Little Big Town and 'Country Countdown USA' host Lon Helton have something in common.  They are both 2014 winners of CMA Awards.  Tonight at 7pm, you can share 3 hours with the reigning Vocal Group of the Year winners, Little Big Town on 98.1 Binghamton's Hawk.

On tonight's show, Lon started by saying, You looked surprised!  "We were, we were stunned, we're still stunned!"  Of course, after the awards, there are the post-awards parties.  Karen said, "We went to the Universal party to celebrate with our label-mates.  Lady Antebellum did a little karaoke.  Dave told us they rehearsed forever to sing all those 80s and 90s songs.  My favorite was when Darius Rucker went up and did 'No Diggity.'  That was awesome!  He killed that one."

People are still talking about LBT's CMA performance of "Day Drinking" with lighted suits.  Karen said, "Somebody from management had the idea of the lighted suits, and then we talked about doing a collaboration, and the producer suggested Ariana Grande, and she said yes.  It took three weeks to make those lighted suits.  They weren't doing well the morning of the show.  They flew the lighting tech in from Los Angeles at the last minute to make sure it came off right." Kimberly had this, "Right before we walked out, my right hip shorted out!  So we put black tape on my left hip to make them symmetrical.  It was crazy!  We couldn't bend over, we couldn't hug people, we couldn't sit down, it was like we were wired for bombs.  It was crazy!" So how'd it work? Karen said, "Our lighting director was running it off a laptop computer.  Just before we went on, he saw that his battery was at 13%.  Fortunately, someone found him an extension cord, but he was in a full body panic right before the show."

Two nights after the CMA Awards, Little Big Town was part of the CMA Country Christmas TV special.  "This year we did 'I Pray On Christmas,' and a duet with Michael W. Smith on 'Silent Night.'  It's like the shows we grew up on, the variety shows, where people sat around the TV and watched together.' Did you do anything else in the show? "We did the fireside chat, which was more like a bar chat.  We got dressed at the wrong time.  We dressed for Silent Night, and they told us we were singing the other song.  So we ran back to change clothes.  You won't see it on the TV show, but the crowd in the arena probably wondered why there was a long break." The CMA Country Christmas airs December 1st on ABC-TV.

Little Big Town spent most of last year and the first part of this year on the road with Keith Urban.  Phillip had this to say about Keith: "He eats pasta before the show.  Pre-show pasta!  He needs a lot of energy.  It's a carb load.  Totally athletic, because he's really in shape."  Karen added, "The thing that shocked me was how thoughtful he is.  I don't know how he does it.  He never misses a birthday.  He never misses a big moment.  He's always thinking about other people.  He did a video for the Opry induction.  I don't know how he has time.  I wonder if he's like Jimmy Fallon who writes thank you notes on his show."

More great stories this week include LBT's memories from the George Strait Cowboy Rides Away Tour, mentoring on The Voice with Blake Shelton, and their invitation to the Grand Ole Opry.  Plus, which member of the group takes charge when they go out to dinner?  Find out tonight at 7 on 98.1 The Hawk or listen live on 981thehawk.com from 7-10pm.

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