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MUSIC PEOPLE
NEWS
DECEMBER 2021 Volume 52 Number 12 Issue 622
Editor Duncan Warwick
STAPLETON DOMINATES AT THE CMA AWARDS
Contributors David Allan , Janet Aspley , Donnie Ayers , Craig Baguley , Tony Byworth , Larry Delaney , Don Cusic , Julie Flaskett , Michael Hingston , Stan Hitchcock , Tony Ives , Spencer Leigh , John Lomax III , Adrian Peel , Paul Riley , Alex Rossi , Chris Smith , Tom Travis , Walt Trott , Jack Watkins New release consultant : Steve Tidbury
Assistant editor Kelly Gregory
Photographers Patricia Presley , Barry Dixon
Advertising Kelly Gregory - kelly . cmpcountry @ gmail . com
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Chris Stapleton receiving a CMA Award
T he CMA Awards returned to The
Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville on November 10 with ticketed audience members having to prove full vaccination status and wear face coverings . No such restrictions were put on the stars who were eager to get themselves in front of a live audience following last year ’ s scaled down event .
Luke Bryan assumed host duties making him the first solo host of the awards in 18 years , Vince Gill being the most recent . Luke Combs snagged the prestigious Entertainer Of The Year Award at the 55th ceremony but it was once again Chris Stapleton who dominated , winning Male Vocalist , Album Of The Year , Single Of The Year , and Song Of The Year .
Carly Pearce , who missed out on Album Of The Year for her excellent 29 ( EP ), triumphed as Female Vocalist at the first time of trying . Fighting back tears , Pearce , who made her first public outing with her new boyfriend , former baseball player Riley King , said , “ Country music saved me in a time that I needed it and I just wanted to let you guys know that this is all I ’ ve ever wanted in the entire world and I just wanted you to know that country music is
all I love . Thank you so much .”
But it was the breaking down of the barriers of inequality in country music that captured many of the headlines following the event . Mickey Guyton became the first black woman to be nominated for an individual award at the CMA awards ( and only the eighth black female artist ever to be nominated ) as one of the nominees in the New Artist Of The Year category . She performed Love My Hair ( with Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards ) on the night but lost out to fellow black singer Jimmie Allen who had been eliminated from Dancing with The Stars just two days earlier . Allen became the second African- American artist to win New Artist of the Year ( the first being Darius Rucker in 2009 ). Arguably the most headlines were grabbed by Vocal Duo Of The Year winners Brothers Osbourne ’ s TJ Osbourne , who publicly came out as gay earlier this year , kissing his boyfriend during the ceremony . Following their fourth-time Vocal Duo win he said , “ It ’ s been a crazy rollercoaster of a year for us , especially me emotionally . To have you all support me , it really does feel like love wins tonight .”
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