The 57th annual Country Music Association Awards got underway Wednesday night in Nashville, with country music singer and two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan teaming up with retired football legend Peyton Manning to co-host for the second straight year.
The first award of the night went to Luke Combs for Single of the Year for his hit "Fast Car." This is Combs' first win in the category.
Tracy Chapman won Song of the Year, also for "Fast Car," which was first released 35 years ago on Chapman's self-titled debut studio album. Combs re-recorded it as a cover for his 2023 album Gettin Old.
Before the show began, awards were already being handed out with Jenee Fleenor winning Musician of the Year during the CMA's pre-show ceremony. It is Fleenor's fifth consecutive win in that category.
Lainey Wilson, who leads this year's nominees with nine nominations, also took home two early prizes with HARDY, winning Musical Event of the Year and Musical Video of the Year on Wednesday morning."Well y'all ... this is some exciting news to wake up to. It's meant a lot to me to be on this ride with ya brother," Wilson wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Among Wilson's other nominations are Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country.
Among the many anticipated performances during Wednesday's show will be a musical tribute to the late singer Jimmy Buffett, who died in September at the age of 76. Buffett, whose final album Equal Strain on All Parts was released Friday, will be honored with a performance by Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band.
Bryan, Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Post Malone, Ashley McBryde, Morgan Wallen, Carly Pearce, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton are also scheduled to perform.
The CMA Awards are airing live on ABC. The show will be available to stream Thursday on Hulu.
