Sam Hunt provided one of the brightest spots of the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year ceremony on Wednesday night (Oct. 16), taking the stage to close the show by paying tribute to Reba McEntire performing "Fancy."

Hunt brought a slightly different slant to the classic song, which gave McEntire a Top 10 hit when it was released as the third single from her Rumor Has It album in 1991. McEntire's version of the song was a cover of Bobbie Gentry's hit from 1969. Hunt took the stage clad in black and playing an acoustic guitar, and he smiled throughout much of his performance, which brought a rock edge to the classic song that has become one of McEntire's signatures over the years.

Click on the video above to watch Hunt's energetic performance.

Hunt performed to help honor McEntire as 2019's CMT Artist of a Lifetime. That segment also included a video in which Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay and more paid tribute to McEntire. Vince Gill was on hand to offer some words of praise for his fellow Oklahoma native, and Lady Antebellum also performed another of McEntire's best-known songs, "Is There Life Out There?"

The 2019 CMT Artists of the Year honorees included Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett. The ceremony also honored Ashley McBryde as the CMT Breakout Artist of the Year.

See Photos From the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year Ceremony:

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