Honoring ten years of CMT’s “Next Women of Country” series, a quintet of female singer-songwriters delivered Alanis Morissette‘s star-making 1995 post-breakup anthem “You Oughta Know” at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. Morissette was joined by previous honorees Lainey Wilson, Ingrid Andress, Madeline Edwards and Morgan Wade for the performance.
Wearing a sequined shirt over a white tee, Alanis led the All-Star vocal group in a performance of the incendiary Jagged Little Pill classic — with, appropriately enough, an actual blaze going on behind them. The performance was a mostly faithful rendition, albeit with some more complex harmonies added to the chorus, befitting the vocal talents of the singers assembled, and Alanis still stole the show with her piercing “ohhhhhh“s on the song’s wordless bridge.
The performance was the second ’90s alt-rock crossover event of the evening, following Gwen Stefani and Carly Pearce teaming up for a run through “Just a Girl,” originally by the former’s best-selling band No Doubt. Lainey Wilson had previous taken the stage for her ballad “Heart Like a Truck,” and also picked up a pair of awards earlier in the evening: female video of the year (for “Heart Like a Truck”) and collaborative video of the year (for “Wait in the Truck,” along with HARDY).
“You Oughta Know” served as Morissette’s breakout hit in 1995, as the first single pulled from her Jagged Little Pill album, and made her a phenomenon with its furious (and much-debated) lyrics and impassioned delivery. Jagged Little Pill would ultimately go on to be certified diamond by the RIAA, and ranks at No. 7 on Billboard‘s Greatest of All-Time Billboard 200 chart.
