The 55th Annual CMA Awards were not only about giving out trophies, but it was about the music and several artists put their best foot forward showcasing just what makes their songs connect with fans worldwide.

Eric Church blew the doors off of the Bridgestone Arena with his flaming performance of his latest single, “Heart On Fire.”

Chris Stapleton turned in a soulful and off-the-charts performance with his song, “Cold,” from his CMA Award-winning Album of the Year, Starting Over.

Chris also hit the stage with the fabulous Oscar-winning actress and singer, Jennifer Hudson, that just about brought the house down with a medley of “Night Life” and “You Are My Sunshine.” “Night Life” was written by Willie Nelson and recorded by numerous artists such as Ray Price, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who JHud plays in the feature film, RESPECT, released nationwide this past August.

Mickey Guyton joined forces with Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards to perform “Love My Hair” from her Remember Her Name album. The song was introduced by young Faith Fennidy, who was sent home from school three years ago when she was told her braids were distracting and who inspired the song.

Keith Urban performed his latest single, “Wild Hearts,” which he co-wrote with Brad Tursi of Old Dominion, Eric Paslay and Jennifer Wayne and dedicated to all of the “born-to-be rock stars” and all of the dreamers.

Brothers Osborne performed “Younger Me,” which was inspired by their younger selves. The song’s video was nominated for CMA Video of the Year.

CMA Awards show host Luke Bryan performed his latest, “Up,” and ended the show with his No. 1 “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” with several folks dancing with the same sentiment.

Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean took to the stage to perform their recent two-week chart-topper, “If I Didn’t Love You.”