Mark Seliger/ABCWhen Carrie Underwood hosts tonight’s 53rd CMA Awards, she’ll be doing it with two of her heroes, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.
Since Reba and Carrie are from the same part of the country, she was a significant inspiration for the girl who would go on to win American Idol.
“Reba’s from Oklahoma,” Carrie tells ABC Audio. “She’s from a very small town that’s not too far away from where I grew up. And she’s one of the women that made me feel like I could do this, too, because we were from similar places.”
“And obviously, she’s gorgeous, she’s talented,” the twelve-time CMA host adds, going on to point out that Reba and Dolly are much more than just extraordinary vocalists.
“Both her and Dolly are artists that are beyond just being a country music singer. They both act. They both have many endeavors in, you know, fashion, in charity, in Dollywood!” Carrie laughs. “They both have a lot of irons in the fire.”
The “Love Wins” hitmaker admits she still works to pattern herself after the two Country Music Hall of Famers.
“Both of them are people that I’ve tried to take cues from,” she explains, “and be like, ‘How did they just become beyond, you know, and really get to do whatever whatever they want?'”
“Because they commit to it and they do it well,” Carrie says, answering her question.
Tune in to watch Carrie, Reba, and Dolly as they host the most female-centric CMA Awards in the history of Country Music’s Biggest Night.
All three will each do solo performances, as well as being part of the epic all-girl open of the show. The action starts at 8 p.m. ET, live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on ABC.
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