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culture

CMA Awards 2023 recap: All the biggest wins and epic performances

PHOTO: Lainey Wilson accepts the Entertainer of the Year award from Keith Urban onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena, on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
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Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Red carpet fashion at the 57th annual CMA Awards
By Hayley FitzPatrick, Carson Blackwelder, Angeline Jane Bernabe
Last Updated: November 9, 2023, 3:39 AM

Many of the biggest names in country music were honored at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards Wednesday night.

Lainey Wilson took home three of the top awards of the night, including the coveted entertainer of the year award, as well as female vocalist of the year and album of the year. She won two awards prior to the show, thanks to her collaboration with Hardy on his song "Wait in the Truck," bringing her total number of wins this year to five.

Elsewhere at the 2023 CMA Awards, Chris Stapleton won the award for male vocalist of the year, while Old Dominion and Brothers Osborne won vocal group of the year and vocal duo of the year, respectively.

There were also plenty of notable performances during the packed show, including a moving tribute performance for the late music legend Jimmy Buffett.

Check out a recap of how the night unfolded below.

Key moments:

  • Lainey Wilson wins entertainer of the year
  • Chris Stapleton wins male vocalist of the year
  • Lainey Wilson wins female vocalist of the year
  • Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and more pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett
Here's how the awards show unfolded. All times Eastern.

Nov 09, 2023 3:39 AM

Lainey Wilson wins female vocalist of the year

Lainey Wilson won the CMA Award for female vocalist of the year. This is Wilson's second win in the category after taking home the award last year.

PHOTO: Lainey Wilson accepts the Female Vocalist of the Year award from Martina McBride onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena, on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Lainey Wilson accepts the Female Vocalist of the Year award from Martina McBride onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena, on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

"This is for all of the hardworkin' ladies that I know, that I don't know. I see ya," she said in her acceptance speech. "For all you little girls watching, and for the ones that are here tonight too, it's something that I'm doing, I'm getting up every single day and look[ing] at myself in the mirror and saying, 'I am beautiful. I am smart. I am talented. I am godly. I am fearless. If somebody tells me I can't do it, hold my beer -- watch this.'"

She added, "Here's to all the ladies who blaze trails every single dang day of their life."

Other nominees up for the honor included Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce.


Nov 09, 2023 3:31 AM

Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton perform "We Don't Fight Anymore"

Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton took the CMA Awards show stage to perform their song "We Don't Fight Anymore," which they released in June.

PHOTO: Chris Stapleton and Carly Pearce perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Chris Stapleton and Carly Pearce perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

The duo were nominated for musical event of the year for the song.

"To say this is a dream come true would be an understatement," Pearce captioned an Instagram post about her performance with Stapleton ahead of the awards show.


Nov 09, 2023 3:25 AM

Lainey Wilson shouts out her hometown as she wins album of the year

Lainey Wilson took home the CMA Award for album of the year for "Bell Bottom Country" during Wednesday's ceremony.

The singer said her album was inspired by her small hometown of Baskin, Louisiana.

"You sit around a kitchen table and tell the same ol' stories you've been hearing for years, the kind of stories that get better every single time you hear 'em," she said. "Stories that make you laugh, make you cry, make you want to drink a beer -- just make you feel something. That's what we wanted to do with this record."

Other nominees in the category included Ashley McBryde's "Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville," Luke Combs' "Gettin' Old," Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time" and Kelsea Ballerini's "Rolling Up the Welcome Mat."



Nov 09, 2023 3:14 AM

Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and more pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett

Several country music stars took the stage to pay tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett, who died Sept. 1 at age 76.

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A post shared by Country Music Association (@cma)

Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Mac McAnally and Zac Brown performed a medley of Buffett's biggest hits including "A Pirate Looks at Forty" and "Margaritaville."

PHOTO: Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
PHOTO: Alan Jackson and Zac Brown perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
Alan Jackson and Zac Brown perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 8, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Nov 08, 2023 10:10 PM

Who is performing?

Jelly Roll will be opening the show while Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band will take part in a tribute performance for the late Jimmy Buffett.

In addition to co-hosting, Bryan will take to the stage to perform a medley of his No. 1 hits.

There will also be collaborations between Old Dominion and Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton, Tanya Tucker and Little Big Town, and more.

Others slated to perform during the award show include Kelsea Ballerini, Dan + Shay, Jordan Davis, Cody Johnson, The War and Treaty, and Lainey Wilson, to name a few.


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