Chris Stapleton took home the biggest award of the night at the ACM Awards on Thursday (May 11): Entertainer of the Year. Accepting the award, Stapleton, who boasts an ideal country singing voice, said, “Woah.” Taking a breath, he added, “Well, I’m shocked. Truly. Thank you. By any imaginable metric, I don’t deserve this. But thank you.”
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Stapleton went on to thank his wife, Morgane, his crew, management, and all the people who helped him. “I stand up there and I play music, that’s what I try to do every night,” he said. “I never thought of myself as somebody who would win this award. So, I’m grateful.
The most poignant moment came when he thanked his kids, who “give up” a lot of time with him and their mom (Stapleton’s wife) so that they can have careers as entertainers. “And this is for them,” Stapleton said.
“Introducing your #ACMawards. Entertainer of the Year, @ChrisStapleton,” shared the ACM Awards on Twitter,
Stapleton was one of seven high-profile nominees. The others included Jason Aldean, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown, and Morgan Wallen.
Stapleton released his latest album, Starting Over, in 2020. The acoustic-driven titular single is an amazing thing to behold in terms of the artist’s booming singing voice. He now has double-digit ACM Awards.
It was a star-studded night in Dallas for the awards show, which kicked off with co-hosts Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, two country legends in their own right, joking about threesomes, goats, and more.
Other highlight moments included Brown performing his hit, “Bury Me in Georgia,” and Combs performing his new single, “Love You Anyway.” Parton ended the show with the debut of her new rock song, “World on Fire” ahead of her forthcoming new rock album, Rockstar.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images
