Kelsea Ballerini sure knows how to make an award show fun! The singer took the stage at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 11 and gave a powerful performance of her song “Hole In The Bottle.” Kelsea looked incredible in a sexy plunging jumpsuit, which she paired with a hat and long, blonde ponytail. She completed the ensemble with dark, smokey eye makeup, which looked just as fierce as the outfit.
RT to give @KelseaBallerini a (w)hole lotta love for her performance at the #CMAawards! 💞 pic.twitter.com/9xkksrjubq
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) November 12, 2020
Kelsea’s look was reminiscent of Shania Twain’s in the iconic “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” video. Shania also wore black and white, along with a top hat. To confirm she was paying homage to Shania, Kelsea concluded her performance by saying, “Let’s go girls!” Of course, that’s the iconic line that Shania says at the beginning of her 1997 hit. After the performance Kelsea took to Instagram to reveal that she’s releasing a version of the song WITH Shania on Nov. 13.
Before the show, Kelsea walked the red carpet and was dressed to the nines in a strapless red gown that was adorned with roses. Her hair was down and slicked back in the front, and she wore a bold red lip to match the bright dress. Kelsea ALWAYS brings her A-game to the red carpet, and this look was no different! The carpet was a bit more low-key than usual, but Kelsea still gave it her all.
Although the 27-year-old sadly isn’t nominated for any awards at this year’s show, she was announced as a last minute performer on the morning of Nov. 11. “Hole In The Bottle” is off of Kelsea’s album, kelsea, which she released the week that the United States went into lockdown because of COVID-19 in March. Obviously, this was a completely unprecedented time to release new music, but Kelsea embraced it. She followed the record up with ballerini, which featured the same songs re-imagined, in September.
Last month, Kelsea was joined by her pal, Halsey, to perform their duet, “The Other Girl,” at the CMT Awards, as well. The ladies channeled Coyote Ugly while performing the sultry track in a Nashville dive bar. However, they received criticism for dressing in sexy leather outfits for the performance. Plus, some viewers felt the song wasn’t “country enough” for the award show.
Kelsea isn’t afraid to clap back, though, and she did just that on social media. “After reading way too many comments, I’d like to remind people that there are different kinds of country music and none are more ‘real’ than others when it comes from an honest place, that women can wear whatever we want and shouldn’t be called names and criticized for it, and that if you don’t have something nice to say, politely shut up,” she wrote.
The 2020 CMA Awards also featured performances from Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Eric Church, Gabby Barrett, Luke Combs and more. The show was hosted by Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker. This marked the first time in 12 years that Carrie Underwood was not one of the hosts of the event.