NASHVILLE — Country music superstar Luke Combs has broken many records over his astonishingly fast ascent in Nashville, but this summer, he proved he can sell out stadiums — and voters awarded him accordingly. For the second consecutive year, Combs won entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards, the most prestigious prize at the genre’s biggest awards show.
“I never know what to say,” said Combs, who also took home the trophy for album of the year for his most recent record, “Growin’ Up.” “I want to thank country music for making my dreams come true. … There is nobody in this category that doesn’t deserve to be standing up here.”
Combs triumphed over Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen — saving the industry from headlines about how Wallen, known to the mainstream audience as the singer who was caught on TMZ video saying the n-word in February 2020, had once again been rewarded on his redemption tour.
Any other potential controversies were also avoided; not a word was uttered about the recent, widely covered social media incident involving Jason Aldean and Maren Morris, after Aldean’s wife, the influencer Brittany, posted an Instagram video that Morris criticized as transphobic. Though Morris said earlier she might skip the show, they were all in attendance. (Both Aldean and Morris were nominated for one award and did not win in their respective categories.)
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And although co-host Luke Bryan released a defensive statement last week after he received criticism for inviting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisonstage at a recent concert, no one touched on politics or current events — save for Bryan and his co-host, Peyton Manning, joking that if Bryan ran for president his slogan could be “A candidate who will never plead the Fifth, but he will drink the fifth.”
Newcomers Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson tied Combs with two wins; Johnson triumphed with his impossibly catchy hit “’Til You Can’t” in the single and music video categories, while Wilson won new artist and female vocalist. Old Dominion and Brothers Osborne continued their march as industry favorites as group and duo, respectively, and Jordan Davis’s recent smash “Buy Dirt” (featuring Bryan, his labelmate) won song of the year.
A full list of winners and nominees are below — here are some of the highlights from the night.
The Loretta Lynn tributes
The death of 90-year-old Loretta Lynn shook many members of the country music world last month, as they mourned the groundbreaking legend who broke down doors for countless women. The show kicked off with footage of Lynn accepting CMA’s entertainer of the year in 1972, the first time a woman ever won the prize, followed by a tribute from Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire.
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The trio sang a sparkling medley of some of Lynn’s greatest hits, including “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” from Underwood, “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” from Lambert, “You’re Looking at Country” from McEntire and, of course, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” sung by all three. While it would have been fitting for a woman to finally win entertainer of the year for the first time since Taylor Swift landed the trophy in 2011, alas, Underwood and Lambert went home empty-handed.
Cole Swindell and Jo Dee Messina and ’90s country
It was the moment ’90s country obsessives have been waiting for: The audience started screaming as Jo Dee Messina joined Cole Swindell onstage for an invigorating version of Swindell’s “She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” a reimagining of Messina’s 1996 smash, “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”
It’s hard to overstate how enormous this hit has been for Swindell, who has had several big singles in his career but saw this song explode over the summer and fall, sitting for five weeks at No. 1 on the radio charts — as Nashville knows, ’90s nostalgia is real and overwhelming. Swindell and Messina finally released a remix of the song together this week, timed perfectly to their CMAs performance.
Chris Stapleton and Patty Loveless, together again
The two Kentucky natives performed together at a recent Kentucky benefit concert for flood relief and thrilled the CMAs audience when they joined again for Loveless’s “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” Stapleton’s booming voice always sends country fans into a frenzy, and aided by Loveless’s stellar vocals, the crowd was practically on its feet before the song was even over.
The Alan Jackson tribute
There is nothing country award shows love more than showing how much contemporary stars adore the hits from legendary artists, and the camera showcased Kelsea Ballerini, Breland, Ashley McBryde, Combs and many more singing along to Alan Jackson’s classics during his tribute.