(L) Lainey Wilson wins five 2023 CMA Awards Credit: Jamie Schramm/CMA
(R) Jelly Roll accepting his first CMA Award for “New Artist of the Year” Credit: Josh Brasted/CMA
Broken Bow Records’ Lainey Wilson and Stoney Creek Records‘ Jelly Roll took home a total of six awards and delivered three stand-out performances and show stopping acceptance speeches at Country Music’s Biggest Night, the CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. In the 57-year history of the awards, Lainey Wilson shattered glass as the first female country artist in over a decade to capture “Entertainer of the Year,” joining a class of iconic trail blazers Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, The Chicks and Taylor Swift. Premiering the television broadcast performance of her next single “Wildflowers And Wild Horses” from her “Album of the Year” winning Bell Bottom Country, Lainey Wilson ignited the stage with a fiery delivery solidifying her recognition as the most awarded artist at the 2023 broadcast.
As Jelly Roll’s monster smash hit “Save Me” featuring Lainey approaches the top of charts, this “New Artist of the Year” winner kicked off the broadcast with a soulful/gospel rendition of multi-format hit “Need a Favor” with the iconic Wynonna Judd. Closing out the broadcast with a show-stopping message of love and unity, Jelly Roll was joined by K. Michelle for “Love Can Build a Bridge” featured on BMG’s “A Tribute to The Judds” available now here.
View full details on their wins below.
Lainey Wilson wins:
- Entertainer of the Year
- Female Artist of the Year (Her second consecutive win in this category)
- Album of the Year – Bell Bottom Country – Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
- Music Video of the Year – “wait in the truck” Hardy featuring Lainey Wilson
- Musical Event of the Year – “wait in the truck” Hardy featuring Lainey Wilson
Jelly Roll wins: New Artist of the Year
Lainey Wilson performs her new single “Wildflowers And Wild Horses”
Jelly Roll and Wynnona Judd perform “Need a Favor” to kick off the 2023 CMA Awards
Lainey Wilson takes home the top honor and her first win for “Entertainer of the Year”
Jelly Roll brings the crowd to their feet in a rousing speech as he
accepts his first CMA Award for “New Artist of the Year”
Lainey Wilson accepting the CMA “Album of the Year Award” for Bell Bottom Country
Lainey Wilson accepting her second consecutive win for “Female Vocalist of the Year”
Wiping away tears, Lainey shared the following as she accepted the win for “Entertainer of the Year.” “I guess nine might be my lucky number. That’s how many times we were nominated for the CMAs this year. It’s also the year [age nine] I wrote my first song, the year I got my first pair of bell bottoms. It’s the year that momma and daddy brought me to Nashville for the very first time and took me to the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. It’s the year that my momma and daddy brought home this horse named Tex. The horse was wild. It needed breaking and they put me on the back of that thing and said, ‘You better hold on, you better ride.’ There were times that I was crying and I wanted to get down. I’m like, ‘Let me off the back of this thing.’ Every time it would start bucking, I’d hold on little bit tighter. I think that right there is one of things that prepared me for this ride. Because, it is wild. Thank y’all for letting me be me and giving me this opportunity.”
Jelly Roll received an electrifying standing ovation for his first CMA win as “New Artist of the Year.” “There is something poetic about a 39-year-old man winning ‘New Artist of the Year’. I don’t know where you’re at in your life or what you’re going through, but I want to tell you to keep going. I want to tell you success is on the other side of it. I want to tell you that it’s gonna be ok. I want to tell you that the windshield is bigger than the rearview for a reason! Because what’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you.”
About Lainey Wilson: As the most nominated artist at the 2023 CMA Awards with a record-breaking nine nominations, and five wins including Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson has earned the enthusiasm of the industry. Critically acclaimed and touted as a top “artist to watch,” to being the leading female nominee and winner at the 2023 ACM Awards and CMT Music Awards, the Louisiana native has made a name for herself in the industry as one of music’s hottest and most buzzed-about new artists. Landing her first No. 1 with her PLATINUM Certified ACM Song of the Year, “Things A Man Oughta Know,” nearly 10 years to the day after leaving her small farming community in a camper trailer to chase her dreams, she has won over legions of fans with her signature Bell Bottom Country sound and aesthetic, which blends traditional Country with a modern yet retro flare. A prolific and sought-after songwriter (having co-writer credits on songs by artists including Luke Combs, Flatland Calvary, and more), Lainey is a fresh, fierce voice in Nashville, delivering CMA-nominated album of the year with her label debut, Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. With a rockstar stage presence, her artistry has taken her across the globe, performing for sold-out crowds throughout the US, UK, and Germany with notable names like Jon Pardi, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Ashley McBryde, and more. After topping the country radio charts for a second time with the two-week No. 1 hit, “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, she recently achieved her third and fourth No. 1 song with “Heart Like a Truck” and HARDY collaboration “wait in the truck”. Her current single “Watermelon Moonshine” topped the Country charts marking her fifth No. 1 single and making her the first female artist in two years to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Country airplay chart. Her critically acclaimed album, Bell Bottom Country, reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart, quickly rose to No. 1 on iTunes charts, and has amassed over 650 million streams to date. Wilson made her acting debut in Season 5 of the smash hit series “Yellowstone” as a musician character named Abby, where she premiered her original “Smell Like Smoke” as well as showcased other hits off her recent album including “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Hold My Halo”. Adding to her growing list of endeavors, Wilson was honored at Billboard’s Women in Music Awards with the Rulebreaker Award, and most recently joined forces with Wrangler as the face of their 2023 fall/winter women’s collection.
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About Jelly Roll: Nashville native singer/songwriter Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord) recently debuted Top 3 on the Billboard 200 All Genre Chart and #2 on the Top Country Album charts with his debut Country Album, Whitsitt Chapel (released June 2nd, 2023) – earning the biggest Country debut album in Billboard Consumption Chart history. Following his sweep at the 2023 CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards where he earned 3 awards to become the most awarded artist of the night, the Billboard Country Power List Cover star and “country’s ‘most authentic’ new artist” (The New Yorker) recently received Billboard’s 2023 Breakthrough Award. “One of Nashville’s fastest rising stars” (The New York Times), Jelly was an 8X nominee and 4X winner at the People’s Choice Country Awards and was the most nominated male at the 2023 CMA Awards, with five total nominations capturing his first CMA Award for “New Artist of the Year.” His current hit single “Save Me” — a confessional, vulnerable expression of self-doubt— set the stage for his new season of life and took him to new heights, has more than 155 million views on YouTube and Platinum certification from the RIAA. Jelly debuted the song along with Lainey Wilson at the 2023 ACM Awards on the heels of his 28-week reign at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. “Save Me” is the follow-up single to his multi-week #1 hits on Country and Rock radio, “Need A Favor” and “Son of A Sinner.”
Having just wrapped his sold-out 44-city 2023 Backroad Baptism Arena Tour and celebrated multi-format success with “Need a Favor” inside the Top 10 on Hot AC and Top 25 on Top 40, Jelly Roll continues to resonate with fans on a global scale and earn numerous industry milestones – from playing his sold-out hometown show for 18,000 fans at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena to sold-out dates at the Ryman Auditorium and the release of his critically acclaimed Hulu documentary produced by ABC News, “Save Me.” Featured by Nightline, GMA, GMA3, The New York Times, The Tennessean, Billboard, Variety, American Songwriter, CMT and more, his self-built, unconventional industry rise and unique fan connection has garnered praise from numerous outlets, with Variety noting, “for everyone who’s facing the same struggles, Jelly Roll is their Springsteen,” and American Songwriter echoing, “with a string of accolades and an extremely dedicated following, Jelly Roll has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.”
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