The 57th annual Country Music Awards (CMA’s) took the nation by storm this past Wednesday, November 8, 2023. In addition to giving out awards in country music, the show also featured some of country’s hottest performers of the moment, including Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson, and Jelly Roll.

There are three key components in making any good award show: good hosts, great live performances, and obviously many awards. This year, Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan took the stage as hosts. Many viewers, however, were sadly disappointed by Manning’s performance describing his speeches “as weak as his jokes.”

In addition to the hosts, one of the other biggest parts of music award ceremonies are the live performances. This year, Jelly Roll opened the CMA’s by performing his current hottest hit Need a Favor with surprise guest Wynonna Judd. 

Rachel Molllica, a mother in Frederick County, noted, “The Morgan Wallen portion wasn’t very good, but Post Malone saved it.”

Mollica wasn’t the only one to think like this. Many viewers were sadly disappointed when they watched Wallensection. Another anonymous viewer said “Morgan Wallen was mid,” but “I thought Luke Bryan was pretty good.”

The final key to a successful evening are the awards. Some of the awards include Best New Artist of the Year (Jelly Roll), Best Female Vocalist (Lainey Wilson), Best Male Vocalist (Chris Stapleton), and Best Vocal Group of the Year (Old Dominion). In total, 12 awards are given out during the CMA’s. The full list of winners can be found here. 

Without a doubt, Wilson took the country by storm after she walked home with five trophies. She won some of the biggest awards in country music. Wilson won Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.  

Another top award winner from the evening was Tracy Chapman. She won the award for Song of the Year for her song she wrote in 1988. Luke Combs recorded the song with more of a country spin on it in 2023. The award for Song of the Year goes to the original songwriter. Therefore, Chapman became the first black woman to win a CMA when she won Song of the Year. 

Ultimately, this year’s CMA’s were full of plenty of exciting and disappointing moments. The hosts, live performances, and awards made this evening a special night for everyone to remember.  Now the question remains: will next year’s CMA’s be even better?