LONDON, Ontario. – Dallas Smith was the big winner of the Canadian Country Music Association’s awards ceremony on Monday night, taking home three trophies, including Entertainer of the Year, in a lively live-streaming event in front of thousands of personal viewers.
The 43-year-old from Langley, BC, who performed his single “Hide From a Broken Heart” in front of a fully vaccinated audience in Budweiser Gardens also won Male Artist of the Year and Single of the Year for “Like A Man”. . “
Smith claimed the title of Top Entertainer for the third year in a row, beating Brett Kissel of Flat Lake, Alta .; Dean Brody of Smithers, BC; MacKenzie Porter of Medicine Hat, Alta .; and the Reklaws of Cambridge, Ontario.
The bash marked the return of the CCMA show to the live events realm for the first time since Calgary in 2019.
Smith, taking his first prize of the evening, thanked the organizers for “doing what they had to do to get people back inside a building and bring this genre and live music back to life” .
Backstage, he called his Entertainer of the Year Award the “icing on the cake” of a weekend with country fans and artists personally.
“I’ve had this date on the calendar for a while, (it) means getting back together for a lot of people in the industry,” he said. “Last year we did what we could with the CCMAs … but now we’re back to normal and what that has to be.”
The Reklaws, a brother-sister pair consisting of Jenna and Stuart Walker, won the top flight or duo of the year and thanked their parents – “the first duo that shone in our eyes,” said Stuart in her acceptance speech and again behind the stage.
Tenille Townes of Grand Prairie, Alta., Received two awards, was the third year in a row as a top artist, and added an album of the year trophy for “The Lemonade Stand”.
Describing Monday’s show as “surreal”, Townes said backstage that it was “honored to be part of the Canadian country music community” after a week of events including Patricia Conroy’s inclusion in were crowned the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I just think of all these heroes, these legendary artists I grew up with … and just thought, ‘Man, what a dream it would be to follow in those footsteps one day,'” said Townes. “It’s so surreal for me to be a part of it, to continue this cycle and … I don’t even know if it’s all sunk yet.”
The drag queen who became country music diva Priyanka glitzed alongside co-host Lindsay Ell from Calgary after COVID-19 restrictions turned the show into a pared-down, virtual event last year.
The two started the show with Priyanka – winner of “Canada’s Drag Race” – in an asymmetrical blue sequined mini dress with a belt “Let’s go girls!” and sings the first verse of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”. A sequin-draped Ell joined in for a partial duet in Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About”.
Before that, Priyanka took a break for photos with fans on the red carpet and showed off an enchanted twist on the Canadian tuxedo – a studded body with matching jacket, boots and fringed cowboy hat. She said the look pays homage to the denim dress worn by Britney Spears to the 2001 American Music Awards, who was recently exempted from a 13-year conservatism.
Priyanka, known as Mark Suknanan of Toronto, said attending the CCMA Awards was “a dream come true”.
“I can perform, I can host, I will be a drag queen,” she said. “People always say country music is so conservative. So it’s nice to come up and be accepted and loved, so people can see that we’re all in together … room, but I’m not in that room . “
Priyanka later appeared on stage in a cow print jumpsuit complete with long fringes down the sleeves and a head-to-toe black leather applique that was torn off to reveal a multi-colored bodysuit while performing her recently released single . Country Queen. ”
Her outfits were recognized by the Washboard Union, winners of nine past CCMA awards and presenters at the show on Monday.
“I’m delighted that Priyanka is fighting for our money here in the cloakroom department,” said Chris Duncombe, the bearded member of the three-piece band, before naming Townes Artist of the Year.
Robyn Ottolini of Uxbridge, Ontario won the Rising Star Award while Kissel received the fans’ trophy.
Kissel, who was not present on Monday, also accepted three prizes at a ceremony on Sunday evening in London, at which the majority of the prizes were presented.
He won the best video for “Make A Life, Not A Living” as well as a special live innovation award for his tour “Brett Kissel: Live At The Drive-In”. His production company claimed the best country music program or special for an hour-long documentary about the tour.
Smith also won the best-selling album of the year on Sunday’s pre-awards show, while Ell picked up Interactive Artist of the Year. Brody and the Reklaws had the best-selling Canadian single of the year with “Can’t Help Myself”.
Monday’s spectacle will be broadcast live on the Global TV app and on Amazon Prime Video, and an encore presentation will be broadcast on Global TV on Friday.
The Reklaws, who crowned the show with a performance of their single “What The Truck” starring Sacha, topped the artist award categories with six nominations, while Smith, Kissel and Ell each had five.
US country star Chris Stapleton, who won six Country Music Association Awards earlier this month, performed “You Should Probably Leave” virtually from Sioux Falls, SD Thomas Rhett and Walker Hayes also performed virtually, both from Nashville.
The CCMA has implemented a vaccination policy for all Country Music Week events leading up to the awards ceremony. COVID-19 cases have increased in Ontario this month, with 788 new infections reported on Monday.
Participants, including performers, presenters, their teams and guests, had to be fully vaccinated to attend the events. Footage of the crowd on the show showed groups of viewers wearing masks that organizers said were around 4,000.
The CCMA awards will return to Calgary in 2022, the organization announced on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 29, 2021.
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This story was produced with financial support from Facebook and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Melissa Couto Zuber and Noushin Ziafati, The Canadian Press
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