Maren Morris took a seat—out of the 2024 CMT Music Awards. 

However, "The Middle" singer's absence came with a solid reason: She's about to embark on a tour for the new children's book, Addie Ant Goes On An Adventure, which she co-wrote with her former school teacher Karina Argow. 

"Book tour week officially commences," Maren explained in an April 7 Instagram Story. "Karina and I are flying to New York tonight, so we'll see you Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square—it's also my birthday."

And while Maren, who will turn 34 April 10, may not have had plans that directly interfered with the April 7 CMT Music Awards at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, it's understandable that she needed the night off ahead of a week of traveling. 

"L.A. we will see you on Thursday at the Barnes & Noble at the Grove," she continued. "And Nashville we will see you this Saturday at Parnassus Books—we're excited to end our book tour week at a local bookstore that we love so much and a hometown book signing. We can't wait to see you."

Maren, who was nominated for CMT Performance of the Year thanks to her duet of Hozier's "Take Me To Church" at CMT Crossroads in September (the award went to Jelly Roll for "Need a Favor"), has also taken a bit of a step back from the country music scene in the last year. 

"I don't think it's something you can really leave because it's a music that's in me and that's what I grew up doing," she explained to Jimmy Fallon during a November episode of The Tonight Show. "It's the music I write, even if I've been sort of genre-fluid my whole career."

Still, while Maren —who publicly called out Jason Aldean's wife Brittany over alleged transphobia last year—clarified she's not totally leaving the genre in her rearview, there are parts of the community she could do without. 

"I couldn't do this circus anymore—feeling like l have to absorb and explain people's bad behaviors and laugh it off," she admitted on The New York Times' Popcast podcast in October.  "I just couldn't do that after 2020 particularly. I've changed. A lot of things changed about me that year."

So now, as she put it on The Tonight Show, "I'm taking the good parts with me and all are welcome. There were just some facets of it that I didn't really jibe with anymore. So, I'm a lot happier now."

Even in Maren's absence, the 2024 CMT Music Awards was full of some of country's biggest stars. Read on to see everyone who hit the red carpet—from its host Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes to Campbell "Pookie" Puckett and her husband Jett Puckett. 

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