Carrie Underwood will return to the stage for the 11th consecutive year to co-host the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley on Nov. 14.

After a decade together, the Carrie/Brad tandem has had plenty of hits—and a few misses—when it comes to delivering comedic bits, skits and glitz, but as Carrie told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, it’s a role that she and Brad take “very seriously” as they try to keep things “funny and timely.”

“I feel like right now we’re kind of in a challenging time,” says Carrie to Kix. “You know, everybody’s got an opinion about everything [laughing], and it’s so easy to throw one’s opinion out into the world. We take what we do very seriously. We want everyone to have a good night. We want to be funny. We want to be timely, but times are stressful, you know, right now, so it’s like . . . I don’t know. I’m not sure what we’re gonna come up with as far as keeping things light. I’m sure somebody’ll do something dumb before the CMAs . . . We’re always just hoping! Please! Nothing too bad—just something that they can laugh at themselves about and that we can just have a little chuckle at, too, you know? Come on, guys, I need you to step up. Take one for the team!”

Tune in to ABC at 7 p.m. CT on Nov. 14 to see Carrie and Brad in action at the CMA Awards.