Kelsea Ballerini Goes Glam in Cutout Gown Alongside Fiancé Morgan Evans at 2017 CMA Awards

Kelsea Ballerini has a major night ahead of her. The 24-year-old country star is not only nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, she’s also set to take the stage at the 2017 CMA Awards. But first she had to drop some jaws on the red carpet.

The “Get Over Yourself” singer stepped out Wednesday showing some skin in a white v-neck, long-sleeve Michael Kors Collection gown with intricate gold floral embellishments all over, a triangle cutout on her stomach and an open back.

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As for her glam, hairstylist Kelsey Deenihan tells PeopleStyle that she first smoothed the star’s strands, before using the 1.25” wand from the Paul Mitchell Pro Tools Unclipped 3 in 1 iron and the Paul Mitchell Invisiblewear Undone Texture hairspray to shape her long blonde strands into a look she’s never tried on the carpet: “classic Old Hollywood” waves.

“Kelsea has a new album and really wanted to embrace the new beginning and try a completely different look that she’s never done on the carpet before,” Deenihan says of the style, which she parted to one side and accented with a gold barrette that paired perfectly with her gown.

Deenihan, who also did Ballerini’s makeup, kept the gilded theme going throughout her makeup look as well, with striking yellow gold metallic eyeshadow on her lids and mega-watt highlights on her cheeks. She completed the look with contoured cheeks and dramatic, fluffy eyelashes.

“Juggling both [hair and makeup] can be a lot but I wouldn’t have it any other way! Being in control of the entire glam look really allows me to make decisions based on what I know I’m already going to do with one or the other,” Deenihan shares. “Time crunches and quick changes are the biggest stress but I usually have an extra set of hands on board to help during the madness.”

And Ballerini was just as happy with the look as Deenihan. “She loved trying something new and loves the outcome even more. Once we saw the carpet photos we immediately both thought, ‘Yup! That was the right move!'”

For her performance, Deenihan and Ballerini planned on keeping her hair the same, with an update to her makeup.

“She’s at the top of the show, and she loves the look so we think we’re going to keep it and possibly change up the lip,” she says. “There’s only a few minutes to change her and we really wanted to not stress and just have an easy transition into performance.”

To get pumped up for the show, Deenihan says Ballerini and her team kept the vibe fun and lighthearted. “There’s always a good pump up playlist that Kelsea provides, with Pink, Miley, etc..”

Ballerini, who will be performing with Reba McEntire, posed on the red carpet with her fiancé, Morgan Evans, who’s sporting a black tuxedo with a velvet shawl collar. And we have a feeling Ballerini will get Evans to get a KiraKira clip of her glittering dress before the night is over.

What do you think of Kelsea’s look? Sound off in the comments below.

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