As the 57th Annual CMA Awards have come to an end, there is a lot to reflect on and take away from one of the CMA’s more memorable presentations in some time. The award show included incredible performances from Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and HARDY alongside Post Malone, The War and Treaty, and a very touching tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett who passed this past September.
Lainey Wilson Wins Big
This year’s CMA awards saw no bigger winner than Lainey Wilson. If she hadn’t already, Lainey solidified tonight herself not only as the dominant female singer of the moment in country music, but she marked her territory alongside Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen as one of the major faces of country music as a whole. She walked into the night with nine nominations and walked away with a whopping five trophies, including the most prestigious award, Entertainer of the Year. She also took home Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country, Female Vocalist of the Year, and she shared Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “Wait in the Truck.” Wilson also showed out with a fiery performance of her song “Wildflowers and Wildhorses.” It looked straight out of a Western movie and left its mark on the night.
Posty Goes Country
It would be impossible to talk about this year’s CMA Awards without mentioning Post Malone, who finally gave the people a taste of his country side. Malone joined Morgan Wallen and HARDY on stage for a cover of Joe Diffie’s “Pickup Man.” The cover is available everywhere now as part of HIXTAPE Vol 3: Difftape. This performance was one of the most anticipated performances of the night as fans were eager to see Malone finally sing country music again, especially with two of the hottest names in the format. Malone has also been in the studio with Luke Combs and Brad Paisley as of late, so it seems we haven’t seen the last of Country Post.
Fast Car Leaves Wait In the Truck in the Dust
“Wait in the Truck” by HARDY won Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year. Even after winning two awards it still feels like one of the biggest snubs of the night, coming up short of “Fast Car” for Song of the Year and Single of the Year. The Luke Combs cover is deserving of high recognition as he brought a new light on the Tracy Chapman hit, but “Wait in the Truck” which is one of the best-written songs in the last decade., and of course, HARDY and Wilson’s chemistry in the song pulls the listener in and it almost feels personal. Unfortunately, it’s also deeply relatable to many people around the world. Again, this isn’t to knock Combs or Chapman, but it feels like a miss giving not just one but both of those awards to “Fast Car” when “Wait in the Truck” has been such a significant moment in country music as of late.
Morgan Wallen Leaves Empty-Handed
HARDY’s good buddy Morgan Wallen walked away without a single trophy in hand. Wallen received three nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year. All three nominations had incredibly competitive fields as he lost to Lainey Wilson (Entertainer and Album of the Year) and Chris Stapelton (Vocalist). Morgan Wallen has been the face of country music for the last couple of years, and with every major award show that comes and goes, he continues to come up short. His only CMA win in his career was for Best New Artist back in 2020. Wallen’s tour hiatus earlier this year due to throat issues doesn’t help his case for Entertainer of the Year, but it is interesting to see his consistent nominations go for naught. It feels like the drought has to come to an end at some point, but for now, who knows?
Zach Bryan
The Zach Bryan vs. Nashville cold war remains as strong as ever as Jelly Roll took home the award for Best New Artist. Not to knock Jelly Roll’s fantastic commercial year, but realistically, this was Bryan’s award to lose. Zach has never been shy about his feelings towards Nashville, so his losing out in the only category he was nominated for wasn’t altogether shocking.
Jelly Roll, however, is pretty much Nashville’s favorite artist at the moment. While the sensitive outsider is easy to root for, and he has put out some undeniably great music since he came to Nashville. It’s hard to ignore how the relationship between Bryan and Nashville could’ve impacted the results. Even Jelly Roll acknowledged Zach in his acceptance speech, “Zach Bryan, I think you are one of the hottest things on Earth, not just country music. You deserve this as much as anybody else. I love you. I’m glad we’re sitting there partying the rest of the night.” Regardless, Jelly Roll won the award and he gave an appropriately Jelly Roll-esque speech sharing his gratitude for the chance to inspire and to win “New Artist of the Year” at 39 years old
The 57th Annual CMA Awards can be streamed on Hulu now.
