Why Chris Young Put The Spotlight On Military, Veterans During CMA Awards

The 55th annual CMA Awards show was packed with tons of incredible moments on Wednesday night (November 10), and Chris Young noted an “emotional high” that stood out among the rest.

Young — who also took the stage that night with Kane Brown to perform “Famous Friends” — joined host Luke Bryan on stage to take a moment to spotlight the military: “Generosity takes on many forms, from small acts of kindness to bravely serving our country,” he said, calling service members “pillars of our community, and (they) deserve to be celebrated.” The “Raised on Country” singer announced during the CMA Awards that Crown Royal teamed up with the NFL Salute to Service and its nonprofit Bob Woodruff Foundation to make a donation for every attendee at the show, earning a standing ovation from the crowd.

Young caught up with iHeartRadio on Veterans Day (November 11) to share why it was important for him to give back during country’s biggest night:

“It’s just an incredible thing to be a part of. I was so honored to be asked. They could ask anybody to do this. I thought it was a really amazing thing…being able to make a moment in that night about thanking our military, our veterans.

“…For there to be an amount of time slotted to talk about how important our military is (during the CMA Awards), that was just an incredible moment. I’m so happy that I got to be a part of it… It’s just something that was really a very emotional high moment in the show for me. I’m really glad all of it worked out the way it did.”

The drive to give back to active military members and veterans is personal for Young, whose family members have served. He also credited friends for their service, including those he performed for overseas. Young told iHeartRadio that while the announcement was appropriately timed around Veterans Day, “I don’t think that there’s ever a specific time that they should be shown that respect and that attention," he said. “That moment of talking about that initiative on stage, and seeing everybody really react and make a connection with it… I really do think it’s so, so important, and (I’m) honored to be a part of this.”