The CMT Music Awards, a fan-voted awards show for television performances and country music videos, are celebrating their 56th year.
Between performances from artists such as Jason Aldean, Cody Johnson, and Jelly Roll, and an all-star tribute to Toby Keith, this year will certainly be one to remember. Hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, the program is taking place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Sam Hunt performed the title track from his new EP, “Locked Up.”
Due to the fact he hasn’t performed at any recent awards shows, Sam Hunt reveals he was feeling nervous ahead of the CMT Music Awards.
“It’ll be interesting, I think, to play in front of what feels like a slightly different award show audience in terms of the industry and my peers [that] would have been there maybe in 2016 and 2017,” Hunt shares. “Maybe there are a few more butterflies, just because I’m not quite as comfortable or don’t necessarily feel as a part of the current club, you know?”
While the singer was nervous to perform in front of new faces, the singer acknowledged his fans and fellow singers who have been by his side for a long time, crediting them for easing some of the nerves.
“But I think that’ll be fine. There are a lot of folks that I still know, and a lot of familiar faces will still be out there,” he said. “And of course, the fans that have been with me for a long time.”
Sam revealed in an interview that he hoped to bring his new song, “Locked Up,” to life on the stage at the CMT Music Awards.
“I’m going to try to recreate some of that Folsom prison vibe,” Hunt revealed. “I don’t know if we settled on exactly how much they’re going to let us do with how we’re going to recreate that scene, but we’re going to try to go for it if we can.”
Sam Hunt recently released his autobiographical song, “Locked Up.” The song is a reflection on when the singer was “locked up” for DUI in 2019. Naturally, Sam recorded the music video for the song in an abandoned prison. If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”
Johnny Cash was known for performing in prisons. In fact, Cash’s career was struggling when he decided to perform at Folsom prison. That concert and the live album that followed it put the singer back on the charts and breathed new life into his dying music career.
“Locked Up.”
In Sam Hunt’s new music video for his song “Locked Up,” the singer and his band are wearing black suits. To replicate what June Carter Cash was wearing during Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison concert, Sam Hunt‘s wife also appears in the video wearing a modest black dress.
Hunt recreated the video for the CMT Music Awards by wearing a black suit and singing in front of a group of men that appeared to be in prison uniforms.
Watch the video below to see the performance!