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It was a big night in country music once again for Luke Combs, Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson, who all managed momentous wins on 'The Biggest Night of the Year'.
The 56th Annual CMA Awards took place on Thursday, November 10th 2022 from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
While it was another night full of one-of-a-kind performances and notable attendees, the award ceremony itself was a noticeably 'traditional' affair - with artists who lean more towards what's deemed as 'authentic' country fairing better on the night than their mainstream, 'pop country' counterparts.
The night certainly cemented the current trajectory that country music is taking, both in creative ideology and audience taste; regardless of whether radio - ever the gatekeeper of country music - is behaving in the same way.
Luke Combs once again took home the night’s highest honour, retaining his Entertainer of the Year title against Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood and Morgan Wallen.
He is the first artist to win the award in successive years since Garth Brooks in 2016 and 2017.
Combs' win also continues what is now an 11-year stretch of all-male winners of the most prestigious CMA Award. Taylor Swift was the last woman to win the award, back in 2011.
Lainey Wilson won her first two CMAs ever, taking home both the New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year awards in what were tough categories.
Upon winning, Wilson shared on her Instagram; "Holy moly y’all!! This is such a blessing. Thank you to all of the fans, my team, my cowriters and collaborators, my supporters and even the ones that doubted me. This is only the beginning!! Let’s go!!! I love country music".
It was a supremely successful night for Wilson, who went into the night as most-nominated with 6 nods. She joins Carrie Underwood and Alison Krauss as only the third artist to win both New Artist and Female Vocalist Awards in the same year.
For the full of awards and winners, see below:
THE 56th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS – WINNERS (by ballot category order):
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
LUKE COMBS (WINNER)
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Morgan Wallen
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
‘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 (WINNER)
Producer: Trent Willmon
Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke
‘You Should Probably Leave’ – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Growin' Up – Luke Combs (WINNER)
Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
Mix Engineers: Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews
Humble Quest – Maren Morris
Producer: Greg Kurstin
Mix Engineer: Serban Ghenea
Palomino – Miranda Lambert
Producers: Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Mikey Reaves
Mix Engineer: Jason Lehning
Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' – Lainey Wilson
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineer: F. Reid Shippen
Time, Tequila & Therapy – Old Dominion
Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion
Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank
SONG OF THE YEAR
‘Buy Dirt’ - Songwriters: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins (WINNER)
‘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
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Carrie Underwood
LAINEY WILSON (WINNER)
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
CHRIS STAPLETON (WINNER)
Morgan Wallen
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
OLD DOMINION (WINNERS)
Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
BROTHERS OSBORNE (WINNERS)
Dan + Shay
LOCASH
Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
‘Beers On Me’ – Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY
Producers: Dierks Bentley, Ross Copperman
‘If I Didn't Love You’ – Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood
Producer: Michael Knox
‘Longneck Way To Go’ – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi)
Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
‘Never Say Never’ – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson)
Producer: Zach Crowell
‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (WINNERS)
Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle (WINNER)
Paul Franklin, Steel guitar
Brent Mason, Guitar
Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
‘I Bet You Think About Me’ (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) – Taylor Swift (featuring Chris Stapleton) - Director: Blake Lively
‘Longneck Way To Go’ – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi) - Director: Harper Smith
‘Never Say Never’ – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson) - Director: Michael Monaco
‘Never Wanted To Be That Girl’ – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde - Director: Alexa Campbell
‘'Til You Can't’ – Cody Johnson - Director: Dustin Haney (WINNER)
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
HARDY
Walker Hayes
Cody Johnson
Parker McCollum
LAINEY WILSON (WINNER)
For more on the CMA Awards 2022, see below:
