Month: November 2024

The 58th CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville Wednesday on ABC, were nothing if not unpredictable.

As expected, co-host Lainey Wilson and Chris Stapleton took home Female and Male Vocalist of the Year, respectively, but the other categories brought some surprises. Morgan Wallen, who was the leading nominee going into the ceremony, won Entertainer of the Year for the first time, but he wasn’t there to accept the night’s biggest honor. It was his first CMA win since 2019.

Then Vocal Duo of the Year went to Brooks & Dunn, marking their 15th win in that category and their first since 2006. It also brought their total CMA wins to 19, making them the all-time champs.

“What a weird business, huh?” Ronnie Dunn remarked from the stage. “I love it!”

Kix Brooks and Ronnie also delivered a touching moment, singing their hit “Believe” with help from Jelly Roll in a performance that brought some in the audience to tears. Jelly also teamed with Keith Urban for a fiery performance of “Liar.”

Another surprising win: Cody Johnson taking home Album of the Year for Leather. At the podium, he said, “I never thought there would be a moment to do a Ric Flair, but now is the time,” then did the wrestler’s famous “Wooo!” Cody was also joined by surprise performer Carrie Underwood for their duet “I’m Gonna Love You.”

Megan Moroney won New Artist of the Year after being nominated for the second straight year. She triumphed over chart-toppers like Nate Smith, Bailey Zimmerman and Shaboozey.

Stapleton won both Single and Song of the Year for “White Horse” over such chart-topping hits as “I Had Some Help” and “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Even he seemed surprised at his wins; humble as ever, he thanked his wife, Morgane, who sang with him during his performance of “What Am I Gonna Do.”

Stapleton also joined Post Malone for “California Sober” and took part in the George Strait tribute that preceded King George’s acceptance of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. He joined Strait to sing “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” which he co-wrote, and also handed George the trophy. Parker McCollum, Lainey and Miranda Lambert also sang Strait songs during the segment.

Old Dominion won Vocal Group of the Year for the seventh time, overtaking Little Big Town, who’d won it six times. Onstage, singer Matthew Ramsey said, “If you’re an artist, creator or musicians, this when the world needs you the most: when it’s weird, like it is right now.”

And off camera, Ella Langley and Riley Green won their first-ever CMA Award for their viral, relatively new single “you look like you love me.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Backstage at the 2024 CMA Awards, the veterans rubbed elbows with the newcomers.

Alabama natives Ella Langley and Riley Green – who actually picked up their Musical Event of the Year trophy for “you look like you love me” on the red carpet prior to the show – marveled at winning on their very first nomination. Ella confessed the hardest part of performing on the show, which started with them sitting in the audience, was focusing on not falling while walking to the stage.

Old Dominion‘s Matthew Ramsey reveled at the band’s seventh win for Vocal Group, confessing that little has changed through the years, save for the fact that his beard used to be black and now it’s gray. 

Brooks & Dunn were particularly stunned as they picked up their first Vocal Duo of the Year trophy since 2006. While Ronnie Dunn attributed their win to the staying power of their songs, Kix Brooks couldn’t help but remember the “stupid stuff” they did in the ’90s, like shooting themselves out of cannons in concert and wearing shirts that were “uglier” than the ones Garth Brooks was sporting.

After winning Album of the Year for Leather, Cody Johnson paid tribute to his wife, Brandi, going so far as to say he’d probably be “dead or in jail” had it not been for her, before asking the room to give her a round of applause.

For New Artist of the Year Megan Moroney, grasping the iconic trophy was confirmation she’s on the right track and that all her hard work is starting to pay off. 

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The biggest names in country music were honored at the 58th annual Country Music Association Awards Wednesday, Nov. 20, hosted once again by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, joined this year by Lainey Wilson.

Here is the complete list of winners:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Morgan Wallen

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“White Horse,” Chris Stapleton

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Leather, Cody Johnson

SONG OF THE YEAR
“White Horse,” Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Lainey Wilson

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Old Dominion

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“you look like you love me,” Ella Langley feat. Riley Green

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Charlie Worsham, Guitar

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” Lainey Wilson

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Megan Moroney

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Like Taylor Swift, Jelly Roll is a chart-topping country star who’s crossed over to pop. But he says when he actually got to meet Taylor earlier this year at the Grammys, he couldn’t even form a proper sentence.

Jelly tells People that what he wanted to share with Taylor is that when his daughter Bailee – who’s now 16 – was a little girl, he used to take her to a playground in Tennessee that Taylor had donated money to rebuild and push her on the swing set there.

But when Taylor came over to say hello to him at the Grammys, Jelly laughs, “I was so nervous I couldn't even remember what a swing set was.”

“I'm looking at Taylor Swift and I have a reason to explain to her why I like her so much,” he continues. “And I'm going, You built the swing set somewhere, my daughter, I pushed her on it.' I did so bad! Definitely was at a loss for words in that moment.”

Jelly also tells People that so far this year, he’s lost 110 pounds and is winning the battle against his childhood food addiction.

“It's cool because there was once a time in life that the culture I built on tour was the opposite. It revolved around alcohol and drugs,” he says. “And now our tour culture is around good eating and around exercising and doing emotional check-ins with our crew every day.”

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Grateful and excited are common feelings when one receives an award nomination. However, another feeling that CMA New Artist nominee Bailey Zimmerman felt was “weird.”

“It’s something that I’ve never felt before,” Bailey recounts to ABC Audio of the moment he found out about his nod. “It was super weird. It didn’t feel like real life.”

“We woke up and saw the news and people were calling me and I called my mom and it was sick,” he recalls. “It’s like, you just remember and flash back to all the work that’s been put into it and all the people that have really cared about what we’re doing and put so much love and effort into it.”

Needless to say, it’s been quite the journey for Bailey, which is why he’s thankful for the recognition.

“It’s just a big win for us, you know? Whether we win or lose, being nominated and acknowledged is all you can ask for,” says Bailey, who already has four #1 hits under his belt.

“So, yeah! Let’s freaking go!” he adds. “Like, we did it! Let’s go!”

Will Bailey beat out fellow nominees Megan Moroney, Shaboozey, Nate Smith, Zach Top and Mitchell Tenpenny for the CMA New Artist of the Year trophy? Find out when the 2024 CMAs air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.

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Parker McCollum‘s not just a singer, he’s a songwriter and prides himself in that art.

That’s why having “Burn It Down” nominated for CMA Song of the Year means a lot to him.

“That’s as good as it gets for me and that’s really the one award I think that carries a bunch of weight for me just as a songwriter, because it is about the songwriting,” Parker tells ABC Audio.

“Just the nomination for me is plenty. And getting to write with [Lori McKenna, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey from The Love Junkies] and call them, I mean, they’re basically family to me now,” shares Parker. “They come down to my house and go to the ranch in Texas and write and we’ll do that again in January.”

While the nomination “is plenty” for Parker, winning it would be like a big pat on the back.

“It would be the one award that really made me feel like a real songwriter. Just the fact that something as big as the CMAs thought something that I was a part of writing deserved any kind of attention at all,” he says. “That would be heavy.” 

The other Song of the Year-nominated tracks are Post Malone and Morgan Wallen‘s “I Had Some Help,” Chris Stapleton‘s “White Horse,” and Cody Johnson‘s “The Painter” and “Dirt Cheap.”

The 2024 CMAs, hosted by Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning, air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.

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Old Dominion‘s been on a winning streak in the CMA Vocal Group of the Year category for the past six years.

If they continue their reign this year, they’ll earn their seventh trophy and become the second-most-awarded Vocal Group, taking over the title currently held by six-time winners Little Big Town.

So how’s Old Dominion feeling about potentially taking the crown away from one of country music’s nicest groups?

“It feels great. Feels real great!” OD’s Matthew Ramsey tells ABC Audio with a laugh before Trevor Rosen says in jest, “You think they’re nice?”

“Some of the nicest, most talented people in the world. And we are going to stomp ’em into the ground.” Matthew jokes. 

“Stuff ’em in the dirt,” Trevor adds.

“It’s a tough town,” Brad Tursi says. “Couldn’t have done it without ’em.”

Of course, Old Dominion’s just joking around. They are, in fact, friends with Little Big Town and previously collaborated together on the 2017 track “Stars in the City.”

Other nominees in the Vocal Group category include Little Big Town, Lady A, Zac Brown Band and The Red Clay Strays.

Will Old Dominion clinch their seventh Vocal Group award this year? Find out when the 2024 CMAs air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.

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Country Music’s Biggest Night is about to get bigger.

It’s been announced that Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Parker McCollum and Jamey Johnson will perform a tribute to George Strait onstage.

Their performance will happen after George receives his 2024 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

Past CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.

The 58th annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.

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There’s a first time for everything, and for Riley Green, 2024 has been the year of numerous firsts – including getting nominated for a CMA Award and being invited to perform onstage.

“You know, being nominated for a CMA Award, getting to perform at the CMAs is such a huge thing,” Riley tells ABC Audio. “It’s my first time being nominated for a CMA, and those [types] of accolades, whatever you want to call it, they never go away.”

“Whether you win or not, being nominated is something that’s just validating as a songwriter and a performer,” he continues. “It means people are buying into what you’re doing. So that means a lot.”

Reflecting on his milestone year, Riley adds, “We did Red Rocks the first time [this year]. Was an awesome show. I had my whole family there. A lot of moments stand out this year and, you know, it just makes you more excited about the next year of touring.”
 

Riley will hit the road in 2025 for his Damn Country Music Tour with his fellow CMA Music Event of the Year nominee Ella Langely. But before that, they’ll take the CMAs stage Wednesday to perform their hit, “you look like you love me.”

The 2024 CMAs, hosted by Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning, air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.

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Nate Smith may have three #1 hits under his belt, but earning a CMA New Artist nomination still feels pretty surreal.

“It does feel good. It’s just crazy. I mean, if you knew me, man, from my hometown and growing up and stuff, you’d be like, ‘This dork. How is he up here? How did he get these number ones? How [is he] nominated for stuff?'” Nate tells ABC Audio.

“Honestly, it’s a miracle,” he adds. “It really makes me think that anything’s possible.” 

Other New Artist nominees include Megan Moroney, Shaboozey, Bailey Zimmerman, Zach Top and Mitchell Tenpenny.

The 2024 CMAs, hosted by Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning, air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.