Nashville, TN — Despite the improving global backdrop, the 55th annual Country Music Association Awards (CMAs) were held with a reduced turnout at the Bridgestone Arena.
The biggest names in country music come together for a night of fashion, awards, and much more. Among the names on the red carpet were Luke Bryan, Breland, Lainey Wilson, Scotty McCreery, Caroline Jones, Charlie Worsham, Freddie Freeman, Marty Stuart, and more. All the participants were excited and happy to be at the CMAs and showed off their fantastic gala looks on the red carpet.
“Whether you’re in the music industry or not, the best thing you can do is believe in yourself,” stated Breland to the audience. “Even though there may be people telling you that you can’t do that or that it’s not for you, you still have to believe in yourself because they’ll keep telling you things, and if you can’t keep up, it’s easy to throw it all away.”
Tonight was a special evening for country music star Bryan as hosted the CMA Awards. He gave us his exciting insights as the host of the show.
“When you’re hosting by yourself, you’re in control at all times.”
While tonight was Bryan’s first-time hosting, for others it was their first time being invited to participate in the CMAs.
“I moved to Nashville in 2011, and every year since I’ve been here I’ve bought a ticket to the CMA Awards, and this is the first year that I was proudly invited,” expressed an elated Lainey Wilson. “I get to walk the carpet, be with my friends and people I admire; it’s so crazy for me to be here.”
Breakout artist Caroline Jones was another individual in attendance who was partaking in the award show for the first time.
Almost all of the artists shared that even though the industry has changed over the years, the essence of country music is still alive and well. While adapting to new demands and viewing platforms, country music is still as strong as ever.
This year’s winners were as follows:
1. Artist of the Year: Luke Combs
2. Female Vocalist: Carly Pearce
3. Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Stapleton (fifth honor in his career)
4. Vocal Group of the Year: Old Dominion (forth-straight honor)
5. Vocal Duo of the Year: Brothers Osborne (now four-time winners)
6. New Artist of the Year: Jimmie Allen
7. Album of the year: “Starting Over”, Chris Stapleton
8. Song of the Year: “Starting Over”, Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson
9. Musical Event of the Year: “Half of My Hometown,” Kelsea Ballerini (with Kenny Chesney)
10. Music video of the year: “half of my hometown,” Kelsea Ballerini (with Kenny Chesney)
11. Musician of the year: Jenee Fleenor, violin
Overall, Stapleton was the biggest winner of the night taking home six awards. Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year. On top of those four hours, he also was crowned producer on the single and album, “Starting Over”.
While emotions were high during the CMAs, history was made, too as Allen became only the second Black performer to win new artist of the year.
“I want to thank my father who’s no longer with us for introducing me to country music,” Allen stated.
The night was filled with performances, laughter, and tears of joy as country music’s biggest night was once again an amazing environment.
You can watch “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” in full On Demand and Hulu until Nov. 20. Visit CMAawards.com/watch for more VOD information.
