Underwood's moving rendition didn’t simply honor noteworthy individuals in the country music business who had passed away during the previous 12 months. It also included the names and faces of the 58 people who were murdered during the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on October 1. It was an urgent if unexpected reminder of the lives senselessly taken on that day, and of the hundreds of lives lost in random acts of brutal violence all around the country in recent years.
The impact in the theater translated right through the screen to the living rooms of people watching at home. (I'm curious to know if it was as profoundly felt by folks watching on phones or tablets.)
More than any other music genre, the people who work in the country music industry never forget that their fans are crucial to their success in many different ways, from buying albums to attending concerts to supporting country radio. This is always reflected in the annual CMA Awards.
That's why last year's telecast of this event shared the No. 1 spot (with Fox's telecast of the historic Game 7 of the World Series, at the end of which the Chicago Cubs won the Series for the first time since 1908) on my Top Shows of 2016 list.
A reminder: Despite all of the recent advances in technology, the presentation of programming of this kind (and the profound impact it has on millions of people all at once) is what broadcast television continues to do best.
Previously in the Top 25 Programs of 2017
House Hunters and All Things HGTV -- No. 20
Live with Kelly and Ryan -- No. 22
The Graham Norton Show-- No. 24