Country music artists cried together and prayed together at an emotional CMT Artists of the Year awards show that reflected the tight-knit community of artists who supported each other through success and loss.
Country singer Kane Brown, who was one of several artists of the year honored at Wednesday's show in Nashville, Tennessee, struggled through tears and dedicated his award to his longtime drummer Kenny Dixon, who died in a car accident over the weekend.
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Country music artists cried together and prayed together at an emotional CMT Artists of the Year awards show that reflected the tight-knit community of artists who supported each other through success and loss.
He ended his speech by asking the country artists in the room to "stay safe."
She said it took "guts" for Rhett to pray during a live television event, and said, "That's what we need in this world, a little more God."
Ashley McBryde, who was honored as the breakout artist of the year, said on the red carpet prior to the show said the past year has moved fast since releasing her major label debut, "Girl Going Nowhere."
"You guys are the reason we get to do what we get to do and at the end of the day it all comes down to you coming to our shows and listening to our music," said Underwood.
"He started with me coming out of Chattanooga," Brown said of the 27-year-old musician. "He was with me the whole time. He was so supportive of me. And I love you, man, I miss you. The band misses you."
Kane Brown accepts the Artist of the Year Award at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al WagnerInvisionAP)
He ended his speech by asking the country artists in the room to "stay safe."
Another honoree, Thomas Rhett, said he was moved by Brown's appearance and asked the whole audience to stop and pray with him. "I don't know if this is very conventional, but can I just pray?" he said and led the audience in a prayer for the families of Brown and Dixon.
Country icon and actress Reba McEntire was given the artist of the lifetime award and was introduced by her longtime friend Vince Gill, who noted they had supported each other through divorces and deaths in their families and through tours and duets. McEntire, who lost eight members of her band in an airplane crash in 1991, called the awards show an "inspirational, emotional night."
Thomas Rhett, right, accepts his award from his wife, Lauren Akins, at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al WagnerInvisionAP)
She said it took "guts" for Rhett to pray during a live television event, and said, "That's what we need in this world, a little more God."
Dan + Shay, the Grammy-winning duo that is known for their heartfelt love songs inspired by their wives such as "Speechless" and their latest hit, "10,000 Hours" with Justin Bieber, were also honored as artists of the year. Shay Mooney of the duo said their wives are the "real stars."
"Country fans want to hear storytelling," said Dan Smyers of the duo. "They connect with the lyrics. They connect with the emotion."
Reba McEntire, left, accepts the Artist of a Lifetime award from Vince Gill at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al WagnerInvisionAP)
Ashley McBryde, who was honored as the breakout artist of the year, said on the red carpet prior to the show said the past year has moved fast since releasing her major label debut, "Girl Going Nowhere."
"So I do feel like it's a breakout year, but for CMT and my friends and peers to feel that way is a completely different feeling," said McBryde.
Two of the artists of the year honorees, Luke Combs and Carrie Underwood, were in the middle of touring and couldn't attend the show, but Underwood performed two songs live on the show via her tour stop in Cleveland, Ohio. She stopped her show to address fans in the venue and watching on TV.
Kane Brown receives Artist of the Year Award at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al WagnerInvisionAP)
"You guys are the reason we get to do what we get to do and at the end of the day it all comes down to you coming to our shows and listening to our music," said Underwood.
Combs, who broke out in 2017 with his massively popular debut album "This One's For You," also sent in a video message from his tour stop in Bozeman, Montana.
"The country music community as a whole has welcomed me with open arms, and it means a whole heckuva lot to me," said Combs.
Reba McEntire accepts the Artist of a Lifetime award at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al WagnerInvisionAP)
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Thomas Rhett performs at 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al WagnerInvisionAP)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution Thursday that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. U.S. allies France, Japan and South Korea supported the resolution.
The strong support the Palestinians received reflects not only the growing number of countries recognizing their statehood but almost certainly the global support for Palestinians facing a humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month.
The resolution would have recommended that the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized Palestine, so its admission would have been approved, likely by a much higher number of countries.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council that the veto “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties."
The United States has “been very clear consistently that premature actions in New York — even with the best intentions — will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people,” deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
His voice breaking at times, Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the council after the vote: “The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will and it will not defeat our determination.”
“We will not stop in our effort,” he said. “The state of Palestine is inevitable. It is real. Perhaps they see it as far away, but we see it as near.”
This is the second Palestinian attempt for full membership and comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.
They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state in 2012. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
Algerian U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council who introduced the resolution, called Palestine’s admission “a critical step toward rectifying a longstanding injustice" and said that “peace will come from Palestine’s inclusion, not from its exclusion.”
In explaining the U.S. veto, Wood said there are “unresolved questions” on whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a state. He pointed to Hamas still exerting power and influence in the Gaza Strip, which is a key part of the state envisioned by the Palestinians.
Wood stressed that the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace, is the only path for security for both sides and for Israel to establish relations with all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
“The United States is committed to intensifying its engagement with the Palestinians and the rest of the region, not only to address the current crisis in Gaza, but to advance a political settlement that will create a path to Palestinian statehood and membership in the United Nations,” he said.
Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, reiterated the commitment to a two-state solution but asserted that Israel believes Palestine "is a permanent strategic threat."
"Israel will do its best to block the sovereignty of a Palestinian state and to make sure that the Palestinian people are exiled away from their homeland or remain under its occupation forever,” he said.
He demanded of the council and diplomats crowded in the chamber: “What will the international community do? What will you do?”
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been stalled for years, and Israel’s right-wing government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the resolution “disconnected to the reality on the ground” and warned that it “will cause only destruction for years to come and harm any chance for future dialogue.”
Six months after the Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas militant group, which controlled Gaza, and the killing of 1,200 people in “the most brutal massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he accused the Security Council of seeking “to reward the perpetrators of these atrocities with statehood.”
Israel’s military offensive in response has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and destroyed much of the territory, which speaker after speaker denounced Thursday.
After the vote, Erdan thanked the United States and particularly President Joe Biden “for standing up for truth and morality in the face of hypocrisy and politics.”
He called the Palestinian Authority — which controls the West Bank and the U.S. wants to see take over Gaza where Hamas still has sway — “a terror supporting entity.”
The Israeli U.N. ambassador referred to the requirements for U.N. membership – accepting the obligations in the U.N. Charter and being a “peace-loving” state.
“How can you say seriously that the Palestinians are peace loving? How?” Erdan asked. “The Palestinians are paying terrorists, paying them to slaughter us. None of their leaders condemns terrorism, nor the Oct. 7 massacre. They call Hamas their brothers.”
Despite the Palestinian failure to meet the criteria for U.N. membership, Erdan said most council members supported it.
“It’s very sad because your vote will only embolden Palestinian rejectionism every more and make peace almost impossible,” he said.
Algeria's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Amar Bendjama speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour holds tears while speaking during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, left, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speak before a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood votes against resolution during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
