The show must go on! Lady A announced that they will no longer be performing at the 2020 Country Music Association Awards after one of their family members tested positive for COVID-19.
The country group shared the news an hour before the awards show was set to begin in Nashville on Wednesday, November 11.
“Taking a look back at last year’s CMA Awards and all the fun that we have every year getting to hang out with our country music family,” the group captioned two photos on Instagram. “Sadly, one of our immediate family members has just tested positive for COVID-19 this week.”
The trio, which is made up of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, explained that “so far, the three of us continue to test negative [but] out of caution and love for everyone involved with the CMAs, we’ve decided to stay home.”
The 54th annual CMA Awards is the first awards show of the year to be filmed with a live audience and musicians in attendance amid the coronavirus pandemic. All other shows have been held virtually or without fans.
The group said they are “bummed” that they won’t be joining Darius Rucker and Thomas Rhett on stage as previously planned.
Kelley, 39, however, pre-taped his performance with Carly Pearce, so fans will get to watch that when the show airs.
“We’ll be cheering on our friends at home like the rest of y’all! Stay safe out there 💛💛,” they concluded.
Pearce, 30, was originally set to share the stage with Lee Brice, but he had to cancel because he tested positive for the virus earlier this week.
“I almost wrecked my car,” the “Every Little Thing” singer told Taste of Country on Tuesday, November 10, after hearing the news. “I was just like, ‘What is happening?’”
Fellow country artist Tyler Hubbard also had to skip the show due to a positive test result.
Earlier this week, Hubbard, 33, sparked rumors that he and Florida Georgia Line bandmate Brian Kelley had a fallout after he unfollowed him on social media. Hubbard’s wife, Hayley Hubbard, also unfollowed the musician.
The country crooner has since begun following Brian again after some fans speculated that the two had issues due to their differing political views.
Lady A, for their part, got into hot water earlier this year when they changed their name from Lady Antebellum to their new moniker due to its connection with slavery.
The trio faced backlash from blues singer Lady A, who has been performing under the name for decades, when they announced the change in June. The singer, whose real name is Anita White, slammed the group for stealing her name.
The musicians tried to find “common ground,” but weeks later, the group filed a lawsuit against White, 62, in order to use the name Lady A and make sure it doesn’t go against her “alleged trademark rights.”
The blues singer commented on the drama surrounding the group in statement to Us Weekly in July. “It is now clear that their apologies, friendly texts, and playing on my love of God were just insincere gestures aimed at quieting me,” she said. “Well, I will not be quiet any longer. I have worked too long and too hard to just give my name away.”
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