Miranda Lambert Delivers Heartfelt ‘Settling Down’ at 2020 CMA Awards
Miranda Lambert chose her intimate and reflective new single, "Settling Down," for her performance at the 2020 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 11). The song comes off her Wildcard record, and is the singer's meditation on finding balance between her wandering ways and the kind of place (and person) that makes her want to stay put for a while.
Looking tan and rested from her extended break off the road due to the ongoing pandemic, Lambert went and served up an easygoing rendition of the laid-back single. Donning a short dress and with her blond hair parted simply in the middle, Lambert smiled throughout the performance, even throwing an "I Love You Nat" shoutout to songwriter Natalie Hemby at the end of the song. Lambert co-wrote "Settling Down" alongside Hemby and fellow songwriter Luke Dick.
As intimate as Lambert's performance of the song was, fans have recently seen "Settling Down" in an even more personal light, with the release of the song's music video. The singer enlisted her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, to co-star in the clip, which they filmed on the couple's Tennessee farm.
It's the first time Lambert's ever had a love interest in a music video, but it should come as no surprise that she's eager to brag on her man. The singer's penchant for sharing shirtless photos of McLoughlin on social media is well-documented, much to fans' delight (and, sometimes, her husband's good-natured chagrin). Of course, a couple of shirtless shots are included in the "Settling Down" video, which also shows the couple cuddled up in a hammock, hanging out by a pond and just spending time together on their property.
In addition to performing at the 2020 CMAs, Lambert was up for a whopping seven nominations, the most of any artist this year. In fact, she's now the most-nominated female artist in the awards show's history, breaking Reba McEntire's record by four mentions with a total of 55 career nominations to date.
Lambert walked into Wednesday night's show with three nominations for her single, "Bluebird," in the categories of Song, Single and Music Video of the Year, the latter of which she won early. Her "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" performance with 2019 tourmates Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde and more also gained her a mention in the Musical Event of the Year category, and she was also nominated for Album of the Year (for Wildcard) and Female Vocalist of the Year.
But Lambert's biggest potential win of the night was in the Entertainer of the Year category, the CMA's highest honor. That category ultimately went to Eric Church.