CMT Awards

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: Everything’s coming up roses for Carrie Underwood. After stealing the Linda Ronstadt tribute during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, which aired on HBO over the weekend, the former American Idol champ took home her third straight and fifth overall Video of the Year award last night at the CMT Music Awards. The latest win, for “See You Again,” gives Underwood a record 11 belt buckles. She also teamed with Miranda Lambert on a show-stopping performance of their recorded duet "Somethin' Bad." Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line won Collaboration of the Year for "This Is How We Roll" and another belt buckle apiece. The song occasioned a mash-up as the show’s opening number when Bryan and FGL were joined by ZZ Top, who broke out their boogie classic “LaGrange,” and, more improbably, Jason Derulo, who led a multi-genre all-star sing-along on the chorus hook of “Talk Dirty.” Bryan and the duo also starred in a taped spoof of the Jay Z-Solange elevator dust-up. Later in the show, John Legend joined Jennifer Nettles and Hunter Hayes on a twanged-up reimagining of his smash "All of Me," while Halestorm’s Lizzy Hale italicized the hard-rock side of Eric Church on "That's Damn Rock & Roll," on which Church also rapped. It was that kind of night. (6/5a)