After the inaugural People's Choice Country Awards on Sept. 28, Kelsea Ballerini was forced to defend herself against country fans who alleged she was lip syncing during her performance. Ballerini sang "Mountain With a View" from her Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP, and a few fans pointed out that the audio didn't exactly match up with the video. The singer quickly denied these claims, posting a video on her Instagram stories saying that the camera had a glitch, but she was backed up by one of the queens of country music as well.
While Ballerini was embroiled in the controversy, Wynonna Judd - who was honored with the Country Champion award at the show — took it upon herself to defend her fellow singer. According to Country Living, she took to Instagram to share a note of her own.
"*Puts champion hat on* I had the pleasure of watching & listening to this woman sing (a song that I love) LIVE at dress rehearsal and LIVE at the PCCA's. The end." she wrote.
Ballerini clearly appreciated this gesture, as she reposted the story and wrote, "The queen has spoken. thank you my champion."
In her initial video addressing the rumors, Ballerini gave humorous proof that she was — in fact — singing live.
"I just want to say, if I was lip syncing, I would've sounded a lot better," she quipped. "One of the cameras was off. Thank you. And goodnight."
Ballerini also referenced the controversy in a photo she posted to her Instagram profile, in which she gave "bombastic side eye." In another post from the event, she again stressed that she sang live by adding a few exclamation marks to her caption.
"Sang (!!!) a song i wrote by myself on an awards show last night and my little songwriter heart is feeling proud of that today," she wrote.
The awards show also featured performances from Judd, Toby Keith, Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay and more. It was hosted by Little Big Town.
