Kellie Pickler will perform on "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" on Nov. 12, 2008, broadcast live on ABC Television from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn. Pickler is pictured performing on "The 41st Annual CMA Awards."
Photographer: John Russell / CMA.
Nov. 10, 2008 — Kellie Pickler has one of the coveted performance slots on Wednesday’s telecast of "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards." Singing on the show is considered within the music industry to be almost as important as winning, since it creates huge exposure for an artist, and in Kellie’s case, she’ll have the chance to bring attention to her new single, "Best Days Of Your Life."
But Kellie also feels pressure as she goes into the event at Nashville’s Sommet Center. Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Keith Urban and co-hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will also be performing, so they’ll be part of the audience when Kellie takes the stage.
"It's always kind of scary performing on award shows," she told Dial-Global. "You're up there with your peers, everybody else that you hear on the radio. Kenny, Martina, Carrie — all of 'em — we're all up there on the stage, and it's almost like a talent show, and you want to be just as good as the person was in front of you or right after you, so it is a little scary."
If that has Kellie’s competitive spirit activated, the awards themselves might add to the night’s intensity. She’s in the running for New Artist of the Year, against Rodney Atkins, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and James Otto. Kellie was also nominated for the same trophy last year, when it was known as the Horizon Award.