The Country Music Awards is an event to award and honor artists who have excelled in the genre of country music. This year, the 58th Country Music Association Awards took place on November 20, and over 6,000 members of the Country Music Association came together to decide which artists would take home top awards. These awards included Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year. The presenters of these awards were celebrities such as Simone Biles, Jeff Bridges, Freddie Freeman, Don Johnson, Little Big Town, and more. The host was Lainey Wilson, a country music star, Luke Bryan, another country music singer, and retired NFL star Peyton Manning. There were various performances throughout the night by well-known artists like Luke Bryan, Noah Kahan, Post Malone, and many more. This award ceremony may be less known than other ceremonies like the Grammy’s, but it is still just as much fun.
The award ceremony had many happy moments! There was a diverse array of winners and some were surprising. Morgan Wallen beat Jelly Roll and Luke Bryan for Entertainer of the Year. Album of the Year was awarded to Cody Johnson for the album “Leather.” The Female vocalist of the year was Lainey Wilson for the third year, and Chris Stapleton was awarded the Male Vocalist of the year. A few other awards were given out, like New Artist of the Year to Megan Moroney, Music Video of the Year to Lainey Wilson with “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” Musician of the Year to Charlie Worsham on guitar, and Musical Event of the Year to “You Look Like You Love Me,” by Ella Langley (feat. Riley Green). There were also two group awards. The first was a vocal group of the year which was awarded to Old Dominion, and the vocal duo of the year to Brooks and Dunn. These awards were given out thoughtfully and rightfully so.
Beyond the awards, there were also beautiful performances. Post Malone and Chris Stapleton opened the ceremony with a duet of “California Sober.” Along with other performances like Lainey Wilson’s new single “4x4xU”, there was also a tribute to
Toby Keith, who had cancer and passed away this year at the age of 62. Everyone at the awards ceremony toasted him with red Solo cups because of his hit song, “Red Solo Cup.” It was a beautiful tribute to an amazing artist.
This event had many positive moments and was a great way to honor all of these artists. They are hard-working people and deserved the awards they were given. The Country Music Awards was an excellent bringing attention to country music.