Country Music Awards 2021 marks the return of the red carpet as Chris Stapleton wins big

Jennifer Hudson, Susan Sarandon, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Nicole Kidman were all there

Lauren Daigle arrives for the 55th annual Country Music Awards on Wednesday, November 10, at the Bridgestone Arena in Tennessee, US. AP Photo

Nicole Kidman, left, and Keith Urban arrive at the 55th annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo / Ed Rode)

'Roar' singer Katy Perry. AP Photo

Jennifer Hudson. AP Photo

American singer Hillary Scott with husband Chris Tyrrell. AP Photo

American singe Charles Kelley with wife Cassie McConnell. AP Photo

Brothers Osborne music duo T J Osborne, right, and John Osborne. Reuters

Singer Tyler Hubbard with wife Hayley Stommel. AP Photo

Dan Smyers, right, with partner Abby Smyers. AP Photo

Country singer Maren Morris with husband Ryan Hurd. AP Photo

'Feeling Things' singer Ingrid Andress. AP Photo

American country music singer and songwriter Chris Young. Reuters

Singer Jordan Davis with spouse Kristen O'Connor. AP Photo

American musician Jenee Fleenor. Getty Images / AFP

Singer Jimmie Allen, left, with dancer Emma Slater. Reuters

Singer Morgane Stapleton with wife Chris Stapleton. Reuters

Lead crooner of The Night Game, Martin Johnson, with singer wife Naomi Cooke. AP Photo

Brittney Spencer, from left, Mickey Guyton and Madeline Edwards. AP Photo

Zac Brown Band. Reuters

American music artist Darius Rucker. Getty Images / AFP

Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town. Getty Images / AFP

Singer Jason Aldean with wife Brittany Kerr. AP Photo

Fiery performances and nods to diversity gave the 55th Annual Country Music Association Awards renewed energy as the event came back to a live audience for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Chris Stapleton picked up four awards including Male Vocalist of the Year, Luke Combs took home the top Entertainer of the Year award, and I Hope You're Happy Now singer Carly Pearce won Female Vocalist of the Year.

Jennifer Hudson, who portrayed Aretha Franklin in the movie Respect, performed a rousing tribute to the legendary vocalist to celebrate her connection to country music, while Eric Church gave a blistering performance of country-rock track Heart on Fire, which ended with the stage floor bracketed in rows of flames.

See more photos from the night below:

The evening marked a pandemic-era comeback after last year's CMAs, when there was no traditional red carpet, only some guests were allowed inside the venue and several performers dropped out owing to positive Covid-19 cases.

Diversity also won big

This year, the awards relished the return of spectators at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.

"We have fans!" cheered Luke Bryan, the ceremony's host.

The show took on a range of issues from gender and racial equality to LGBT acceptance.

"You can't be a dude doing all these intros yourself in 2021!" artist Elle King told Bryan as she came on to introduce the Zac Brown Band. "This isn't the 1994 CMAs."

New Artist of the Year nominee Mickey Guyton joined Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards for an empowering performance of Guyton's song, Love My Hair. Faith Fennidy, a black girl sent home from her Louisiana school in 2018 because her braids were not allowed by school policy, introduced the trio.

"This next artist created this song to make sure girls like me feel seen and loved," Fennidy said. "And that's how you turn something very painful into something very positive."

The New Artist of the Year award went to recent Dancing With the Stars contestant Jimmie Allen from Delaware, who spoke through tears about the adversity he faced after moving to Nashville to make it as a singer.

"After 10 years of being here, living in my car, living in a trailer, working every job, this is amazing," he said.