Lauren Alaina Apologizes for Forgetting to Thank Jesus First in CMT Award Speech
Lauren Alaina apologized for not putting Jesus first when accepting her CMT Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year on Wednesday night.
Alaina, the 22-year-old "American Idol" alumna whose No.1 song "Road Less Traveled" is cementing her name in the country music world, was honored with an award at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, Wednesday. An emotional Alaina received the high honor from legendary country music star Reba McEntire and began rattling off people to thank before she realized she had forgotten to thank Jesus first.
"Jesus," Alaina proclaimed to the audience, apologizing to God for her oversight. "I should have said that first. Sorry, God."
Alaina was visibly rattled in the moment, appearing star struck after receiving an award from McEntire.
"Reba McEntire just gave me an award so that's pretty crazy," she said.
Since the world first met Alaina as a runner up on season 10 of "American Idol" in 2011, she has had to overcome her parents' divorce, father's battle with alcoholism and her own eating disorder. However, writing songs like "Road Less Traveled" have been cathartic for her.
"I wrote 'Road Less Traveled' to make myself feel better and process what I was going through," Alaina told Billboard. "I wrote close to 300 songs over the last few years just trying to figure it out."
Despite some of the hard times in her life, the country music star has made it clear that she is grateful to God for her platform. In a previous CMT News interview, Alaina spoke about her faith playing a huge role in her life.
"The first thing I do every day when I wake up is thank God for letting me make it through the night and giving me another day of life — just because sometimes I wake up and I cannot believe I'm doing what I'm doing. I just thank Him," she said. "I don't know how I deserve it, but it's completely because of Him. ... It plays a big role in my life."