11/25/2024
Standing next to the two people that matter the most to me, we walked into the Bridgestone Arena for my second CMA ever as a nominated artist. On the biggest night in country music on the biggest stage in Nashville I had the opportunity to stand next to a couple of living legends and praise Jesus in front of the world. Thank you Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn , yall couldāve picked any artist in the world bigger than me , Iāll never be able to thank yall enough for giving me an opportunity to shamelessly stand on my faith in front of the world.
I know I donāt have to say this but , just so we are clear - Chris Stapleton was and always will be the Male Vocalist of the year as long as he is alive and I think we all agree about that. MORGAN WALLEN MY EAST TENNESSEE BROTHER finally got the flowers he deserves, no one has done more for country music in the last quarter of a century than Morgan has. And Cody, my brother and one of my best friends Cody Johnson, your album Leather is truly one of my favorite albums recorded in the last decade, any win for you is a win for me, you deserved this one , and now I can brag that Iām one of the only features on the CMA album of the year. To my wife and daughter , thank you both. You both stood by me when I wasnāt worth standing by Iām glad we are enjoying this rocket ride together .
Lastly I seeen a clip the other day of Taylor Swift when she found out her album āReputationā was not nominated for album of the year at the Grammys and her first response was āitās ok, I just have to make a better recordā - man that lit a fire under me in a way Iāve never had lit. That was ultimate accountability in action in the real moment and thatās why Taylor is the legend she is . That was all said to say , Iām going to write a better album, Iām
Going to work harder and Iāll be back baby , I will be back. PS REPUTATION was one of the greatest albums ever written.