Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker Host THE 54TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS, November 11 on CTV2

TORONTO (October 6, 2020) – CTV announced today that country music superstars and previous CMA AWARDS winners Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker will host THE 54TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV2 and everywhere CTV content can be found. Live from the Music City Center in downtown Nashville, Country Music’s Biggest Night™ features the biggest artists and performances in country music. “I’m thrilled to be back hosting the CMA AWARDS and even more thrilled that I get to share the stage with Darius Rucker,” said host Reba McEntire. “We’re looking forward to a night of celebrating great country music and hope you’ll tune in and watch!” “I look forward to the CMA AWARDS every year because of the incredible performances and the opportunity to celebrate the year in country music,” said Rucker. “To be invited to host this year’s awards alongside Reba — are you kidding me?! — it is an absolute honour. Even though this year will look a little different than normal, I know that we’re all eager for a night of musical celebration, and this year’s show definitely won’t disappoint!” Multi-media entertainment mogul McEntire has become a household name through a successful career that spans across music, television, film, theater, and retail. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Hollywood Bowl member has won 16 ACM Awards, 15 American Music Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, six  CMA AWARDS, three GRAMMY Awards, a GMA Dove Award, and was a 2018 Kennedy Center Honours recipient, in addition to multiple philanthropic and leadership honours. McEntire has celebrated unprecedented success including 35 career #1 singles and selling over 56 million albums worldwide. Last month, she received her 51^st CMA AWARDS nomination as well as her 60^th Top 10 hit on the Billboard chart, extending her record for the most among female artists. McEntire has now collected Top 10 hits in five straight decades and is the fourth artist to achieve the feat alongside George Jones, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton. The Oklahoma native and GOLDEN GLOBE-nominated actress has 11 movie credits to her name, a lead role on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun,” and starred in the six-season television sitcom REBA. Her brand partnerships include Dillard’s, REBA by Justin™, and she was named the first female and musician to portray KFC’s iconic founder Colonel Harland Sanders in their celebrity colonel campaign. McEntire just launched her very first Spotify original podcast, “Living & Learning with Reba McEntire”, with her former REBA TV show co-star Melissa Peterman. Together with their guests including, Dolly Parton, Leslie Jordan, Kristin Chenoweth, to name a few, they explore a variety of topics including aging, cancel culture, dating, and much more. Three-time GRAMMY Award winner and Grand Ole Opry member Rucker first achieved multi-platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, whose two-time diamond-certified Cracked Rear View remains the seventh-highest selling studio album of all time. Since releasing his first country album in 2008, which earned him the CMA AWARD for New Artist of the Year, Rucker has gained a whole new legion of fans with four #1 albums and nine #1 singles on country radio. His current of-the-moment single, “Beers And Sunshine,” was written via a Zoom session earlier this year and calls for slowing down to enjoy the simple things in life when the world feels out of control. A lifelong philanthropist, Rucker is a constant supporter of MUSC Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, SC and has raised more than $2 million dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends event. THE 54TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer, Alan Carter is the Director and David Wild is the Head Writer.