Kelsea Ballerini performs for the 2024 CMT Awards on Wednesday. April 3 in Austin, Texas.Photo:Catherine Powell/Getty
Catherine Powell/Getty
TheCMT Awardsaudience lovesKelsea Ballerini— and they mean it!
The country star, 30, pulled double duty at the annual awards show on Sunday, April 7, as she hosted and performed a new, reimagined version of her debut single, “Love Me Like You Mean It.”
“Y’all, I really can’t believe it’s been 10 years. That’s crazy,” she told the audience midway through the performance.
Ballerini released a new, slower and more emotional version of her hit 2014 single on April 5, explaining in anInstagrampost that her goal was to celebrate the beginning of her career and how far she’s come in the decade since.
Kelsea Ballerini performs for the 2024 CMT Awards on Wednesday. April 3 in Austin, Texas.Hubert Vestil/Getty
Hubert Vestil/Getty
Check out all of PEOPLE’s full CMT Awards coverage here.
“ten years ago, i was twenty, naive, starry eyed and absolutely relentless on putting my music out into the world. i’m proud to say, nothing has changed…except a DECADE of this wildly beautiful journey we’ve gotten to share full of tours and sing alongs, wins and losses, and growing up together,” she wrote in a caption.
“soooo, before we move into new music (yes, it’s coming i swear) i wanted to celebrate the beginning with you.”
The star called “Love Me Like You Mean It” the “song that started it all” for her, and revealed on Friday that she’d be singing it at this year’s CMT Awards.
The track was nominated for breakthrough video of the year at the 2015 CMT Awards, but ultimately lost toSam Hunt’s “Leave the Night On.”
Kelsea Ballerini at the 2024 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 7, 2024 in Austin, Texas.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Other performers at this year’s show includeJelly Roll,Keith Urban,Lainey Wilson,Sam Hunt,Bailey Zimmerman,Jordan Davis,Trisha Yearwood,NEEDTOBREATHE,Cody Johnson,Megan Moroney,Old Dominion,Parker McCollumandBrittney Spencer.
Ballerini previouslyopened up to PEOPLEabout hosting the CMT Awards solo for the first time this year, as she’s spent the last three years co-hosting withKane Brown.
Kelsea Ballerini at the 2024 CMT Awards in Austin, Texas on April 7, 2024.Hubert Vestil/Getty
“It’s definitely new grounds for me,” she said. “But it’s my fourth year hosting, so I feel like I’ve learned a lot. And the good thing about CMTs is there’s such a light energy, so there’s not a pressure that I feel to be perfect. I just want to be fun, honor the night and help people have a good time.”
The 2024 CMT Music Awards are airing live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, April 7 on CBS and Paramount+.
source: people.com
