Chris Stapleton scored the top honor of the night at the 58th ACM awards, winning Entertainer of The Year for the first time in his career. He beat out the 6 other nominees in the category, which included Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen, and last year’s reigning champ, Miranda Lambert.
Stapleton has been nominated for Entertainer of The Year five times, and has won Male Artist of The Year three since his first nomination in 2016. With several past ACM wins in multiple categories, it was about time he earned recognition for something a little bigger.
Country icon Trisha Yearwood took the stage to announce the winner of the final award of the night, and presented the trophy to a (very) shocked, visibly stunned Chris Stapleton. The “Tennessee Whiskey” and “You Should Probably Leave” artist was at such a loss for words, he told the crowd exactly that. As he got past the initial shock, he expressed his gratitude to fans and praised the other nominees. ” I stand up and I play music,” he said. “That’s what I try to do every night. I write songs and I make records. I’ve never through of myself as somebody who would win this award, so I’m so grateful.” Filled with emotion, he wrapped up the speech with a “thank you” to his family. “This is for them,” he said of his kids and wife Morgane, who was beaming with pride the whole time.
Chris Stapleton has had a wildly successful 2023 since kicking things off with an incredible performance of the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVII back in February. Along with his Stagecoach appearance and the beginning of his “All-American Road Show” tour, EOTY is just another accomplishment he’s added to the list.