his head and congratulate him even before Shelton could kiss his wife, Miranda Lambert, who won Top Female Vocalist for also the second year in a row.

Also, tributes like the one to Glen Campbell, a top star who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, show this quality. Paisley, Urban and Vince Gill sang some of Campbell’s famous tunes, and at the end, Campbell came on stage and strummed a guitar mouthing “thank you” to the crowd.
I love the fact that we are paying tribute to him now while he’s still fully functioning as a touring act,” Paisley said in an interview with The Highway on Sirius XM Radio. “The fact that he is still viable, he’s still playing, he’s just released an album — this is the time to tell people we love them and do a big blowout where we sing these songs, not 20 years from now, looking back on whoever, you know, it’s just, this is the time.”