CMA Awards 2024: Complete list of winners, best and worst moments

NASHVILLE — The 58th annual Country Music Association Awards proceeded rather seamlessly on Wednesday night until the final minutes of the show, when country superstar Morgan Wallen was awarded entertainer of the year, the biggest prize of the night … only he was not in attendance, leaving presenter Jeff Bridges onstage to try to fill the air.

“Morgan’s not here, man!” said Bridges, who also mispronounced Wallen’s last name (“Waylon”) when he announced him as the winner, and held up his hands to calm the cheering audience. “Morgan couldn’t make it tonight, so I’m going to accept this award on his behalf.” He started looking around for what he was supposed to do next. “Do I get the award?”

Then someone arrived onstage and handed him the trophy. “All right, let’s hear it for Morgan!” Bridges said, and then saw co-hosts Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning approaching. “Oh, no, you’re going to accept.” Bridges hung around and held the trophy as the trio closed out the show, and Wilson summed up the closing seconds of the telecast as she addressed Bryan and Manning: “I had fun with y’all. I mean, y’all a little bit awkward, but it’s alright.”

Wallen’s win should not have been a surprise — he had seven nominations, the most of any artist, including male vocalist of the year and several nods for his monster hit duet with Post Malone, “I Had Some Help,” which spent a good portion of this year at or near the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Last month, he wrapped up a tour playing sold-out stadiums and arenas around the world. But some CMA voters told The Post they wondered whether Wallen was considered too “controversial” to win the show’s most prestigious prize, because he was banned from attending in 2021 after TMZ posted a video of him saying the n-word. Others thought momentum might swing toward breakout stars Jelly Roll or Wilson, who won last year. Now, Wallen is officially back in the CMAs winner’s circle.

There was no word on Wallen’s whereabouts on Wednesday, though the rest of the entertainer of the year nominees — including Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton — performed during the three-hour ceremony. Stapleton, a longtime industry and CMAs favorite, won the most awards with three trophies, including song and single of the year for “White Horse,” which he released in July 2023. The latter prize was considered a bit of a shock given the success of “I Had Some Help.” And Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which — as mentioned during the show at least twice — has been No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a whopping 17 weeks. However, one can never count out Stapleton at an award ceremony.

“I’m out of things to say,” Stapleton said while accepting the male vocalist trophy, his third time at the microphone. Stapleton, who performed three times during the telecast, thanked his fellow artists and saved the most praise for his wife, singer-songwriter Morgane Stapleton, his frequent collaborator. “I can’t do this without you and probably wouldn’t be here without you.”

Elsewhere, Megan Moroney won new artist of the year, and Cody Johnson, who spent his early years as a star on the Texas country circuit, won album of the year for “Leather.” Wilson didn’t go home emptyhanded, winning female vocalist for the third time in a row and music video for “Wildflowers and Wild Horses."

Old Dominion made history by winning the vocal group prize for the seventh consecutive year. Aside from a brief monologue joke from Manning that cautioned his co-hosts to not talk about politics, Old Dominion lead vocalist Matthew Ramsey was the only person to even allude to current events.

“It’s a really beautiful thing to be in a band. I want to say that if you are an artist of any type, or a creator, a musician, this is when the world needs you the most — when it’s weird, like it is right now,” Ramsey said. “So get out there and get together and create.”

Here are some of the best and worst moments; a complete list of winners is below.

Newcomer Langley and Green’s flirty “You Look Like You Love Me” rocketed up the country radio charts this summer, and it was fitting that the song won musical event of the year. During the performance, Langley, who released her debut album several months ago, looked like a seasoned veteran performer as she casually strolled through the audience while she talk-sang the first verse. Green did the same and played his guitar as they met onstage. Langley danced and sang next to him, and they crooned together about the joy of strangers meeting in a bar.

Combs’s record label chairman once described the superstar’s voice as “it feels like a bear is coming at you.” That was a pretty accurate of description of his passionate delivery of “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” his single from the “Twisters” soundtrack that had the night’s first use of onstage pyrotechnics. The song went viral on TikTok this summer, with users mostly using the sound to accompany slow-motion videos of “Twisters” star Glen Powell, but Combs’s performance was a solid reminder that it’s also just a great song.

Underwood hasn’t been a big presence at the CMAs since her many years co-hosting with Brad Paisley (moment of silence to remember their parody songs, which were actually quite funny), and she wasn’t billed as a performer prior to the show. The audience appeared thrilled to see her and she was a welcome addition as she belted out her always-impressive vocals with Johnson for their duet “I’m Gonna Love You.”

For all the high-energy songs, some of the highlights of the CMA Awards over the years are when it’s just an artist and their guitar. Kacey Musgraves’s melodic voice speculated about a higher power on “The Architect,” while Ashley McBryde expertly covered “Help Me Make It Through the Night” as a tribute to Kris Kristofferson, who died in September at age 88.

Strait was awarded the 2024 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award and quite a few country artists wanted to help him celebrate. Wilson took on “Amarillo By Morning” (she noted that Strait is the King of Country, and “authentically Texas and authentically country”) while Jamey Johnson sang “Give It Away.” Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum teamed up for “Troubadour” and Stapleton joined Strait for “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame.” Strait, in his low-key way, seemed very pleased as he accepted the honor: “I want to thank the CMAs for adding my name to the incredible artists on this small list of recipients carrying the name of the icon, Willie Nelson.”

Credit where credit is due ... these past few CMA years have been tough to watch, host-wise. But Bryan and Manning, who have hosted since 2022, are finding their footing by doubling down on their self-established roles: Manning calmly acts as if he has the proceedings under control, and Bryan happily acts as if he’s the village idiot. Wilson balanced the two out nicely as a “peacemaker,” as she said. The three joked about everything from Jelly Roll’s year of eating healthy and drinking less (“That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” said Bryan, poking fun at his own party image) to the requisite NFL joke. Wilson mentioned Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan’s duet “Cowboys Cry Too” and Manning piped up with “But enough about Jerry Jones.”

Brooks & Dunn might actually agree with this placement, given how stunned they appeared to be to win the prize. They were honored, sure, but even the legendary duo looked like they did not expect to be victorious over Brothers Osborne (who have won every year except twice since 2016), Dan + Shay (who won those other two times), Maddie & Tae and the War and Treaty. One could argue that those four acts are much more relevant in the year 2024, even though Brooks & Dunn did recently release an album with reimagined versions of some of their hits with contemporary country stars.

“What a weird business, right? I love it. I love it. Right now, I really like it,” Ronnie Dunn told the audience. “There’s a famous quote that says time is undefeated. I just say, not yet, I guess,” Kix Brooks added. In the press room, one reporter noted that the two probably just expected to attend the show and hang out. Dunn, who did sound excellent when the duo sang “Believe” with Jelly Roll earlier in the night, emphasized that this is a “crazy business.”

CMA voters told The Post they were pleasantly surprised by Post Malone’s debut country album, “F-1 Trillion,” released this summer, and appreciated how the rapper became so involved in the Nashville community. CMA executives were excited enough that they tapped him to open the show with a duet with Chris Stapleton, “California Sober.” But Post Malone did not sound his best on his second performance, “Yours,” where he imagines his young daughter’s future wedding. Although it is a classic country theme to sing about your kids, there are many, many other songs on his album (which he turned into an extended record) that could have better showcased his country songs.

There was so much going on during Bailey Zimmerman’s “New to Country” — the singer being lowered onto the stage from the ceiling, stopping mid-song to play beer pong, giving a shout-out to pro wrestling, basking in a comical amount of confetti — that it was difficult to concentrate on what was happening in the actual song.

Entertainer of the Year

Luke Combs

Chris Stapleton

Morgan Wallen — winner

Jelly Roll

Lainey Wilson

Male Vocalist of the Year

Luke Combs

Chris Stapleton — winner

Morgan Wallen

Jelly Roll

Cody Johnson

Female Vocalist of the Year

Kelsea Ballerini

Ashley McBryde

Kacey Musgraves

Megan Moroney

Lainey Wilson — winner

Album of the Year

“Fathers & Sons” Luke Combs

“Higher” Chris Stapleton

“Deeper Well” Kacey Musgraves

“Leather” Cody Johnson — winner

“Whitsitt Chapel” Jelly Roll

Single of the Year

“I Had Some Help” Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen

“White Horse” Chris Stapleton — winner

“Dirt Cheap” Cody Johnson

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” Shaboozey

“Watermelon Moonshine” Lainey Wilson

Song of the Year

“I Had Some Help” Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen (written by Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Ernest Keith Smith, Chandler Paul Walters)

“White Horse” Chris Stapleton (written by Stapleton, Dan Wilson) — winner

“Dirt Cheap” Cody Johnson (written by Josh Phillips)

“The Painter” Cody Johnson (written by Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins)

“Burn It Down” Parker McCollum (written by McCollum, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose)

Vocal Group of the Year

Lady A

Little Big Town

Zac Brown Band

Old Dominion — winner

The Red Clay Strays

Vocal Duo of the Year

Brooks & Dunn — winner

Brothers Osborne

Dan + Shay

Maddie & Tae

The War and Treaty

New Artist of the Year

Megan Moroney — winner

Shaboozey

Nate Smith

Mitchell Tenpenny

Zach Top

Bailey Zimmerman

Musical Event of the Year

“I Had Some Help” Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen

“Cowboys Cry Too” Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan

“I Remember Everything” Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves

“Man Made a Bar” Morgan Wallen feat. Eric Church

“You Look Like You Love Me” Ella Langley feat. Riley Green — winner

Music Video of the Year

“I Had Some Help” Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen

“I’m Not Pretty” Megan Moroney

“Wildflowers and Wild Horses” Lainey Wilson — winner

“Dirt Cheap” Cody Johnson

“The Painter”