Kelsea Ballerini has hit back at critics of her 'Coyote Ugly' inspired duet with Halsey at the CMT Music Awards.

The country pop singer and the 'Without Me' hitmaker joined forces for a performance of their track 'The Other Girl' at the ceremony in Nashville on Wednesday (21.10.20).

While the performance - which was a tribute to the iconic 2000 musical film in honour of its 20th anniversary - was praised on the whole, there were some viewers who called out the song for not being "real" country.

Responding to the negative comments, Kelsea wrote on Instagram: “After reading way to many comments, I’d like to remind people that there are different kinds of country music and non are more ‘real’ than others when it comes from an honest place.”

The 27-year-old singer also blasted those who criticised the pair for their outfit choices and instructed them to "politely shut up".

She added: "Women can wear whatever we want. And shouldn’t be called names and criticized for it, and that if you don’t have something nice to say, politely shut up. (sic)"

Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood was the big winner at the ceremony and Kelsea recently revealed she would love to collaborate with the "country queen".

She said: “I think she’s the kind of artist that’s obviously the country queen but I think she also transcends genres as well and is such a big part of my inspiration to be a woman in country music."

The 37-year-old singer/songwriter scooped her 21st and 22nd CMT gongs - the most of any artist in the show's history - with Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year accolades for 'Drinking Alone'.