The singer-songwriter and the queens performed “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” on Sunday
Kelsea Ballerini, who co-hosted the 2023 CMT Music Awards, and a quartet of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens took the stage on Sunday to perform her hit single “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).”
Standing in front of a white picket fence backdrop with her pink guitar in hand, Ballerini sang, “Cause dirt on you is dirt on me/And we both know our hands ain’t clean/If it all blows up and we end up on the news/If you go down/I’m goin’ down too.” Soon, she was joined by Jan Sport, Olivia Lux, Manila Luzon, and Kennedy Davenport — who also made an appearance on the red carpet that evening.
Earlier on Sunday, Austin’s Statesman asked if the group had advice for Texas drag queens impacted by the state’s anti-drag show ban. “Continue to be your authentic self,” said Davenport. “We’re still motivating young people, we’re still inspiring them, we’re still lifting them up because at the end of the day, we have a calling and we have a job as drag queens.”
Before the show began, Ballerini paid tribute to the Nashville shooting victims. “I pray — deeply — that closeness and community we feel for the next few hours of music can soon turn into action, like real action, that moves us forward together to create change for the safety of our kids and our loved ones,” said the artist.
The show saw Hardy’s “Wait in the Truck” featuring Lainey Wilson take home Collaborative Video of the Year, and Megan Moroney take the trophy for Breakthrough Female Video of the Year for her single “Tennessee Orange.” Jelly Roll’s “Son of a Sinner” won Breakthrough Male Video of the Year and Breakthrough Male Video of the Year.