Carrie Underwood belted out a medley of hymns at the 56th American Country Awards. Her minimalist performance of “Amazing Grace” set the tone for four more classic hymns. Halfway through “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” Carrie introduced gospel legend CeCe Winans. As they exchanged lines of “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “The Old Rugged Cross,” the power of their vocals and the meaning of the lyrics, it sent chills through my spine.
As CeCe exited after the chorus of “Old Rugged Cross,” Carrie finished the soul stirring medley with “How Great Thou Art.”
Her performance seemed to carefully re-tell the Gospel. “Amazing Grace” set us up as both deeply flawed and deeply loved by God. “Great is Thy Faithfulness” further established God’s goodness. “Old Rugged Cross” expressed Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin and our response. And “How Great Thou Art” celebrated Jesus’ greatness and His second coming as King.
The passion that filled her voice overwhelmed my emotions, and it overwhelmed the sound man. At the end of “How Great Thou Art,” the microphone had a hard time keeping up with her intensely powerful and spot on vocals.