Country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton has won the prestigious ACM Entertainer of the Year award for the first time in his career, and he dedicated his win to his five children.
Stapleton, a native of Kentucky, beat out other country superstars such as Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, and Morgan Wallen. Trisha Yearwood presented the award to Stapleton during the 2023 ACM Awards ceremony held on Thursday evening.
During his acceptance speech, Stapleton expressed his surprise and gratitude for the recognition, saying, "By any imaginable metric, I don’t deserve this, but thank you." He also thanked his fans and his team for their support and hard work that enables him to make music and tour.
In a touching moment, Stapleton dedicated his award to his five children, acknowledging the sacrifices they make so that he and his wife can pursue their careers in music. "I wanna say, my kids sitting at home, they give up a lot of my time and a lot of my wife’s time so we can go do this and this is for them," he said.
The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards featured performances by many top artists, including Jason Aldean, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Miranda Lambert, among others. The live broadcast announced nine awards categories, including Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Duo of the Group, Group of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year, and Music Event of the Year.
The ACM Awards also included collaborations and memorable moments. Reigning ACM Female Artist of the Year Carly Pearce teamed up with Trisha Yearwood for a special medley in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Yearwood winning Female Artist of the Year. Meanwhile, Cole Swindell joined forces with Jo Dee Messina for an epic performance of the "She Had Me At Heads Carolina" remix.
The two-hour awards show streamed live for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. Co-hosted by country music icons Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, the 2023 ACM Awards ceremony was held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and aired live at 7/6c.