CMAs get emotional
Keith Urban and Chris Stapleton win big at country music’s big awards night
Chris Stapleton won the most awards at the 2018 Country Music Association Awards and had the show’s best performance, almost capping a perfect night. That was until Keith Urban surprisingly won the top prize — entertainer of the year — moments before the three-hour show wrapped Wednesday night.
Urban’s actress-wife, Nicole Kidman, was in tears as the singer walked onstage to collect the award at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. “Baby girl, I love you so much,” he said. “I’m shocked beyond shocked.”
Urban last won entertainer of the year in 2005 and also beat out Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney for the prize.
Stapleton, however, cleaned house at the CMAs, winning four awards including male vocalist, song and single of the year. “I want to thank my kids who put up with me being gone quite a bit and not getting to be as a good daddy that I would always like to be,” said the father of four and soon to be five since his wife, singer-songwriter Morgane Stapleton, is pregnant.
Stapleton also won the performance of the night: His supergroup featuring Mavis Staples, Maren Morris, Marty Stuart and his wife gave a soulful and powerful performance of Friendship, a song made famous by Pop Staples, the iconic singer’s late father. They then performed I’ll Take You There, jamming onstage along with a choir. They earned a standing ovation from the audience.
When Stapleton won single of the year — where he won as both a performer and producer — earlier in the show, he said he was “thinking about the people in California right now” and he wants to “dedicate this award to them.”
He was referring to the 12 people who were killed at a Southern California country music bar last week.
The CMAs also took time to honour those affected by the deadly wildfires in California. “We send our love to you,” said Carrie Underwood, also mentioning the “brave firefighters.”
Underwood worked triple-duty as co-host, performer and nominee at the CMAs. She was teary-eyed when she won female vocalist of the year.