There were several artists during the recently held CMA Awards night who missed out on parts of the events such as walking the red carpet. But there are also those who were not able to attend the show at all. Three of the biggest names in country music were absentees at the event of the year held Wednesday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. To note, all of them are former winners of the Entertainer of the Year award. What could be the reason for their absence? Find out below.

Kenny Chesney

The “Get Along” singer was nominated in two categories at the 2018 CMA Awards, namely Musical Event of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. He won the first title along with David Lee Murphy for their collaborative record “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” Ahead of the show, their win was broadcast on Good Morning America on Wednesday morning. The singer took to Twitter to share the good news to his fans and followers.

“Sometimes you hear songs & they just feel good. Occasionally one that feels good says something that people need to hear,” Kenny wrote in the post. “That’s how I felt about Everything’s Gonna Be Alright when I heard it. Proud to have been part of this with my friend.”

It was just heartbreaking to know of his loss of a family member making him unable to attend the ceremony. Hours before the program, CMA posted a tweet on this saying,

“@KennyChesney will be unable to appear on tonight’s telecast due to a death in the family.”

Supportive as they are, fans were prompt in sending their sympathy and prayers for the singer and his family.

Kenny Chesney is a four-time CMA Entertainer of the Year title-holder.

Vince Gill

He was set to render a special performance at the CMA Awards. However, the country music legend was not able to make it as he was in the hospital at that time. Vince Gill was slated to perform a tribute for the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Skaggs. Sadly, the talented and multi-awarded singer fell ill and needed to undergo medical treatment. On the red carpet, before the live show kicked off, T.J. Osborne informed Kellie Pickler and Ben Aaron about this.

“I don’t know if the Ricky Skaggs thing has been announced or not, but John is going to be sitting in with Ricky Skaggs and Keith Urban.”

John Osborne explained further,

“Vince Gill is unfortunately in the hospital. He has a kidney stone.”

Thankfully, Keith Urban, who was later crowned as the Entertainer of the Year winner, was more than prepared to take in Gill’s place. As Skaggs confirmed, this made for a fun evening at the CMA Awards.

Photo credit: @jeffjohnsonimages/Vince Gill/Facebook

Blake Shelton

While most of the brightest country music stars graced the celebrated event last Wednesday night, The Voice coach Blake Shelton was notably missing. Given that his fans see him regularly on The Voice, they quickly noticed his absence at the CMA. Probably, fans thought at first that he just skipped the red carpet just like some of his co-stars did. But the “I’ll Name the Dogs” singer was nowhere to find throughout the event.

The 2012 Entertainer of the Year awardee was not nominated for any of the Awards’ categories. Additionally, he wasn’t slated to perform at the show. While the singer has yet to release a statement, it’s certain that these are not the main reasons for his absence from the event.

Earlier this month, Shelton attended the People’s Choice Awards where he and pal Cal Daly accepted the Best Competition Show of 2018 trophy. Apart from attending to some work-related commitments, the singer has to spend some private moments with girlfriend Gwen Stefani, too. Most probably, the singer’s busy schedule prevented him from joining the show.

All the congratulations to #OpryMember @blakeshelton for winning @peopleschoice Award for #TheCountryArtist of 2018 last night! ??? #PCAs pic.twitter.com/i3wHkn4xfk

— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) November 12, 2018