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2023 CMAs Red Carpet: Ranking the Best and Worst Dressed
The 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards was held on Wednesday, November 8 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony was hosted once again by Luke Bryan with Peyton Manning (third time for Luke, second for Peyton). The ceremony aired live at 8 pm ET on ABC and will be streaming on Hulu. This year, Jelly Roll opened up the ceremony with a performance of his hit, “Need A Favor.” One of the highlights was a tribute to Jimmy Buffett, performed by Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, Alan Jackson, and Zac Brown Band.
A handful of nominated artists performed: Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Jordan Davis, HARDY, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, Old Dominion, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, The War and Treaty, Lainey Wilson, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Mac McAnally, K. Michelle, Post Malone and Tanya Tucker. There was just as much star power among the lineup of presenters. Country stars Martina McBride, Bill Anderson, Keith Urban, Sara Evans, Brian Kelley, Craig Morgan, Darius Rucker, Chris Young, Lady A, Jordan Davis, and Parker McCollum were present. Outside of the genre, other presenters included Paula Abdul, Cynthia Erivo, Nate Bargatze, Kevin Cahoon, Corey Seager, and Gerry Turner.
Each year, the CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by more than 6,000 industry professional members of the Country Music Association, but tonight, we determine the winners and losers of the red carpet. Take a look below at all the hits and misses of the night. And yeah, we dunked on a lot of the folks walking the red carpet, but we loved just as many outfits as we didn’t. It’s all part of the fun of fashion.
From the peacock-colored bedazzled gown with tassels, to the awkward arm pose, Fleenor's outfit for the awards show was cringe. To top it off, she wore a muted grey cowboy hat with a teal ribbon that clashes with the already very busy dress.
STOP right there, Priscilla. She turned this traffic outfit into a tragic one -- she even brought cones to the carpet! Halloween is over, sis.
Well, we were loving this outfit until we panned down to see Meghan's tin-man boots. The leather cross dress was already giving more than enough boldness and initrigue as far as material goes, but the chrome, crinkled knee-high boots take it to a gaudy level.
We wish Darius stuck with one pattern for this look. The checkered blazer looks odd paired with faded black jeans, and on top of that, he paired the outfit with light-colored alligator boots? Oh, no...
Zach and Garret's outfits are safe, but it's Colton's that we take issue with. The studded shirt and leather pants are just too busy and is giving us magician vibes.
Looking like he's come fresh out of a work out, or a hair commercial, Russell's over-the-shoulder blazer draping exposing a black muscle tees and layered chains makes him look kind of like a cross between 'Miami Vice' and 'Jersey Shore.'
Though we were going to give Mitchell kudos for branching away from the basic suit and tie, the tassels and embroidery are a bit overboard. We do like how he carries himself, though.
Well, they say things come in threes, so kicking off the three most-basic male outfits of the night is Parker. He wore a pair of medium-wash jeans, a black button up, white blazer, and a black cowboy hat. Yawn.
Next up in Basicville is Cody's cool-blue look. Pairing medium-wash jeans, he added a white button up, light blue blazer, and white cowboy hat. A brighter, yet equally boring look as Parker's.
Closing out the trio's back-to-back boring is Chase's slightly less-boring outfit. He wears black jeans, a white button up, grey checkered blazer outfitted with a matching pocket kerchief, tan hat, and some light alligator boots. The best of the three, yes, but pretty generic.
The thing about leather, is that there CAN be too much. Ernest's leather outfit looks like he works at a gas station, especially with the Von Dutch patch logo boldly there for all to see.
Sorry, Mickey, but this color is all wrong for November. The pastel yellow is better saved for those spring months, and the cutout style as well.
Though we do love the color of the dress, the cut, not so much. It is pretty basic and looks like a prom dress. Along with her purple-silver hair worn curled down to one side, the look would have been much more elegant if she did an updo.
Though we love this dress and the opera gloves, it looks totally wrong on Kimberly. The muted tones on the dress washes her out and her curls make it look disheveled.
This is one of those instances in which more does not mean better. The dress is already commanding attention with the roses and off-the-shoulder aspects, but the white gloves that extend past her elbows is just too much and she would have been better without them.
HARDY has hard-ly made our best-dressed list yet, and though he isn't at the bottom of the list, we can't say we're impressed with his style, either. The inclusion of leather is cool but the overall look is still "meh."
This gown would be spectacular if Sara had that diva wow-factor. Instead, it falls a bit flat.
We actually love Maddie's gown and hairstyle, but it's Tae's glittery, high-neck mesh gown that we don't like at all. The more we look at it, the more we hate it and the feather trim on the bottom makes it worse.
Karen's bright baby blue belted dress is a bit too bright and has too much fabric. The electric pleats is divine, so in a different color that is more muted, and she would have knocked this out of the park.
We would have loved this dress if Karen got rid of one of two things: the collar trims or the bedazzled center. The two together are too busy and costume-y, but if the dress had just one, it would have been divine.
If the tattoos weren't distracting enough, Post's huge bolo tie is way too gaudy, but expected from him.
A mullet-less Morgan hit the red carpet but he kept the thick mustache. He kept his look basic in muted black, topped with a red blazer with contrast black details.
In another gown that gives off prom-energy, Kylie's cut and choice of fabric for her dress looks pretty basic. Her necklace or body chain, however is a nice touch.
There is a fine line for making chrome/metallic look good or tacky. Carly's skirt is the latter, and looks odd with the cape that trails off from her strapless black top.
Bill just looks so adorable on the red carpet that we had to have him kick off the transition to our best dressed of the night. We love the white embroidery on his blazer -- not too much, but just enough to give a little pizzazz to his outfit.
We love how Stapleton shows up as himself -- no bells and whistles, just simple and topped off with a cool hat with his hair flowing freely.
Separately, Dan and Shay's suits would have ranked them lower on the list, but together, the brown and deep blue suit colors compliment each other very well. Nice coordination!
As a group, the men all look smartly dressed. Nothing too bold, and all of the accents don't go unnoticed, from the leather trims, to the velvet blazers, to the striped undershirt.
Now this is a basic done right. Lauren's strapless maxi dress hugs her figure perfectly and we love that it's leather!
Hallie steals the show here with her jewel-toned blue gown. We love the very low cut and the draping and ruching along the sides.
Luke turned things up a notch with his leather blazer, but Caroline stole the show. We love how this sequined, snake-print gown looks on her and together, their outfits look fantastic.
Well, Courtney stole the show here compared to Cole's basic all-black look. Her gown is elegant and we love the slit in the skirt as well as her updo.
Now that is how you do a studded jacket! T.J.'s Vegas-style blazer is so fun, while John's long blue blazer and opened shirt make the duo look really cool.
Looking like country's Barbie and Ken, Kelsea wore a baby pink satin gown and was all smiles on the red carpet with her beau, Chase, who wore an all-black suit.
Keeping things under the fall color scheme, Dustin wore a dusty orange-colored double-breasted blazer, giving him that boost of elegance on the red carpet.
Being handsome takes you a long way. That, along with a crisp, black tux and bow tie makes Chris Lane awards show ready.
Now this is a great fall suit. We love the wool material and the longer blazer, it is modern and refreshing to see on the red carpet. Looking dapper, Jordan!
We are loving these green tones Brian chose. His suit has a relaxed fit and in a more earthy tone, while his undershirt is in a deeper green hue. His cowboy hat fits within the color scheme in a lighter tan shade, while his shoes are a khaki suede.
Every one looks fantastically dressed. Dave's checkered grey suit with a blue collared shirt and bolo tie, Hillary's red dress is gorgeous with stockings and strappy red pointed heels, and Charles' striped suit is cool with a white tee and matching white loafers. Well done.
The couple look great this time around! Bunnie wore a strapless, glittering black gown with lace sleeves, while Jelly Roll wore a gorgeous black floral suit.
We love this bold, graphic satin gown Erivo donned. The thin straps and long train make this look elegant and fun!
We just adore this shade of brown. This suit, paired with a muted, light grey button down with brown matching buttons is a subtle yet effective way to look dapper.
Straight up: Paula looked stunning in this ombre silver and bronze-patterned gown! The metal belt and silver accessories and shoes tied the whole look together.
McBryde can't go wrong wearing red. The bright primary color looks so good against her pale complexion and hair color, and we love the train details.
For those afraid to wear white, here is your inspiration to experiment with it. Riley's cream-colored three-piece suit is so dapper and fresh. He adds some contrast with some medium brown-toned alligator boots.
Wow, we are loving everything about Camille's look from head to toe. Her curly updo is gorgeous and allows us to really focus on her beauty and the beauty of her gown, which hugs her figure beautifully and ends with a feathery flair trim.
Look at this rockstar couple! The pair looked fantastic, with Nicole's black cutout gown and Keith's green tie-dye washed shirt and chunky black shoes.
We are loving Nicole's ravishing red ruffled high-low gown and Luke's brown plaid-patterned suit! Together they look like they're ready for the holidays and looking like royalty, too!
Reyna really went for it, and she pulled this look off! We are loving the white corset with matching belted gloves and chaps with black fishnets underneath. Her hat is fun, too.
Gorgeous, sexy, and elegant all wrapped up into one is K.Michelle. Her updo is flawless, while her burgundy-colored satin gown makes her look like a gift.
Colbie looks like a superstar with this elegant gown. The deep cut strapless black gown is encrusted in a gorgeous crystal design and she has a shimmering white train.
Megan looked like the belle of the ball with this gorgeous red gown with a high thigh slit. We are loving the details with her matching red lip, red bow heels, and simple diamond necklace.