Miranda Lambert is not up for Entertainer of the Year at the 2019 CMA Awards this year. But she has taken it upon herself to champion one of the nominees that she feels is deserving of the honor.
That nominee is Carrie Underwood, the only female artist nominated for Entertainer of the Year this year. Her nod comes after two straight years of the CMA nominating only male artists in the EOTY category.
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In October, Lambert published a lengthy post to Instagram in which she complimented all of the artists up for EOTY at this year’s CMA Awards. But she ended the note with an endorsement for Underwood, writing that she was “The Entertainer Of The Year.“
“She blows me away every time I hear her sing. She never wavers in who she is or what she stands for. She has stayed true & pushed herself to be better,” Lambert wrote in part.
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The “It All Comes Out in the Wash” singer doubled down on her comments in a November interview with FOX News. She named all of the things that Underwood has accomplished in the past year, and explained why she is worthy of the EOTY title.
This is what Lambert had to say:
“But if you think about someone who hosted the CMAs pregnant, then started an all-female tour and then had a baby and then went right back on the road three months later… she has a brand, Calia by Carrie Underwood, and it lifts up women. She does Monday Night Football. I just feel like as a whole entertainer of the year should be someone that entertains in all facets of music.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCehOqXc78k
In addition to championing Underwood on her social media and in her FOX News Interview, Lambert also sang her praises in an interview with Kix Brooks.
Lambert’s many endorsements haven’t gone unnoticed by Underwood. When she visitedThe Ty Bentli Show, Bentli played part of Lambert’s interview with Brooks.
Underwood immediately teared up, and explained how it feels to hear Lambert say such kind things about her.
“First, I’m kind of emotional. I mean, it’s a nomination for all of us. It would definitely be, ya know, not just a win for all of the things that we’ve been doing, all that stuff that she mentioned that I’m so lucky and blessed enough to do, but, you watch other women in this industry do the same thing, you know, it’s… I don’t know what I’m trying to say,” she said.
She then spoke about how women in country music always lift each other up, saying, “Miranda didn’t have to say any of that stuff.”
You can see Underwood’s full, emotional reaction to Lambert’s endorsement for her to win CMA EOTY by tuning in to the video below. The CMA Awards air November 13, which is when we’ll find out if Underwood is the 2019 EOTY!