It was Chris Stapleton’s night early at the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday.
The country traditionalist Stapleton, who has dominated many of the genre’s awards shows in recent years, won both single and song of the year for “White Horse,” scoring something of an upset in both categories over Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help,” which led to Malone getting four nominations and helped Wallen get seven coming into the show.
Stapleton joined Malone to open the ceremony from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with a performance of Malone’s “California Sober,” and later performed his own “What Am I Gonna Do” with his wife Morgane.
He won three CMAs, taking two for single of the year as both producer and performer on “White Horse.” But he lost out on album of the year to Cody Johnson, who won for “Leather.”
“I thought Chris Stapleton or Jelly Roll was going to win,” Johnson said.
Stapleton and Malone’s opening duet was the beginning of a night of celebration of a time of crossover and collaboration in country.
The ABC telecast, available on Hulu for streaming Thursday, featured performances from artist combos throughout the night, including Brooks & Dunn, representing the 1990s and 2000s, and Jelly Roll, representing country’s current moment. They gave an emotional gospel-style performance of Brooks & Dunn’s 2005 song “Believe.”
Brooks & Dunn followed it up by winning vocal duo of the year for the 15th time and the first since 2006.
Old Dominion won vocal group of the year for a record seventh straight time, surpassing the six won by Little Big Town.
Shaboozey brought the crowd to its feet with a solo performance that began with a bit of his more sober single “Highway” before launching into one of the year’s defining hits, “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
But he lost out to Megan Moroney for best new artist, who won minutes after her own performance.
“Thank you Jesus for putting this dream on my heart,” Moroney, a 27-year-old from Georgia, said with misty eyes as she accepted the award.
Wallen’s nominations include the night’s top prize, entertainer of the year, where his competition consists of Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton and last year’s winner Lainey Wilson. Like Malone, Wilson was up for four awards and is co-hosting the show with Luke Bryan and NFL great Peyton Manning.
She won music video of the year “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.”
The CMA Awards are nominated and voted on by members of the Country Music Association, which includes music executives, artists, publicists, songwriters and other industry professionals.
The evening will also have a multi-artist tribute to George Strait as he receives the association’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bryan called Strait “The King of Country Music” in the show opening.