It’s been a busy few weeks for Miranda Lambert, who released her sixth studio album The Weight of These Wings on Nov. 18. While she’s done minimal press for the album, Lambert has opted to let a number of television appearances do the talking, performing Weight songs like “Pink Sunglasses,” “We Should Be Friends” and lead single “Vice” across a variety of programs.
Lambert has long been known as an excellent live act, beginning with her early days competing on Nashville Star in 2003 where performances of songs like her own “Greyhound Bound for Nowhere” landed her a third-place finish on the now-defunct reality show.
Since then, she’s toured the world, become a veteran of the late-night circuit and wowed every awards show audience from the Grammys to the CMAs. Below are 10 of her most powerful live performances.
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“Little Red Wagon” at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in 2015
Lambert brought her outsized sass (and an outsized fan) to the 57th annual Grammy Awards in 2015, performing Platinum standout “Little Red Wagon.” She took home the trophy for Best Country Album that same night.
“The House That Built Me” at a 2013 Oklahoma tornado benefit concert
The 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, which claimed the lives of 24 people, was an emotional event for Lambert and her then-husband, native Oklahoman Blake Shelton. At a benefit concert that raised money for victims of the tornado, Lambert delivered a tearful version of “The House That Built Me,” a No. 1 single off her 2009 album Revolution.
“Dead Flowers” at the 2009 ACM Awards
Lambert debuted “Dead Flowers,” the lead single off Revolution, during this performance at the 2009 ACM Awards. The song peaked at only No. 37 on Hot Country Songs, but earned Lambert a Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance in 2010.
“Baggage Claim” at the 2011 CMA Awards
Following the success of Revolution, it became clear Lambert had arrived as a star when she performed this first single from Four the Record at the 2011 CMA Awards. That same night she took home Female Vocalist of the Year and Four the Record would be up for CMA’s Album of the Year in 2012.
“We Should Be Friends” on Late Night with Seth Myers
“We Should Be Friends” is one of the funkiest and most fun tracks on The Weight of These Wings and its live equivalent is no exception. Lambert and her band get in the groove for this recent performance on Late Night with Seth Myers.
“Vice” at the 2016 CMA Awards
“Vice” was the first song Lambert shared from The Weight of These Wings and it’s also one of the album’s most powerful moments. Her performance of the single at this year’s CMA Awards was as heartfelt as its emotional lyrics.
“Over You” at a 2016 concert in Chicago
“Over You” is one of Lambert’s most personal songs. Written for 2011’s Four the Record with then-husband Blake Shelton, the song tells the story of Shelton’s loss of his older brother to a car accident as a teenager. During this 2016 performance of the song, Lambert gets visibly emotional as she interacts with a fan in the audience.
“Kerosene” at the 2005 CMA Awards
It seems like just yesterday that a 22-year-old Lambert was making her CMA Awards debut with “Kerosene,” the third single from her debut album of the same name. She’d go on to accrue a string of nominations after that performance, winning her first CMA in 2009 for Female Vocalist of the Year.
“Smokin’ and Drinkin'” with Little Big Town at the 2014 CMA Awards
Lambert joined pals Little Big Town for a 2014 performance of “Smokin’ and Drinkin’,” a song that features the band and appears on her 2014 album Platinum. Lambert took home four CMAs that night, including Album of the Year.
“Hell on Heels” with the Pistol Annies at ACM’s Girls’ Night Out in 2011
This list wouldn’t be complete without a performance from Pistol Annies, Lambert’s trio with fellow country artists Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. This fiery take on their debut single “Hell on Heels,” from 2011’s album of the same name, was also their television debut.