Plus: Robin Leach!
12:17 p.m.Keith Urbans adorable Aussie accent is filling the arena as I arrive.
Ive been asked not to reveal the gimmick, which is fine by me.
Credit: Francis Specker/CBS/Landov
I like to be part of the solution.
Then I just have to figure out whos gonna take it when I walk up to my mic.
As he brainstorms with staffers, Keith is wonderfully cheerful and good-natured.
12:18 p.m.Hes singing Im In.
This song is also very cheerful and good-natured.
Keith, Idoneed a lover and a friend.
Thank you for suggesting that.
They are the unsung heroes of this rehearsal process.
12:28 p.m.They run through the number again.
The cameramen are shooting with hand-helds, giving the whole number a grainy, DIY feel on the jumbotron.
Thinking about getting up there with my cell phone to help.
Except my cell phone doesnt shoot video.
We love you, Keith!
one of them screams.
12: 50 p.m.Adult Swaybot Nation just posed for a group photo.
Check the Getty website later, maybe you could see it.
I want an 810.
12:58 p.m.We are moving on.
12:59 p.m. Oops, just kidding: Now theyre playing back Keiths performance so he can watch it.
Well, I mean, I can only see the back of his head.
But hes not, like, throwing chairs or anything.
1:10 p.m.Lady Antebellum is in the house, as the opening chords of American Honey ring through the air.
They have seven nominations.
Their seats are smack in the center of the front row.
1:17 p.m. Charles and Hillary are now on stage, practicing their harmonies.
Just when you thought things couldnt get any cuter.
says Charles to his guitar master, who is trying to figure out where to perform his lovely intro.
Why dont you go out to the edge a little bit more?
Dont Bret Michaels him!
gasps one of my fellow journalists.
1:35 p.m.Dave is uncrushed and out in the spotlight, rockin his acoustic intro again.
Its a little Goo Goo Dolls-sounding this time.
She likes to test dresses ahead of time.
I know this because I am Americas foremost blogger of awards show rehearsal situations.
You people dont know how lucky you are, I swear.
2:27 p.m.Brooks & Dunn tribute rehearsal with Lady A. Im not allowed to tell you about it.
That man has learned a thing or two about holding a microphone, lemme tell you.
Speaking directly tome!Oh, my day is made.
You know, you grow up as a little girl in Texas and you dream of things.
This wasnt necessarily one of them, but it could have been.
3:32 p.m.Finally transitioning into Mirandas rehearsal of House that Built Me.
Her guitarist sings the first pass in a high, keening voice that doesnt sound half bad.
3:36 p.m.Miranda takes her first shot at it.
Shes center stage, with the band behind her and off to her right in the corner.
Theres a mirror ball reflected over the audience like stars, and its dead silent in here.
When she finishes the run, a stage manager yells, That wasawesome.
3:45 p.m. Miranda comes down off stage and sits on her boyfriend Blake Sheltons lap.
Hes hiding in the audience stage right, drinking something out of a red gimme cup.
Keith Urban, where are you?!?
I continue to need a lover and a friend, dammit!
And dont make me come down there, cause I really dont want to.
I will have to beat both of your asses.
Yeah, I dont know what they were fighting about, but it just got distracting.
The whole place started watching them.
EW: Why is House That Built Me getting so much play on the radio?
Its so different from almost everything else out there.
Miranda: I think its great.
Theres no drums, you know?
My drummers sittin out here in the audience, poor thing.
EW: Is 6 nominations the most youve ever had?
By like, five.
[laughs] Ive had two before, but six is a really big deal.
EW: Does it give you confidence?
Miranda: It does, but I feel nervous, too.
I think its more pressure, but its good pressure.
It pushes you to be better.
And nominations are great, but Id be doing this anyway.
EW: Tell me a little about the song youre singing with Jamey Johnson on Dierks Bentleys new record.
Its called Bad Angel?
Miranda: Its fun!
I love the fact that Dierks is doing something really different with his music.
[laughs] Its just a fun vibe.
Im glad he asked me to be on it.
Miranda: But I think itll sell!
I just think if you sell who you are, people will believe you.
If youre fake, you wont be there in the long run.
The sparkly ladies are soon joined by more stand-ins, playing invsible instruments.
Its like theater for crazy people.
5:10 p.m.Now the crew is taking a dinner break, so we have an hour to kill.
Will use this time to transcribe the Miranda interview printed above.
Did I justblow your mind?
6:20 p.m.Robin Leach is getting his picture taken with Reba.
I think its kinda cute that he still cares that much.
6:24 p.m.I get a couple minutes with Reba McEntire before shes whisked away for rehearsal.
Im gonna be the messenger.
So dont kill the messenger if they offend anybody.
She says this in her perfect Reba voice.
Reba is like the sunrise: she is constant, and forever bright.
she says, of course.
Ive done it myself.
Remember the mailman onCheers?
and I just went and hugged his neck.
And he said, Have we ever met?
I said, Im so sorry.
I just feel like Ive known ya all my life.
So I understand totally how they feel.
And you might recall that Miranda Lambert at one point had a Fogerty cover in her set list.
And you might be able to divine from that information what song she and Carrie are doing.
And you might recall a little something about John Fogerty being a part of the show this year.
And now your interest might be piqued.
Its odd they didnt rehearse in here, though.
It is predictably impeccable.
Naturally, it ends on Reba and Narvel.
7:53 p.m.Carrie starts her first run of Temporary Home.
The outfit doesnt match the song, but her voice sure does.
I have never once seen Carrie Underwood pull back vocally just because shes in rehearsal.
Rehearsal is for chumps.
Do, or do not there is no try for Carrie Underwood.
8:03 p.m.Carrie is laying into Temporary Home with such force that the microphone actually shorts out briefly.
Im taking that as a sign that my night here is done.
Carrie wont be doing interviews, nor will Rascal Flatts, who are the last act scheduled for today.
Check back here tomorrow for Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, and Tim McGraw n Faith Hill.
(The last two will be in person, not slide-show format.)
And if you like what youre reading here hi Mom!
More from EW.comsMusic Mix:
Lady Antebellums advice to American Idol castoff Katie Stevens: Keep going!
Academy of Country Music Awards: Were live-blogging it!
Broadway star Laura Bell Bundy kicks off her crazy country career: A Music Mix Q&A
