Brothers Osborne reclaimed the title of Duo of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards. TJ and John Osborne took the Bridgestone Arena stage to accept the award during the Wednesday night (November 8) ceremony.
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The pair were all smiles during their acceptance speech, which included thank-yous to their fellow nominees, fans, and significant others. The talented siblings have dominated the category in recent years, taking home the trophy five times since 2015. Still, the brothers say they are taken by surprise every time they receive industry accolades.
“Every year I get so incredibly nervous,” TJ Osborne told reporters during a backstage interview during the awards ceremony. “I’m still just in shock. I don’t know; it’s hard to even process any of this at this moment.”
Since the release of their debut album, Pawn Shop, in 2016, Brothers Osborne has continued an upward career trajectory. Although their journey to the CMA Awards stage has been long and winding, the pair are thankful they haven’t made that journey alone.
“I feel very grateful that we get to do it as brothers,” John Osborne explains. “I feel grateful that we have each other, and he’s taught me a lot of things. I’ve taught him a lot of things. You know, we’re not beating each other up like we did when we were kids anymore. And now we’ve just found a great symbiotic thing.”
“To have someone … my brother alongside of me getting to experience all these ineffable things… it’s really, really cool,” TJ adds.
Duo of the Year was the lone nomination and win for Brothers Osborne at this year’s ceremony. On September 15, they released their stellar self-titled studio album, which finds the duo at their creative best.
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Although their CMA Award win continues a fruitful streak for the pair, the brothers say they aren’t taking their new level of success for granted.
“We’ve had a great moment these last several years, but we still have spent the vast majority of our lives actually in actual obscurity,” John Osborne explained. “We were here for well over a decade before we even got signed to a record deal. You really try to relish these moments that happen… At some point, it will pass. You gotta relish it. There will be a time when we’re not even nominated. There’ll be a time where we can’t even get the damn building, and we’ll look back and wish that we would have relished it more, so I definitely don’t want to miss any of this every moment.”
The 57th annual CMA Awards were held on November 8, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. A complete list of winners, which American Songwriter is updating in real-time, can be found here.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
