Music is a powerful thing. It can heal the world, join hands and hearts, and make dreams come true. Two out of three of these happened earlier this week at CMT’s Artist of the Year show, which honored the most notable country music acts of 2016.
Prior to the show Kelsea Ballerini was pretty worked up about being asked to help honor Shania Twain with the Artist of the Lifetime Award. In fact, she told CMT’s Cody Alan that she was going “pass out” after seeing Twain for the first time.
Well, from the looks of it, the adoration is reciprocal, as Twain was caught on camera singing along to Ballerini’s most recent No. 1 hit, “Peter Pan,” during the Breakthrough Artist of the Year’s performance. Also seen enjoying the song from the audience was CMT Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood.
As if the life of Kelsea Ballerini could get any better lately, her time on stage at the CMT Artist of the Year Awards proved that country music knows no boundaries when it comes to generational appreciation. If you think about it in a true “Six Degrees” way, Twain set the bar while Ballerini was just a baby, Underwood grew up on Twain’s music, and Ballerini grew up idolizing both of her peers. Now, at twenty-three, Ballerini can look back and see these two musical monstrosities likewise respecting her and her talents. If that doesn’t make you love country music more, what will?
Watch Kelsea Ballerini’s performance of “Peter Pan” and see Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood sing along from their seats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag0SxoLH7Ts
