Gabby Barrett had a stunning global introduction at Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards where the rising country star was nominated for nine awards, taking home three.
Barrett tearfully accepted the top country female artist award, beating out country mainstays such as Maren Morris and Carrie Underwood. “I’m gonna try to keep it together as best as I can… This is a really big deal,” Barrett said from stage, visibly emotional. “This means so much to me.”
The “American Idol” alum then broke into tears, adding that she and her team have been “working hard for 10 years” to get to the Billboard Music Awards. “I wasn’t supposed to mess up my makeup. Now I have to play it cool,” Barrett added.
But it was the “Goldmine” singer’s show-stopping Nicolas Jebran gold dress, with a train so long it required husband Cade Foehner to get it into perfect place onstage, that stole the show. Barrett’s stylist Tiffany Gifford explained the outstanding choice of dress for the “Goldmine” performer.
“It was the first dress she tried on and we knew it was the one. We really wanted to bring it and, as Gabby put it, ‘Go BIG or go home’ with the look,” Gifford wrote in an email to USA TODAY. “We wanted to make a statement and do something to commemorate such a huge accomplishment in her career.”
