NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – The 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards (CMA) took place last night at the famed Bridgestone Arena and was hosted by Luke Bryan and NFL star Peyton Manning. Leading the nominations for the night was Lainey Wilson with six nods for Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Song of the Year for the 2021 album, Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. With those six nods, she joins Glen Campbell, Kacey Musgraves, and Brad Paisley as the only musicians to ever receive six nominations as first-time nominees for the CMAs.
The show opened with a tribute to the Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn, by Country music royalty Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, and Carrie Underwood. The trio performed a medley of Lynn’s songs that included “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind),” and “You’re Looking At Country,” before ending with “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Also honoring the late Ms. Lynn, Carly Pearce took to the stage with Musician of the Year winner Jenee Fleenor, Sonya Isaacs, and Ricky Skaggs to perform an original song of Pearce’s called “Dear Miss Loretta.”
The CMAs took a page out of the Grammy book with one-of-a-kind performance collaborations. Elle King joined the Black Keys for “Great Balls of Fire” in tribute to the late Jerry Lee Lewis. You could have heard a pin drop during Chris Stapleton and Patty Loveless‘ performance of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” and Thomas Rhett and Katy Perry performed their collab, “Where We Started.” Wilson and HARDY took the stage for a hauntingly powerful version of their song, “Wait in the Truck.”
Country music legend Alan Jackson was met with thunderous applause after surprising the audience with his hit, “Don’t Rock the Jukebox.” As the 2022 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recipient watched, Jon Pardi, Dierks Bentley, Wilson, and Underwood performed some of his well-known hits, including “Chattahoochee,” “Drive (For Daddy Gene), “Remember When,” and “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.”
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
WINNER: ‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
‘Beers On Me’ -Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY
‘If I Didn’t Love You’ -Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood
‘Longneck Way To Go’ – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi)
‘Never Say Never’ – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson)
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Cody Johnson (‘Til You Can’t’)
‘I Bet You Think About Me’- Taylor Swift
‘Longneck Way To Go’ -Midland
‘Never Say Never’ – Cole Swindell
‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ -Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
SONG OF THE YEAR
WINNER: ‘Buy Dirt’ – Songwriters: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins
‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ – Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce
‘Sand In My Boots’ – Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Josh Osborne
‘Things A Man Oughta Know’- Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson
‘You Should Probably Leave’ – Songwriters: Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Chris Stapleton
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
WINNER: “Buy Dirt” — Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan; Producer: Paul DiGiovanni; Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley
“half of my hometown” — Kelsea Ballerini (feat. Kenny Chesney); Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins; Mix Engineer: Dan Grech-Marguerat
“Never Wanted to Be That Girl” — Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde; Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne; Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
“‘Til You Can’t” — Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon; Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke
“You Should Probably Leave” — Chris Stapleton; Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton; Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Lainey Wilson
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Carrie Underwood
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Chris Stapleton
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
Morgan Wallen
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
Paul Franklin, Steel guitar
Brent Mason, Guitar
Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
Derek Wells, Guitar
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Brothers Osborne
Brooks & Dunn
Dan + Shay
LOCASH
Maddie & Tae
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Old Dominion
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Zac Brown Band
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Lainey Wilson
Walker Hayes
Cody Johnson
Parker McCollum
HARDY
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Morgan Wallen
