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Chris Stapleton has walked away from the prestigious 2023 CMA Awards with his seventh Male Vocalist of the Year accolade, beating out stiff competition from Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and more.
The Kentucky native made a point of paying tribute to his wife and collaborator, Morgane Stapleton, “I don't do any of this without her, [and I] certainly don't get any of these [awards] without her”.
After someone called out from the crowd and briefly interrupted the much-loved bearded crooner, Stapleton proceeded to give a shout-out to his team, before thanking the country music community more generally for embracing him with open arms.
The ‘White Horse’ songsmith ended his touching acceptance speech by honouring a couple of his close friends and co-writers, who had died earlier in the year.
The 2023 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year category was packed with a plethora of country music heavyweights, including Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, but ultimately Chris Stapleton got the nod ahead of his fellow chart-toppers.
For the past two years, Chris Stapleton has taken home the coveted gong for Male Vocalist of the Year, with Luke Combs triumphing back in 2020. Given the hugely dominant year Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen have enjoyed, many were tipping one of the two to walk away from the Bridgestone Arena as the new victor prior to the ceremony. However, Chris Stapleton has proven once again why it's dangerous to underestimate the Grammy-winning ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ singer-songwriter.
Elsewhere during the star-studded evening, the 57th CMA Awards hosted captivating performances from Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Post Malone, HARDY, Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, Old Dominion, Megan Moroney, Luke Bryan and more.
For Holler's full CMA Awards coverage, head here.
For more on the 2023 CMA Awards, see below:
