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\"Father, God, we love you so much,\" Rhett continued. \"Loss is something that we can't comprehend. And so right now, I pray that you would be with Kane and his family, and his drummer Kenny and his family.\"

\"And bring them peace that only you know how to bring somebody,\" he added. \"And thank you for this night.\"

\"God bless country music. And in your name we pray. Amen,\" he closed.

Sitting in the audience, Artist of a Lifetime recipient Reba McEntire was moved to tears. During the commercial break, she stopped TR as he walked past her, voicing her respect for what he did.

When longtime friend Vince Gill presented her award, she took the chance to thank TR publicly.

\"Thomas Rhett -- God bless you for praying in front ...\" Reba trailed off, interrupted by the cheers of the audience. \"You're special! You're special. That took guts!\"

Dan + Shay, Luke Combs and Carrie Underwood were honored as CMT's 2019 Artists of the Year as well. Ashley McBryde is this year's Breakout Artist of the Year.

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