{"id":15685,"date":"2019-06-05T06:47:36","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T12:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1807256"},"modified":"2019-06-05T06:47:36","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T12:47:36","slug":"the-seat-filler-diaries-what-its-really-like-to-sit-with-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/music-news\/the-seat-filler-diaries-what-its-really-like-to-sit-with-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seat-Filler Diaries: What It\u2019s Really Like to Sit with Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span> 1h ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

Eight years ago this this week, Alison Bonaguro took a seat inside the artist section at the CMT Music Awards. Today, as all the country fans and county stars get ready to head into the Bridgestone Arena for tonight\u2019s show, we\u2019re sharing her archived story about what can happen when you sign up to be a seat filler. This year\u2019s CMT Music Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville on Wednesday night (June 5) at 8 p.m. ET.<\/em><\/p>\n

My eyes should have been glued to the stage at the CMT Music Awards<\/em>, but instead I had the chance to be a seat filler. You know, the ones who go sit where Shania Twain was sitting when she left her seat to go present an award? Since I had this view of all the singers and bands, that\u2019s what I watched instead. Like how Gary LeVox\u2019s daughter seemed a little antsy knowing that Justin Bieber was just three seats away. Even American Idol<\/em> runner-up Lauren Alaina seemed a little giddy when Bieber was having his picture taken below the seats, and she kept peeking over the wall to watch.<\/p>\n

I noticed how chummy Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman seemed with Sugarland. And frankly, with each other. Watching them talk and laugh and hold hands made me want to fall in love all over again. I watched how protective LeVox was with Bieber, keeping his arm around him in a half-dad, half-bodyguard kind of way. I noticed that when The Band Perry was singing \u201cYou Lie,\u201d Urban, Kristian Bush and Shania Twain\u2019s husband Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Thi\u00e9baud were dancing in their seats a little. Then when Luke Bryan performed \u201cCountry Girl (Shake It for Me),\u201d Lady Antebellum\u2019s Charles Kelley and his wife Cassie stood and danced the entire time. That was the same treatment they gave to Colt Ford and Dallas Davidson when they did \u201cCountry Thang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Busey stood for the first half of Big & Rich\u2019s performance, then sat back down maybe when he realized he was the only one on his feet. The Band Perry seemed to love Zac Brown Band\u2019s performance, because I saw them all tapping their feet and doing that upper-body dance you do when you\u2019re sitting down. Then when Sugarland did their big anthem, \u201cStand Up,\u201d Little Big Town actually did and brought the rest of the stars to their feet.<\/p>\n

A few stars were yawning, texting, chit-chatting and having their drinks refilled by the talent escorts, but I won\u2019t name names. For the most part, the stars seemed to love the show as much as the fans.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some of what I saw:<\/p>\n

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