Ingrid Andress brought a moment of mournful reflection to the 2020 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 11), performing her powerful piano ballad, "More Hearts Than Mine."

The poignant rendition of the song about a true-to-life first love brought Andress to actual tears as she wrapped up the performance. As the string-soaked tune played out, the singer appeared to choke up while delivering the final line, "You'll be breaking more hearts than mine."

The song was introduced by CMAs co-host Darius Rucker, who noted that, "In our business, it usually comes down to a great song. And this gifted young singer-songwriter and CMA nominee is about to prove it."

Andress points to "More Hearts Than Mine" as the most personal entry on her debut album, Lady Like -- so much so, she shared earlier in the year, that she initially hesitated to be so vulnerable in her lyrics. But ultimately, she decided to make it her debut single, since the song shows off her songwriting prowess and what makes her unique as an artist.

That decision took guts, but it paid off: "More Hearts Than Mine" earned Andress her first No. 1 hit at country radio. It also became the only debut single from a solo female artist to break Billboard Country Airplay's Top 20 in 2019. Andress and Gabby Barrett subsequently made history when they became the first two solo women to have debut singles reach the Top 10 simultaneously since the Country Airplay chart's institution in 1990.

Andress' big year has the potential to get a little bigger during Wednesday night's show: She went into the 2020 CMA Awards as a nominated artist for the first time. "More Hearts Than Mine" snagged a mention in the Song of the Year category, and she's also in the running for New Artist of the Year, along with Barrett, Carly Pearce, Morgan Wallen, and Jimmie Allen.

See the Best of the 2020 CMA Awards Red Carpet

More From 106.3 NOW FM