Lainey Wilson and Keith Urban Set the CMA Awards 2025 Ablaze with a Genre-Spanning, High-Octane Medley of Country Classics

Lainey Wilson’s opening medley at the 59th CMA Awards on November 19, 2025, felt like a statement made in full color before the night even really started. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville was already charged from the red-carpet buzz, but when Lainey stepped into that first pool of light, it turned into a different kind of energy — the kind that makes a crowd stop mid-conversation. She wasn’t just “the host who sings a little.” She was clearly being positioned as the heartbeat of the show, and the medley was her way of grabbing the steering wheel.

Instead of a traditional comedy monologue, the CMAs let her open with music from the jump, which played right into her strengths. Lainey has that rare mix of superstar confidence and hometown warmth, so the transition from host vibe to performance mode didn’t feel staged. It felt like she was welcoming everybody into a living room that just happened to be an arena. The camera work followed her like a concert, not a variety show, and the lighting stayed intimate enough to keep the focus on her voice and the song choices.

The medley kicked off with Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse,” a modern heavyweight of a track, and Lainey leaned into it like she’d lived inside that story for years. She didn’t imitate Stapleton’s growl; she recast it in her own grit, with a punchy twang that made the lyric feel fresh. Charlie Worsham joining for that opening gave it an extra spark of musicianship, like the show was saying, “we’re starting with the real stuff.” It set a serious tone without killing the fun.

From there, she snapped the night into nostalgia with Brooks & Dunn’s “Hillbilly Deluxe.” The shift was fast but smooth, like flipping radio stations and realizing every song is a hit. The arena responded instantly — that hook is muscle memory for country fans. Lainey sang it with a wink and a swagger, not as a museum piece, but as a song that still belongs to the present. The staging warmed up, the band gave it that honky-tonk pulse, and you could feel the crowd’s grin even through the broadcast.

Then she pulled the medley right back into 2025 with “You Look Like You Love Me,” the breakout duet from Ella Langley and Riley Green that dominated this year. Lainey didn’t treat it like a “new song cameo”; she treated it like a modern classic already. The move mattered because it put today’s biggest fresh voices in the same breath as decades-old staples, signaling that the genre’s timeline is one long running story. It also energized the room with that “we’re living in this era right now” feeling.

The medley’s temperature rose again when she hit Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman.” This is the kind of song that doesn’t work unless you sing it with full conviction, and Lainey absolutely did. She carried it like a banner for every scrappy, proud, loud woman who ever felt underestimated. The crowd didn’t just cheer — they shouted it back. Visually, the cameras leaned into the audience response, and it became a shared moment more than a performance. That’s exactly what that song has always been built to do.

Right after that roar, she softened the room with Lady A’s “Need You Now,” giving the medley a breath of midnight heartbreak. She didn’t go pop-polished with it; she sang it with the kind of worn-in ache that makes the lyric feel like a confession. The lights cooled down, phones lifted, and the arena turned into a field of voices. That contrast — from back-road pride to late-night longing — showed how carefully the medley was paced, like a mixtape that knows when to let you feel.

Without letting the emotion fade too long, Lainey surged into Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead,” and the mood snapped from tender to fearless. Her delivery had that “don’t test me” edge that the song demands, and the band tightened into a sharper groove. You could sense the arena waking up all over again. In a medley, this segment could’ve felt like a quick shout-out, but she made it a real moment, embodying the song’s fire instead of just quoting it.

Then came one of the night’s boldest pivots: Shaboozey’s viral “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” In another awards-show era, a track like that might have felt like a genre detour, but Lainey made it feel like a party that belongs right in the country conversation. She played it loose and communal, letting the chorus breathe into the crowd. The cameras even caught Shaboozey vibing along, which added a beautiful “genre walls down” glow to the whole segment.

The medley slid into Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” and everything went hush-soft again — the kind of hush that feels physical. Little Big Town joined her, wrapping that harmony around the song like a blanket. Lainey’s voice sat right in the center of theirs, not competing, just blending. Visually it felt cinematic: dimmed lights, close shots, and a sense that the entire arena was leaning inward. This was the emotional core of the medley, proof that restraint can land as hard as volume.

Just when the mood might’ve drifted too far into tenderness, the finale kicked the doors open. “Where the Blacktop Ends” burst out with Keith Urban joining her, and suddenly the stage felt like a road-trip party at full speed. Keith’s guitar tone brought that stadium-rock shine, while Lainey’s vocal kept it twang-forward and rooted. Their chemistry was easy, joyful, and totally unforced — like two artists meeting in the middle of the same love for country’s live-wire energy.

What made the whole run work wasn’t only the song list, but how Lainey threaded transitions like a story rather than a checklist. She didn’t treat old hits as relics or new ones as favors. Instead, everything felt connected by mood: grit, pride, heartbreak, humor, survival, and release. In just a few minutes, she mapped a whole emotional country landscape. That’s hard to do on live TV without it feeling rushed, but her pacing kept every segment alive.

As an opener, the medley doubled as a thesis for the entire night. The CMAs have been wrestling for years with how to honor tradition while letting modern sounds breathe, and Lainey’s medley solved that tension onstage. Stapleton and Miranda sat comfortably beside Shaboozey and Ella Langley. Brooks & Dunn lived in the same breath as a 2025 viral anthem. The show didn’t apologize for the mix — it celebrated it, and that celebration felt like a shift.

It also helped that Lainey came into the night as the clear centerpiece of the awards. She led nominations, hosted with ease, and ended up sweeping major wins including Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year for Whirlwind. That context changed how the medley landed. This wasn’t a host trying to prove she belongs. This was the genre’s reigning standard-bearer opening the doors and saying, “here’s what country looks like right now.”

The audience reaction online and in the arena reinforced that feeling. People weren’t just talking about one song clip; they were talking about the flow, the joy, the way the medley made the CMAs feel like a family reunion instead of a gated ceremony. It became one of those openers fans replay to relive a mood — not because it was over-produced, but because it felt alive, generous, and rooted in love for the music.

By the final chord, the show had already announced its identity for 2025: country music is wider than ever, but it still knows where home is. Lainey Wilson’s medley didn’t just warm up the room. It reminded everyone that the genre can honor its legends without freezing in time, and it can embrace new voices without losing its soul. For a kickoff, it was both celebration and declaration — country in 2025, drawn in one bold, fast, joyful line.

Sources (kept out of paragraphs, per your preference): AP recap of the 2025 CMA Awards; Washington Post show analysis; Billboard performance write-up; Country Now and iHeart/Bobby Bones breakdowns of the medley setlist and guests; Music Mayhem notes on crowd moments and Shaboozey/Little Big Town participation.