by Holly Gleason

Records were broken, startling returns were delivered and first-time Country Music Association winners emerged at the 58th Annual CMA Awards show last night. But even more significantly, Morgan Wallen not only appeared on that first-time winners list but came home with the evening’s highest honor: Entertainer of the Year.

At a time when it seems the pop world has gone country—the show opened with Chris Stapleton and Post Malone, sporting a genteel look, singing “California Sober”—the winners sent a clear message that while Nashville’s CMA voters valued and loved the out-of-format energy, they were intent on recognizing the artists whose roots remain solidly planted in the country space. Stapleton proved that in a big way. Once again winning Song and Single of the Year for his surging “White Horse,” he also took home his eighth Male Vocalist of the Year award. He and wife Morgane also delivered an erotically charged “What Am I Gonna Do” that deftly evoked the earliest days of Waylon and Willie’s Outlaw movement.

Equally stunning was Kacey Musgraves’ woman-alone-with-guitar performance of “The Architect.” After her sojourn into disco-cowgirl territory, her decision to return to her small town Texas roots on Deeper Well netted her three nominations—one for Album of the Year and one for Female Vocalist of the Year. She also got a nod for Musical Event of the year for duetting with BMI’s co-Songwriter of the Year and populist force Zach Bryan on “I Remember Everything.”

Cody Johnson, a hard-scrabble Texas traditionalist in terms of music and values, walked in with a five+two; his nominations including Male, Single and a pair of Video nods, plus “Dirt Cheap” and “The Painter” in Song of the Year. The strength of his overall work delivered him the coveted Album of the Year award for Leather. “There’s very few moments in your life when Ric Flair feels appropriate, but…” and he delivered the iconic wrestler’s “WOOOOO!” The lean into hard traditionalism was also strong enough to hand Brooks & Dunn their 15th win for Duo of the Year. Reboot II, which paired them with many of today’s young turks, established the Country Music Hall of Famers as a strong foundational element for the ‘90s throwback sound embraced by so many. As Kix Brooks said in accepting, “A philosopher said, ‘Time is undefeated.’ Not yet, I guess…”

Ceremony co-host and 2023 Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson won Video of the Year, but more importantly, took her third Female Vocalist of the Year. Her performance of “4x4xU” showed her to be a woman who can lean hard into a song and deliver emotionally, visually and vocally.

That stark bar-room “thing” also vaulted Ella Langley and Riley Green’s more Western than Country “you look like love to me” to the Vocal Event of the Year award. Their from-the-audience performance carried a certain swag, especially Langley, giving off very Jessie Colter vibes.

Old Dominion, the earworm farmers who’ve also crafted hits for Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, accepted their seventh Group of the Year title from fellow veterans The Oak Ridge Boys, cementing the special place vocal groups hold in the genre.

First-time winner Megan Moroney, in a massive mermaid custom Cristian Siriano dress, was so shocked when she won Best New Artist that she didn’t have a speech. Believing people resonating with her lyrics may have helped give her the win, she told HITS exclusively, “I go to country music to feel less alone, and now I think people come to me the same way. I came here just happy to be here. And this? It’s a shock.”

Equally shocking for some was Wallen finally winning Entertainer of the Year, even as he skipped this year’s show, citing feeling used for ratings but continually shut out. His win signals the more traditional voters recognizing not only his commitment to making the music and doing the work, but also his drive and hunger to keep taking that music to the fans. This massive sign of recognition feels far more meaningful than just “most tickets sold.”

Beyond the winners, because only 20% of the nominees receive awards, there was a real spirit of music in the house. Luke Combs’ triple guitar assault on “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” showed what a powerhouse vocalist he is, with a vocal churn that cuts through the arena country ballast with ease.

Jelly Roll, always grateful, happy and free, was sanctified dueting with Brooks & Dunn on their 2006 Single of the Year winner “Believe,” pressing into a vocal exchange culmination with Ronnie Dunn that pitched both men to the rafters and salvation, bearing witness to the power of gospel, storytelling and country music. He returned with Keith Urban for the cautionary addiction tale “Liar.”

The George Strait tribute that set up his receipt of the prestigious Willie Nelson Lifetime Award genuflected at the high altar of classic Texas country. After Lainey sang a bit of “Amarillo by Morning,” modern outlaw Jamey Johnson stepped in to deliver a searing take on his 2007 CMA Song of the Year “Give It Away,” which was also the #1 country song of the year. Two more Texas icons, Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum, delivered the life statement “Troubadour,” which pivots on the landmine refrain “I was a young troubadour when I rode in on a song, and I’ll be an old troubadour when I leave…”

The segment peaked when Strait, joined by stadium tourmate Stapleton, kicked into the wink ’n’ industrial shuffle “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” before giving the evening’s most moving speech. Visibly moved, he thanked Jesus Christ first, the artists who’ve performed, the songwriters, MCA Records, the fans, his band and “my manager, Erv Woolsey, my tour manager, Tom Foote, and fiddle player Gene Elders, all resting in peace with the Lord.” He ultimately thanked his whole family, but especially the support of his wife Norma “just shy of 53 years this December.”

Post Malone’s joy at just being in the room was palpable, and Shaboozey‘s performance of “Highway”/“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” showed the same, proving he’s bigger than just his 18 weeks at #1. In a genre where Godzilla-sized hits—like that scored by Billy Ray Cyrus, for one—often don’t yield a career, his performance and the rest of his Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going album steep his hip-hop influences in a country authenticity that pulls equally from Kenny Rogers, Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard.

At the other end of the spectrum, Dierks Bentley brought rising bluegrass queens Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes for a show-closing “American Girl” from Scott Borchetta’s Tom Petty tribute project. Robust and quick-picking, it’s Appalachia stretched across a rock canvas, showing another effective and roots-forward country music hybrid.

From covering Country hits on TikTok to climbing DSP charts, 18-year-old Bayker Blankenship is making waves with his breakout debut single, “Maxed Out.”

The track hit 100m+ streams, #2 on the Spotify Viral charts and #41 on Apple Music’s Country chart, while its music video—shot in his Tennessee hometown—has earned 11m+ views. Blankenship will make his TV debut on CBS Saturday Morning this weekend.

“Bayker is one of the rare, special artists who possesses a pure, singular talent, matched only by his unaffected personality and big heart,” said Todd Moscowitz, CEO of Alamo/Santa Anna Records.

Next up, Blankenship will release his Double A-Side release "300 Miles”/"Blame It on Me,” on 12/11 via Lone Star Records, while his second collaborative single with fellow rising star Waylon Wyatt is due in January. The pair’s recent duet “Jailbreak” is currently taking off on YouTube and TikTok.

And to kick off what will surely be a busy year for the up and comer, Blankenship will hit the road on 1/15 for first national tour, which is nearly sold out.

Peep the video for "Maxed Out" below.

Biz heavies and top artists got fancy for the flashbulbs around CMA night, and then sent the pics to us so we could supply our ridiculous captions. Dive into the winners here.

Why are Mercury boss Tyler Arnold, Post Malone and Republic’s Monte Lipman standing in this shower? It's because a clause in Posty's contract stipulates that his beard must shampooed by senior executives at least once per fiscal quarter.

Warner Music Nashville and Warner Records keep the party going as Cody Johnson celebrates taking home Album of the Year for Leather. Seen brainstorming the follow-up volume, Ultrasuede, are photo op are WMN’s Co-Chair/Co-President Gregg Nadel, Johnson, Co-Chair/Co-President Cris Lacy and labelmate Ashley McBryde.

WMN’s Nadel and Lacy gather for this photo op with Bailey Zimmerman and Warner Records’ Co-Chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and Co-Chairman/COO Tom Corson, both of whom erroneously believed they could handle the "authentic" hot chicken. They are said to be recovering nicely.

Republic bro-bosses Monte and Avery Lipman are pictured at Big Loud HQ with Stephen Wilson Jr. Word has it the gifted young photographer who captured this tableau goes by the improbable moniker S.A. England.

Photo credit: Keith Griner

Seen backstage at the Brooklyn Bowl for BBR Music Group/BMG’s 14th Annual Pre-CMA Party on 11/19 are (l-r) BMG’s Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Thomas Coesfeld and Jon Loba. Later, Loba's bowtie got its own Instagram account and was liked by a Kardashian.

Photo credit: Kaylee Steffel

Sony Music Nashville commemorated its record-setting CMA night with a downtown bash. Seen just before a HITS staffer bum-rushed the pedal-steel and was escorted out by security are (l-) SMN’s EVP and COO/incoming President Ken Robold, SVP of A&R/incoming Chairman & CEO Taylor Lindsey, Director of Digital Marketing and Artist Development Parker Stacey, PunchBowl Entertainment Manager/Owner Juli Griffith, CMAs New Artist of the Year Megan Moroney, SMN Chairman & CEO Randy Goodman, PunchBowl Entertainment’s Hayley Corbett and Columbia’s SVP of A&R Julian Swirsky.

Photo credit: Brett Carlsen /Getty Images for BMLG

BMLG celebrated the 58th Annual CMAs with first-time nominee Riley Green taking home the Musical Event of the Year. Pictured before piling into a waiting Maserati to do some parking-lot donuts are (back row, l-r) Chase McDaniel, Shaylen, Chris Janson, Jackson Dean, LECADE, Green, Conner Smith, Ryan Hurd, Greylan James, Badflower’s Josh Katz, Noah Hicks; and (front row, l-r) Mae Estes, Thomas Rhett, BMLG’s Scott Borchetta and Sandi Spika Borchetta, Carly Pearce and Mackenzie Carpenter.

Photo credit: Erika Goldring Photography

Over at Nashville’s Blanco, CAA’s CMA Awards viewing party, The CORE’s Brittani Johnson, Left | Right’s John Meneilly, The CORE’s Jon Borris and Big Loud’s Tracker Johnson toast to successfully keeping us out of this party.

Photo Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for WME

WME brought the party to Sixty Vines at Fifth and Broad in Nashville to celebrate 13 performances and six award wins, including Female, Male, Single, Song and Video of the Year. Pictured are (l-r) KP Entertainment’s Kerri Edwards, CMA Awards co-host Luke Bryan and co-Head of WME’s Nashville office Jay Williams. Later, Cindy Mabe counted the vines and found that there were only 57, thus securing a sizable discount on the bar tab.

Blake Shelton, who’s no stranger to country radio love, just had the single biggest radio add day of his career with the anthemic “Texas.”

The track, Shelton's first for Wheelhouse/BBR/BMG Nashville, dropped on 11/15 and racked up 156 adds, 149 of which are Mediabase reporting outlets, right out of the box. Shelton will take “Texas” to the stage of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (11/20) for an interview and outdoor stage performance of the song.

Reflecting on the success, Shelton said, “I moved to Nashville the month after I graduated from high school to sing country music and hopefully get to hear one of my songs on the radio. After all these years, it’s still exciting, and thanks to fans for listening and coming out to shows. I can’t wait to play ‘Texas’ live!”

The star already has a full calendar for early 2025, starting with his Live In Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which is set for 2/ 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15. His Friends And Heroes Tour, featuring support from Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins and Emily Ann Roberts. will kick off at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on 2/27.

Pictured (l-to-r): BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville general manager Peter Strickland, BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld, Blake Shelton, BMG Americas president Jon Loba amd BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville EVP JoJamie Hahr.

Taylor Lindsey has been appointed chairman and CEO of Sony Music Nashville, a position she’ll assume in January of 2025.

In a corresponding move, Ken Robold has been named president and COO of SMN, reporting directly to Lindsey and overseeing operations of assets, including the Christian label Provident Entertainment. Meanwhile, Lindsey, who had served as the company’s head of A & R since 2021 , will report to Rob Stringer, chairman, Sony Music Group.

Prior to joining SMN in 2013, Lindsey worked in A&R at BMG Publishing where she represented Grammy-award winning songwriters such as Hillary Lindsey and Tony Lane.

In making the announcement, Stringer said, “I am very excited that we can promote a creative talent from within the company to this top position. She is ideally suited to plot the future for our Nashville team in a chapter where country music is clearly evolving and thriving as a key musical genre.”

Lindsey added, “Along with Ken and the incredible SMN team, we are committed to fostering collaboration with our artists, creators, and fans and will create a vibrant community that not only honors our rich heritage in storytelling but also redefines the sound of country music for generations.”

The Country Music Association has lined up an impressive array of presenter talent for this year’s CMA Awards, from country standard-bearers like Clint Black to decorated athletes like Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.

Hosts Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning will welcome an array of presenters, including CMA award winners Little Big Town, Mark Collie, Carly Pearce and the Oak Ridge Boys, the last of which are also members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The list also includes standouts from other fields, such as World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Jeff Bridges and Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton.

Performers taking the stage for the 58th annual CMA Awards include of the biggest names in music, “The 58th Annual CMA Awards” is a must-see event. Artists taking the CMA Awards stage include Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Riley Green, Sierra Hull, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Noah Kahan, Ella Langley, Ashley McBryde, Megan Moroney, Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Chris Stapleton, Teddy wims, Thomas Rhett, Molly Tuttle and Bailey Zimmerman.

“The 58th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, at 8 p.m. [ET] on ABC.

Ringo Starr returns to Music City for the first time in decades with the 11/15 release of “Thankful,” the first single from his country-steeped UMG Nashville debut Look Up.

The song, which also features Alison Krauss, is Starr’s sole co-write on the T-Bone Burnett-produced album, which is set for release on 1/10. His songwriting partner on the track is Bruce Sugar, who earned a Grammy nomination for his engineering work on the Beatles ‘Now and Then.

Ringo said, “I love this track. I wrote it with my producer and engineer Bruce Sugar and I feel we put an L.A. country sound to it. For the lyrics, I always like to focus on the positive, and for this song in particular, about what we can be thankful for. I hope it brings you some joy and peace and love.”

It’s not the first country rodeo for rock legend, who dipped his toes into the pool with tracks like “Don’t Pass Me By” and the Fab Four’s cover of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally.” He went back to the well for his second solo album, 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues, which was recorded during a three-day session in Nashville.

Ringo will test-drive the new material when he rolls into Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on 1/14-15.

HITS is currently wondering if we can convert those old Beatle boots into cowboy boots in Ringo’s honor.

By Holly Gleason

Country has been at a crossroads for over a decade. When bro country started to seem like too much of a good thing, it was inevitable that something new would emerge, much like the new traditionalist boom of the ’80s. For a moment it looked like Nashville would go hick-hop. But if the 2025 Grammy nominations are any indication, there are two new world orders in country music.

Beyond the radio-driven, populist vibe that has propelled the lion’s share of today’s country stars, streaming has now become a force to be reckoned with. Lack of airplay on KPLX in Dallas, WBOS in Boston or WSM and WSIX out of Nashville will no longer knock you out of the game. Indeed, Beyoncé—who is represented in all four country categories as well as Best Americana Performance—didn’t need Country radio at all to have a seismic impact with COWBOY CARTER.

Shaboozey, who had existed outside the mainstream for a decade despite major-label releases as far back as 2017, hit the top of the Country radio charts, propelled in part by his streaming success. His “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” wasn’t just a cultural moment, it has also gained recognition across genres, notching Best New Artist and Song of the Year noms.

No one would’ve bet on Post Malone being this year’s “sweetheart of the rodeo.” But his unabashed love of the genre, deep historical knowledge of the artists and deep dive into various Nashville wells has made him the most popular guy on campus. Rather than worrying about carpetbagging, Academy voters loaded him up with nods for Best Country Album (F-1 Trillion), Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, both for “I Had Some Help,” his collab with fellow disruptor Morgan Wallen.

In addition, Malone joined Nashville expat Taylor Swift on “Fortnight,” which is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video, and with Queen Bey for “LEVII’S JEANS” in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Not bad for a guy who was on the Bonnaroo mainstage in a Dolly Parton short-pants/bowling-shirt combo six years ago.

The biggest merging agent may well be Jelly Roll. The hip-hop kid from Antioch, Tennessee, always had a taste for country. His WHITSITT CHAPEL invoked classic-era Merle Haggard, setting up the tattooed rapper to return the genre to its roots. His terrifyingly real “I Am Not Okay” deservedly pulled down Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance nods.

Jelly Roll harkens back to a kind of working-man’s country that was about tangled emotions, not a jacked-up truck or a black-out drunk. That porous kind of life that’ll give you splinters doesn’t always hit with people looking for low-hanging fruit, but it’s defined the genre’s legends (George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, even Tanya Tucker) for more than half a century.

That more classic approach to a songwriter-driven, hardship-and-hallelujah approach to life with classic turns of phrase and strong melodies has been inhabited over the last decade by progressive Texas songwriter and John Prine fave Kacey Musgraves and Kentucky’s bluegrass-steeped country-soul torchbearer Chris Stapleton. Musgraves pulled down Best Country Solo and Song mentions for “The Architect,” picked up Country Album for Deeper Well and Best Americana Performance for her turn on Madi Diaz’s “Don’t Do Me Good,” while Stapleton snagged nominations for Country Solo Performance for “It Takes A Woman” and Album for Higher.

Freight-train newcomer Lainey Wilson, who’s riding a two-year breakout, earned a single Country Album nomination for Whirlwind, but in a year with less strength from non-Nashville artists she might well have had several nominations.

The Duo/Group category has become a haven for top country names looking to stretch out: Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay and Malone with Morgan Wallen, Kelsea Ballerini’s duet with rootsy pop chart-topper Noah Kahan on “Cowboys Cry Too” and Beyoncé’s pairing with Miley Cyrus on the yearning “Shotgun Rider” create space for hybrid exploration, space that may yield even more intriguing music.

While Nashville is embracing more folks from outside Music Row, the city’s denizens are also reaching into categories outside the typical country confines. With Ian Fitchuk nominated for Producer and Jessie Jo Dillon and Jessi Alexander both vying for Songwriter of the Year, it makes sense that country’s impact is leveling up. Twisters: The Album, which leaned country, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, and Luke Combs’ “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” finds itself competing for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Additionally, June, the documentary devoted to June Carter Cash’s life and music beyond her storied love affair with husband Johnny, is nominated for Best Music Film. The second generation of the first family of country music’s story competes with American Symphony, Run-DMC, Little Steven Van Zant and the doc that explores the recording of “We Are The World.”

Sometimes it’s not what you say, it’s what you do. Sometimes inclusion isn’t something that needs touting. This year’s Grammy ballot sure looks like that shift is happening. Hard to believe, and yet most things eventually find their way to where they ought to be.