The Country Music Association (CMA) awards ceremony was held last night and if you watched the show, you might have been surprised to have seen Gwyneth Paltrow perform. After all, it is more common to see Paltrow on the big screen than at a country music awards show.
But, she wowed both the audience and country music stars as she sang “Country Strong” in her first live singing performance. The song she sang is the theme to her upcoming film, Country Strong. In the film, Paltrow plays a country singer who is just out of rehab and trying to make a comeback on the music scene. It will be released at theaters on January 7th.
The film’s soundtrack was released in late October. It offers some country creed, being produced by Tim McGraw. Even Chris Martin, Paltrow’s husband and the lead singer of Coldplay, was reported to be one of the session musicians on the soundtrack.
By the time Paltrow had finished the song, acoustic guitar in hand, country greats such as Reba McEntire were on their feet.
Still, the country music community can be harsh to outsiders, with a record exec telling The Hollywood Reporter that “The feeling is that she’s taking a slot that would otherwise go to one of our acts – be it a new artist or someone who’s actually nominated – just so ABC can garner some ratings.”
Winning awards last night were Brad Paisley (Entertainer of the Year), Miranda Lambert (Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Revolution, Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “The House That Built Me”), Blake Shelton (Male Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year with Trace Adkins), Zac Brown Band (New Artist of the Year), Lady Antebellum (Vocal Group of the Year and Single of the Year for “Need You Now”), Sugarland (Vocal Duo of the Year), and Mac McAnally (Musician of the Year).