Kelsea Ballerini Tests Positive For COVID, Won't Host CMT Music Awards In Person

Kelsea Ballerini will not be hosting this year's CMT Music Awards in person as she has been tested positive for COVID.

She has received several nominations for the CMT Music Awards over the last few years. This year, she gained three nominations for Video of the Year, Collaborative Video of the Year, and CMT Performance of the Year.

Ballerini took to Instagram to share the sad news of her unintended absence at the ceremony while apologizing to her fans and hoping they had a good time.

The two-time Grammy nominee made a collaborative post with CBS, explaining in a video why she would not grace the show in the flesh. She wrote in the caption, "[lemon emoji] @cmt awards update [lemon emoji]."

Ballerini began, "Alright, friends, I have some bad news, and I have some good news. The bad news is that a couple of days ago, I tested positive for COVID and the CMT Awards are tonight, so, unfortunately, I cannot be there in person anymore."

The songwriter felt "devastated and gutted" but still had good news to share with her amazing fans as she felt healthy enough to host compared to when she initially caught the virus.

She continued, "The good news is that I'm feeling a lot better, and the incredible CMT family and my team and have brought part of the CMT set to my house, to my little bubble, and set it up to where I can still host and perform."

The changed plans were not deliberate or expected, and her team, in conjunction with the media company, was doing all they could to ensure a perfect event.

The "Dibs" soloist further stated, "I will still see you tonight on the awards, and let's make some lemonade together out of these very bitter lemons."

Her concluding words were, "Um yeah, guys, I'm so sorry but have so much fun for me if you're going to the show, and if you're watching on TV, I will see you there." The video ended with her blowing a kiss to viewers.

The blonde-haired beauty's post gained thousands of views and reactions, including encouraging words from celebrities like Erin Oprea, Mackenzie Porter, Carly Pearce, John Shearer, and Leslie Fram.

Her fans believed she would still do a great job hosting the program away from its venue, and they could not wait to see her on TV.

One supporter called her an amazing woman for showing up for the country music fans even though she did not have to. Others wished her the best regarding her health.  

The 2022 ceremony will be the second CMT event the country-pop singer will host, but the first she will present from the comfort of her home.

In a previous report by The Blast, she was set to host alongside Anthony Mackie, who would be making his first appearance as a host of the program.

However, this will not be Mackie's first time on the CMT stage, as he presented the Video of the Year award to Carrie Underwood last year. Ballerini was pretty excited to work with the actor, as she previously mentioned:

"I'm thrilled to be returning as host at this year's CMT Awards with Anthony Mackie! This award show is always a special one, as it revolves around the fans and celebrates their favorite artists."

Last month, The Blast shared details of the 2022 CMT Music Awards, which will feature performances from numerous famous stars in the country music industry.

The artists were set to perform at The Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, and among the performers was Ballerini, who is also competing with equally talented singers in three categories.

The former co-host of the ceremony, Kane Brown, has the highest nominations this year. His nominations include Video of the Year, two places for CMT Performance of the Year, and Male Video of the Year.

On the other hand, the "Peter Pan" vocalist and several other country music stars, including Breland, Cody Johnson, and Mickey Guyton, were nominated in three categories, following Brown's four nominations.

Breland and Johnson were nominated for the first time this year, and they expressed their excitement in hearing the good news.

This year's CMT Music Awards is expected to be the most unforgettable one yet, as it will be packed with the best performances and collaborations from far and wide.