Wynonna Judd pays tribute to late mom Naomi at 2023 CMT Awards

Wynonna Judd led a heartbreaking tribute to her late mother, Naomi Judd, during the Country Music Television Awards on Sunday.

Judd, 58, appeared in a black satin outfit with red spiky shoulder pads and belted out a rendition of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” accompanied by superstar Ashley McBryde, 39.

“Mama, you need to be here,” said Judd about midway through the performance. “And I miss you, and I love you, and I don’t understand.”

The elder Judd died by suicide at age 76 on April 30, 2022, the day before she and her daughter were slated to join the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” Wynonna and her sister Ashely said in a statement at their mother’s passing. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”

Wynonna later opened up about the pain she was feeling following her mother’s death.

“There is so much happening in the world right now. So before I sat down to write this, I thought, ‘No … I just don’t know what to say.’ Then, I heard the words from my life coach asking me, ‘What do you know?’ And I began to cry,” Wynonna said in an Instagram post.

According to Wynonna, she is still “healing” from her mother’s death.

“I was going through such hell, it felt like I couldn’t see anything. I was blinded by the sadness,” said Wynonna, who, despite losing her mom, still went out on tour. “I went to people that I really love and trust and got counsel. These people said things like, ‘I think it’s important for you to remember that the fans are there for you. I think it’s important to remember that the music is healing.’”

The performance Sunday was extra bittersweet as Naomi Judd’s final public appearance was at the 2022 CMT awards.

“Well, it’s a year,” Wynonna told Entertainment Tonight after her performance. “It’s an anniversary and we all have anniversaries. I’m not terminally unique. We all have something that we look at and go, ‘What the hell? What’s going on? I don’t understand.’

“And that was my ‘I don’t understand.’ I went back and forth between hitting a really high note and being a diva or saying what was on my heart and it took over and so here we are.”

Wynonna also expressed the wish that her music be a source of comfort to people.

“I want to help people,” said the country superstar. “It’s like, look at my face. Look at this face. If you’re having a crappy day and just think, ‘If I can do it, so can you.’ Because it’s not easy.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.