The 2023 CMA Awards, co-hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, was one for the books. Lainey Wilson officially established herself as the next superstar of country music with a surprising, yet highly-deserved first-time win in the coveted category of Entertainer of the Year. She also scooped up a total of five wins among her nine nominations. Jelly Roll also pulled off a major win for New Artist of the Year, opening the show with a performance of “Need a Favor” featuring Wynonna Judd and closing the show with K. Michelle with a cover of The Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
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While there were many highlights shown onscreen, there were plenty of memorable moments that took place when the cameras weren’t rolling. Below, American Songwriter takes you inside the crowd with moments you didn’t see on TV.
Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Artists often say that awards shows provide them the opportunity to reconnect with their peers they haven’t seen all year. There was a lot of mingling going on amongst the star-studded crowd during the CMA Awards. As artists found their seats on the floor, not even the five-minute-until-showtime warning could stop them from greeting one another. Brothers Osborne‘s John and TJ Osborne greeted friend Michael Trotter Jr. of The War and Treaty with a hug, while Morgan Wallen could be seen hugging Luke Combs‘ wife Nicole, and Dan + Shay‘s Dan Smyers greeting Cody Johnson.
This is a theme that continued throughout the three-hour show. Tyler Hubbard and Lady A‘s Hillary Scott chatted with Sara Evans after she and Bill Anderson presented the Song of the Year category. Jelly Roll gave one of country’s most prominent newcomers, Zach Bryan, a shout-out during his New Artist of the Year acceptance speech, and Bryan was just as popular when the cameras weren’t rolling. Everyone from HARDY to Combs made it a point to converse with the fast-rising star, as Combs could be seen giving Bryan a hug (with a red solo cup in hand). Wilson could also be seen hugging Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman while a video about the CMA Foundation featuring Urban, Bryan, Kix Brooks, and others played onscreen. A particularly humorous interaction came when Midland‘s Mark Wystrach patted Zac Brown Band frontman Zac Brown on the back after both groups lost Vocal Group of the Year to Old Dominion.
[RELATED: 2023 CMA Award Winners – The Full List]
Throwback Clips
During the commercial breaks, they kept the entertainment going with a series of vintage clips from CMA Awards past. Attendees took a trip down memory lane with videos of Brooks & Dunn and Reba McEntire singing “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” at the 2008 ceremony, Crystal Gayle’s performance of her CMA winning hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” in the 1970s, and Rascal Flatts singing their signature hit “Bless the Broken Road” at the show in the mid-2000s. Shania Twain belting out “Any Man of Mine” while doting on Johnny Cash, Travis Tritt, and other men in the audience at the 1995 CMA Awards made for a particularly fun memory, while Alabama‘s lively performance of “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)” at the 1984 show had the audience foot stomping, clapping, and singing along.
Band Together
Another small, yet important detail that the cameras didn’t capture was the camaraderie between the artist and their band. Bryan made it a point to high-five all his band members after performing a medley of his 30 No. 1 hits (“That’s My Kinda Night” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” got the most crowd participation), with Combs fist-bumping his entire band after his performance of “Where the Wild Things Are.”
As the lights dimmed after Jelly Roll and Judd’s performance, the two shared a hug onstage, Judd patting him on the shoulder after a job well done, Jelly Roll excitedly pounding his fist in the air. Chris Young standing with his arm around his former music teacher Mrs. Gregory as they watched the video of him presenting her with a new truck as part of the CMA Foundation’s Music Teachers of Excellence, made for a particularly sentimental moment that wasn’t seen on TV. Though it was a structured production, that didn’t stop friends in the audience from wrapping their arms around each other as they swayed and sang along to the music, symbolizing the spirit of country music fans that is felt on and off the screen.
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
