The CMA Awards are known for their creative, collaborative performances, and Robert Deaton — who has executive produced the show since 2007 — is responsible for a number of them.
He invited Ariana Grande to sing with Little Big Town, had Fall Out Boy rock out with Thomas Rhett and paired Beyoncé with The Chicks. Other times, he’s smart enough to say yes when someone else brings the idea to the table, like Rhett performing a new song alongside breakthrough performer Teddy Swims at Wednesday’s show, or Chris Stapleton joining forces with Justin Timberlake in 2015 for a life-changing performance that’s in the CMA history books.
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Deaton recalls the rehearsal for Stapleton’s career-changing moment, saying: “It was good. I wouldn’t have gone home thinking, ‘That’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.’ And then Justin whispered in my ear, ‘Hey man, thank you, don’t worry, we’ll bring it tomorrow night.’ I kind of brushed it away.”
He continues: “And then, that night, they performed it, and I’m like, ‘Now I understand what he was saying.’ Oh my God. I’ve never had a performance that literally sucked the air out of the room. Normally your brain and your mind and your body resets during a commercial break. Yeah, no, there was no resetting. That performance hung over the rest of the show. It just did. It was all anybody could talk about. It changed the room for the rest of the show.”
It’s one of many moments Deaton is proud of, and he’s hoping this year’s show can have similar energy. Stapleton will open with Post Malone and other performers include Luke Combs, Kacey Musgraves, Shaboozey, Brooks & Dunn with Jelly Roll, Dierks Bentley, and Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan. George Strait will receive the 2024 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award and Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson will host the event, airing live on ABC from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Before rising to executive producer, Deaton worked at the CMA Awards as creative producer and TV chair. He’s also a five-time Grammy nominee who has directed music videos for Reba McEntire and Martina McBride, he produced the Billboard Music Awards and even earned two Sports Emmys for his work on Monday Night Football. This year’s awards marks his 50th event for the Country Music Association.
“I’m really proud and I’m really blessed and I love these people,” he tells THR. “I also think that this year is such an exciting time to be in country music.”
In an interview, he talks about loving Post Malone’s country album, Eric Church’s planned tribute to North Carolina and why Beyoncé — who was heavily snubbed at the CMA Awards — is always welcomed to the show.
You mentioned that this is an exciting time in country music — can you elaborate on that?
I feel like there’s been so many doors that are opening in the best possible way. Country music, we’re always best when we’re a lot of different things. It’s like back in the ‘50s and ‘60s — we could be Merle Haggard, but we could also be Eddy Arnold and we could also be Charley Pride. And those were all different sounds and different artists. [Now] we’ve got Luke Combs, but we also got Shaboozey. And Shaboozey, that’s not a one-hit thing. This is an artist that’s going to be around for a long time, and to be able to support him is really important. And then you got Jelly Roll — he’s our Johnny Cash.
I know that some people might look at it as confusing and negative, and I do not. I think we embrace technology, we embrace artists and how they get here because everyone gets here differently now. But I think it’s super-positive, and I think we adapt to change because I look at the show and I’m really proud of it. Megan Moroney, look what she’s done in two years. That ascendance would not have happened 10 years ago. She’s on a rocket ship. Then of course, we got Ms. Lainey…
Usually entertainer of the year winners are artists who have been doing it much longer than Lainey, and her win changed my perception of that award…
Right. And isn’t that a nice change? To me, that’s progress, in my opinion. Because here’s the thing, whether you like it or not, you got to adjust. But everything’s faster now. And everyone’s life is faster. And that win last year, that was incredible for one thing. Let’s honor these artists now.
We are reinventing ourselves, but we’re taking a page from the past history because that’s what it was in the ‘70s and the ‘80s — real artists doing their own individual thing but it all fits under what we call the umbrella of country music.
Post Malone and Chris Stapleton are opening the show with “California Sober” — what can we expect?
I love that record, the Post album. I was on vacation and I was working out and I decided to listen to the whole thing, both albums. And I’m like, “My goodness gracious.” First of all, the album with all the collabs is amazing, and it’s the country music that I grew up with, and I love that. On the second album, the one that doesn’t have the collabs, there’s a track on there, and I’m like, “Man, bro, you are channeling Bob Wills.” I wanted to jump up and down for joy. So when I heard “California Sober” … I was like, “Oh, we got to do this” because Post is the story of the year, in our format, and then Chris has never opened the show before. Post came in, made a country record, but gosh, he’s exposed so many people that may not have ever known of any of our artists, he gave them more exposure, and I think we’re gaining fans because of it. And I feel like that’s what we have to be able to do. Listen, I’ve always felt like we should have open arms. I think acceptance is better.
With that in mind, Beyoncé had one of the biggest country albums of the year with Cowboy Carter but was heavily snubbed. What are your thoughts on that?
I don’t ever comment on whether someone’s nominated or not, whether it’s Beyoncé or whether it’s Miranda Lambert, for example. Honestly, here’s the thing, I kind of look at myself as a football coach, it’s like, “What’s the team?” I’ve got to coach the team that I have. And now, is Beyoncé invited? Always, with open arms. Completely open arms. And by the way, I absolutely loved working with her. That was my idea seven years ago [when she performed at the 2016 CMA Awards]. I was in Los Angeles and I was prepping for the Billboard Music Awards and Beyoncé dropped that album (Lemonade). I didn’t know anybody in that camp. I got the publicist and the manager’s name and I sent an email, introduced myself, and I didn’t hear anything back until, I think, it was probably September. It was so funny because they answered the email like I had just sent the email the previous day. It was hilarious. And I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I had forgotten that I even sent the email.” And they were like, “Hey, we like this idea that you had. Let’s talk about it.”
We went through the whole thing and we got The Chicks involved, which was awesome, and it was great to have them back. I love that performance. I thought it was so fantastic, and she was so lovely. It was interesting though. The manager said, “Have you met Beyoncé yet?” And I’m like, “No. I was making sure that she’s not overwhelmed and getting her bearings.” And he’s like, “No, no, come up onstage.” So we went up there and I met her, and she was great, and she was so warm and nice. So, we were walking back to the producer’s table with the manager, and he goes, “OK, so here’s the thing. She knows you now.” I’m like, “OK.” He’s like, “So therefore you don’t have to go between anybody, you don’t have to ask me or anybody on her team. You got anything you want to do, change, anything that you want to talk creatively with her about, she knows you now, just go right up and talk to her.”
It was awesome. I can only tell you what I feel and what I have in my heart, OK? So, I’m watching the performance go down that night, I see all the cameras, I got 17 cameras, I got a big huge monitor backstage at my producer’s table. I’m looking at all the cutaways of everybody, and you should have seen Faith Hill’s face. It was awesome. And her performance was awesome. And I would say that, and they know this, I’ve talked to Beyoncé’s manager, I don’t know, I think three times since that album came out, and they know that they are always welcome. She is always welcome to come on this show. Again, let’s be inclusive. And I can only talk to what I can do. I can only talk to what I know that is in my heart. It’s always better when we’re inclusive. And I feel like we are just scratching the surface here.
When you say there’s always an invitation for Beyoncé, is that to attend or perform?
I told them way back in June, or before June, when the album [Cowboy Carter] came out. I said, “Hey, listen, I know that what y’all do is different,” and it should be, by the way, she’s Beyoncé. Because in the last few albums, she hasn’t done the typical [promotion], even with the pop stuff, she doesn’t do the typical promotion. It’s like, she’s Beyoncé, she doesn’t have to go do late-night television, you know what I’m saying? How she promotes her music is different. But I had a conversation with her manager, and said, “Look, I’m just letting you know, the arms are open wide for her, if she wants to perform, if she wants to attend. Whatever she would like to do, I want you to know that the welcome mat is at the front door.” So they know that. We had lovely conversations with her manager. I will say this — I had a wonderful time working with her, and again, I loved the performance. It was my idea to invite her in the first place. And let me tell you something, talk about work ethic. Woohie. That work ethic is next-level. I think they rehearsed for seven days in L.A. Like everybody. Full band. Dancing. Everything.
The 2001 CMAs took place two months after 9/11 and Alan Jackson performed “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” What do you remember about that moment?
This is a funny story. I was the TV chairman then and I’m driving into work and I get a call from [Sony]. “Alan Jackson has got a song that he wants to play us.” Keep in mind, we were already in production, we are close to the awards and we already know what Alan is performing. They play “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” The song is over, and Walter [Miller, former CMA Awards EP] and I and Ed [Benson, former CMA chief], we all look at each other and I think I said, “Well, obviously we have to do this song.” It was the right thing to say at the right time. I would say if you were going to pick five of the biggest things that’s ever been on the CMA Awards in its 58 years, that’s in the top five.
Eric Church has raised millions for Hurricane Helene relief and you both are from North Carolina. How do you plan to honor storm victims at the awards?
This one is really dear to my heart, and for a number of reasons. I am so proud of him. We love our state and we love our people. And I am so proud of him and Luke Combs because what happened in Asheville, North Carolina, and that whole region is devastating. It’s Katrina-level. Eric and I started talking and he’s recorded this song, “Darkest Hour,” and he has given all the proceeds, for perpetuity, to the citizens of North Carolina. And Eric asked me what were the chances of him doing it at the CMA Awards — and again, no brilliance on my part, I just had to be smart enough to say yes. It’s more than just a performance for us. This is who we are. This is where we’re from. And hopefully we can raise more awareness because this is not going away.
