Dasha threw an epic dance party at the 2024 CMT Music Awards with a performance of her breakout hit, “Austin.” On Sunday evening (April 7), the buzzed-about viral star tipped her hat to the Live Music Capital of the World and had the Moody Center shaking with her massive dance craze.
Surrounded by nearly a dozen dancers, Dasha, donning an all blue jean ensemble complete with silver sparkles and a D belt buckle, dominated the stage and proved to be a future country superstar.
Ahead of Dasha’s performance, she sat down with Music Mayhem to chat about the opportunity to perform at the CMT Music Awards.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to perform. I’m so incredibly grateful to CMT for believing in me, my music, and making my first time in Austin so iconic,” the California native previously shared. At the time, she also vowed that she would transport viewers to the honky tonk with a dance party, and she certainly lived up to those promises.
She also spoke with the CMT Music Awards producers during rehearsals, where she opened up about the moment she was invited to perform on the awards show.
“My team called me, and I was just landed in la I was just signed to Warner, and it was like the whole whirlwind of that week. And then they called me, and they’re like, you’re playing CMTs. And I was like, you’re kidding me right now,” Dasha explained. “I mean, it’s just the fact that usually they’re not in Austin, but this year they are in Austin. My song’s called Austin. I’m finally on the map. It’s just like everything aligns so perfectly. It’s like’s kind of hilarious. If you think about it. It’s eight dancers. It is a full-blown dance performance. I’m on my Britney era country. Britney’s coming out. Yeah. I’m just really excited for everything, and it’s very clean, and we’re ready.”
“Austin” Sparked A Viral Dance Trend
The track sparked a worldwide phenomenon with a trending TikTok line dance that has over 600,000 unique videos created to date. Not only did the tune put Dasha on the map, but it also marked her debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned her a record deal with Warner and a performance slot of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, marking her television performance debut.
“Oh, that was nuts. I was on my way to LA for what I thought was a crazy week already. I was going to be signing with Warner and performing on Jimmy Kimmel in a matter of 24 hours [and] I landed in LA and got the phone call from my team that it had hit the top 100, and I truly couldn’t believe how everything was happening so quickly. It feels like a dream I never want to wake up from,” Dasha said, reacting to the success of the song.
Co-written by Dasha alongside Adam Wendler, Chey Rose, Dasha & Travis Heidelman, “Austin” appears on her debut country album, What Happens Now?, which arrived in February of 2024.
2024 CMT Music Awards
The 2024 CMT Music Awards also featured performances by Jelly Roll, Bailey Zimmerman, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Sam Hunt, Cody Johnson, Dasha, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney, Trisha Yearwood and more.
The fan-voted awards show included a star-studded list of one-of-a-kind collaborations and memorable moments. Parker McCollum teamed up with Brittney Spencer to perform “Burn It Down,” while Old Dominion and Megan Moroney joined forces to deliver a performance of their fan-favorite duet, “Can’t Break Up Now.”
Meanwhile, NEEDTOBREATHE and Jordan Davis gave fans a taste of what’s to come on their episode of CMT Crossroads and Sugarland reunited to premiere a brand-new collaboration with Little Big Town, marking the duo’s return to the CMT Music Awards and their first time performing together on the show since 2011.
The three-hour broadcast also honored late country music icon, Toby Keith, with an emotional tribute performance from Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson, Sammy Hagar, all backed by Toby Keith’s longtime band. Lukas Nelson and Rogers Clemens also made special appearances during the tribute.
Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, Amber Riley, Billy Bob Thornton (Landman), Carly Pearce, Cody Alan, Cody Johnson, Emily Osment (Young Sheldon), Emma Roberts, Gayle King (CBS Mornings), James Van Der Beek, Jane Seymour, Jelly Roll, Max Theriot (Fire Country), Melissa Etheridge, Mickey Guyton, Minnie Driver, Montana Jordan (Young Sheldon), Parmalee and Paul Walter Hauser served as presenters during the coveted awards show.
Hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, the 2024 CMT Music Awards aired live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, April 7 at 8/7c on CBS. The show is also available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
