Carly Pearce broke down in tears as she and Lee Brice won their first CMA Awards on Wednesday morning (Nov. 11). Their duet "I Hope You're Happy Now" was announced as the Musical Event of the Year winner.

The heartbreak collaboration reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in June and is also nominated in the Song of the Year category for Wednesday night's ABC telecast. It was also up for Music Video of the Year, an award that was given to Miranda Lambert's "Bluebird" during the same announcement.

The award is slightly bittersweet for the pair, as Brice was forced out of the 2020 CMA Awards because he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. Instead, Charles Kelley of Lady A will collaborate with Pearce on stage.

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"I'm so bummed for him," Pearce told Taste of Country earlier this week, referring to Brice. "But I'm so grateful to the CMAs that they wanted me to still perform the song."

If there was any thought of her performing alone as she has done during live performances in the past, it was a fleeting thought.

"We all felt like you just miss a part of the story if you don't have that male voice to it. I really felt like it was the right move to bring somebody else in," the "Next Girl" singer says. Luke Combs helped Pearce, Randy Montana and Jonathan Singleton write "I Hope You're Happy Now."

Fans were able to witness her emotional catharsis in a video she shared to Twitter soon after learning she'd won. Pearce is seen seated in front of a computer seemingly talking to a radio station. It was her first interview after learning she'd won and she totally broke down in tears.

Other nominees in the Musical Event of the Year category include Dan + Shay's "10,000 Hours" with Justin Bieber, Maren Morris' "The Bones" with Hozier, Thomas Rhett and friends' version of "Be a Light" and Lambert's all-female cover of "Fooled Around and Fell In Love."

The 2020 CMA Awards start at 8PM ET on Wednesday. Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker will host a show set to air live from Nashville's Music City Center, with artists in the audience at a safe distance from one another.

Remember: The best way to watch the 2020 CMAs is on TV, with ToC on your phone!

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