This Is Why Lainey Wilson Won the 2023 CMA Entertainer of the Year

The 2023 CMA Awards were the most pedestrian and nondescript awards in many years, and at the same time, perhaps the most significant CMA awards in nearly a decade or more. Many of the performances may have not mattered, but the awards themselves did, at least when it came to the biggest trophies. History was made, ceilings were broken, and a new Queen of country music was crowned.
When it comes to the performances that transpired over the night, it was one slow and sentimental ballad after another. When Kelsea Ballerini turns in one of the top performances (and she did), that speaks to how soft and sedate everything was. Even when Bro-Country was the dominant influence at the CMAs, and spark showers and explosions bolstered the performances, at least it raised a pulse, even if it was from a visceral, bile-inducing reaction.
Even the more up-tempo moments of the 2023 CMAs had little to offer. Post Malone’s appearance was arguably the most anticipated moment of the night, especially after the CMAs touted it as a “classic country medley.” But those classic country songs turned out to be the silly selections from Joe Diffie’s catalog, a.k.a. “John Deere Green” and “Pickup Man.” Then with Morgan Wallen and Hardy braying horrifically out-of-tune to them, it exposed just how poorly country music’s “top” talent measures up to a hip-hop/pop star like Post Malone, who did the best with a bad situation.
Lainey Wilson sang her current single “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” in the most raucous and up-tempo moment of the night. There was even a spark shower emanating from a barbed wire halo. But nobody will remember that performance in a week. What they will remember is the night Lainey Wilson broke down the barriers for the women of country music in a very big way.
Along with winning Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country and Female Vocalist of the Year—not to mention Vocal Event of the Year and Video of the Year for her “wait in the truck” collaboration with Hardy—Lainey Wilson is now the current reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year. It’s the genre’s biggest trophy.
Lainey Wilson is the first woman in twelve years to win Entertainer of the Year. She’s only the 2nd woman to win it since 2000 (Taylor Swift won it twice). Major, long-standing women in country music like Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood don’t have a CMA Entertainer of the Year trophy to their name. Neither does Morgan Wallen, at least for another year.
How in the world could Lainey Wilson pull off such a thing?
For many years the Entertainer of the Year award has been considered mostly a touring award. When George Strait shocked everyone and won it in 2013 coinciding with his “final” tour despite no longer being played on the radio or being relevant in mainstream country music in any meaningful way, it was his touring purse that was touted as the reason. This is also how Garth Brooks walked away with Entertainer of the Year in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
Lainey Wilson has no significant tour purse to tout. At least not yet. She just recently announced an amphitheater/arena tour for 2024 called “Country’s Cool Again,” and many wondered at that time if she could fill those venues. She probably just made that significantly easier now. But earlier this year she was playing large clubs and opening slots. Lainey Wilson didn’t win this from touring.
But there is also no hard and fast rule that Entertainer of the Year is solely a touring award. This was simply the justification to give it to George Strait upon his retirement. This action then codified the award as a touring trophy ever since in a way that has weighted it differently than the original intent of the achievement. Ideally, Entertainer of the Year would take into consideration the entirety of an artist’s career.
When you look at it from that perspective, Lainey Wilson is one of the hottest acts in country music, and most certainly the most significant woman. Her last single “Watermelon Moonshine” just spent three weeks at #1, which is unprecedented for a woman, and a rarity from anyone. In fact, she’s had numerous successful singles lately, including “Heart Like a Truck,” “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, and the now 2-time CMA-winning “wait in the truck” with Hardy.
Lainey Wilson had more CMA nominations than anyone else in 2023 with nine. That sure sounds like Entertainer of the Year-caliber consideration in itself. She also won Album of the Year, which means whatever commercial success she does have also comes with critical acclaim. But Lainey Wilson probably didn’t win Entertainer of the Year from her singles and radio performance, or the other awards she won or was nominated for either.
Taking a purely analytical assessment of the situation, Lainey’s win likely had something to do with votes splitting multiple different ways due to a loaded field of nominees this year that also included Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Combs. Lainey emerged as a dark horse, and earned a plurality of the votes.
But philosophically, there is likely a much deeper reason why more CMA voters pulled the lever for Lainey Wilson in 2023 than for anyone else. That reason is Maren Morris.
The major narrative coming out of the media for the last few months has been how Maren Morris has supposedly been so mistreated by country music as a woman that she was forced to leave. Morris released her EP The Bridge on September 15th, followed by a barrage of coverage in the media, including a scathing assessment of country music by Morris in the Los Angeles Times where she said she’d like to “burn [country] to the ground.”
This was the biggest story in country music on October 2nd when the final CMA Awards ballots were sent out. The night before the 2023 CMA Awards, Morris was on The Tonight Show with Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer singing her song “The Tree,” which is about the supposed cultural rot at the roots of country music. It coincides with her other song “Get The Hell Out Of Here,” which is also about burning down country music on her way out the door.
“The rot at the roots is the root of the problem,” Morris sings. Meanwhile, Lainey Wilson symbolizes the antithesis of the Maren Morris assessment of country music. It’s not because Wilson is subservient or “knows her place” as a woman in country music. She spoke in depth in her acceptance speeches about the importance of being a woman in country music. The difference is that Lainey Wilson is actually country.
Instead of singing about how she wants to burn country music to the ground, Lainey Wilson has said and signaled over and over her undying loyalty to the genre, including her dedication to the work of breaking down barriers for her fellow women, like she did Wednesday night at the CMA Awards with her wins. The CMA and country music sent a message with Lainey’s Entertainer of the Year win that yes, country music does support women, if those women are country, and support country music back.
All the Morgan Wallen fans bellyaching that he didn’t win Entertainer of the Year or anything else despite being the most commercially successful artist in music at the moment, get over it. It’s due to his own stupid mouth. And though Wallen deserves forgiveness, that forgiveness often takes time. Morgan Wallen will get his. Luke Combs already got his last year, and will likely get more in the future. Chris Stapleton already got Entertainer of the Year from the ACM, and so did Carrie Underwood.
But still, who you really feel bad for in this situation is Carrie Underwood, and especially Miranda Lambert. For the last dozen years they had to put up with all the bullshit in country music during the Bro-Country era, working twice as hard as their male counterparts, only to get shut out of Entertainer of the Year contention. And unlike Wallen, Combs, and Stapleton, they may never get another chance. Then here comes Lainey Wilson only a year removed from winning New Artist of the Year, and walks away with the big prize.
But none of this is Lainey Wilson’s fault. Dig into her history, including the nearly decade she spent paying dues before she got signed and started to blow up, hustling the whole time to build a career in an era when it was nearly impossible for women. Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert at least started out before the Bro-Country wave, not in the midst of it.
This win by Lainey Wilson is for ALL country women. Lainey Wilson said as much in her speech accepting Female Vocalist of the Year. That is how country fans should look at it, because that’s how the CMA voters saw it. It’s also a win for all artists that keep it country. Though Lainey Wilson may still not be country enough for some, she was the most country contender for the 2023 CMA Entertainer of the Year.
And let’s also not overlook the other landmark achievement of the 2023 CMA Awards, which was the win by Tracy Chapman for Song of the Year via “Fast Car” that was given new life by Luke Combs. It was super classy that Combs and nobody else came up to accept the award for the reclusive Chapman. That was her moment, and nobody elses. And meanwhile, another barrier is broken down, this one by a Black woman winning a CMA Award.
Some people are just as incensed that a 35-year-old folk pop song won a CMA in 2023 as they are with Lainey Wilson’s win for Entertainer of the Year. The same thing happened when Johnny Cash won Song of the Year for Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” in 1970. They said it wasn’t country. It was a singer/songwriter song. “Fast Car” was an incomparably successful track from a commercial standpoint that was also critically-acclaimed. It may not be your favorite, but it’s hard to say it was not deserved, or earned, regardless of who the writer was.
On the 2023 CMA Awards, country music gave into its better angels. Nonetheless, there will be many who will refuse to give the CMAs or country music any credit for what happened because Morgan Wallen was even allowed in the building, and will call the accolades for Lainey Wilson and Tracy Chapman too little too late. Many of these voices have perverse incentives to keep country music regressive, because it helps them push their media brands, their standing in Academia, and their X/Twitter presence.
Women have always been at the very roots of the country music genre, from The Carter Sisters on down, despite the characterizations of Maren Morris and others who skew the history of country to conflate it with their agenda-driven narratives, or the recent history of country music that diminished women in the mainstream as Bro-Country dominated.
But we’ve all moved on now. Maren Morris has left the genre, and soon the interlopers and larpers who thought it was fashionable to attempt to co-opt country to assert pet political causes will be gone too. Those left will be the people with a love of country music deeply embedded in their heart who would never give up on the music, will never give in to the outside pressures put on the genre, will fight for country music, including making sure it’s a place where everyone can succeed, just like they did at the 2023 CMA Awards.
The future of country music is bright. Lainey Wilson didn’t win Entertainer of the Year for the present. She won it for the future. And if that future involves Lainey Wilson, it will be filled with country music that is actually country.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:18 am
Good for Lainey, but it still feels like typical Music Row only allowing one woman at a time to get a major push when they easily could have spread things out a little more, such as giving the Album award to McBryde.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:41 am
I would have liked to have seen Ashley win female vocalist, but I feel like Lindeville is a little overrated and nowhere near as enjoyable as her new album. Hopefully a song like Women Ain’t Whiskey will find radio success and she can get next year’s album of the year award for Devil.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:48 am
Even if the voters enjoyed Wilson’s album more??
November 9, 2023 @ 9:23 am
It’s not terribly unusual for a recycled song to win Song of the Year. While not as extreme as the 35 years of “Fast Car,” Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” (written by Johnny Christopher Wayne Carson, and Mark James) was a hit for Elvis Presley shortly after it was written in 1971, but won SOTY at the CMAs in both 1982 and 1983.
November 12, 2023 @ 4:26 pm
I think something happening once every 40 years might actually qualify as terribly unusual.
But it sounds like we both did the exact same thing after Fast Car won. I went back through the history seeing if a “cover” song had every won SOTY and had a good laugh at Always On My Mind & He Stopped Loving Her Today both winning back to back years in the early 80’s. “Keep trying guys, maybe somebody will write a better song next year”
November 9, 2023 @ 9:30 am
Spectacularly well-put
November 9, 2023 @ 9:37 am
I don’t know. Something about this still doesn’t sit right. An opener simply doesn’t qualify as EOTY. I don’t know how she even got nominated. If Carrie, who headlines her own tours, has a Vegas residency, and sings the SNF theme cannot win it, how does an opener even qualify? I don’t even think this has much to do with Morris. The CMA voters cannot even seem to differentiate between Song of the Year and Single of the Year. They just made it clear that EOTY really doesn’t mean anything. If this is about who is most country, what about Ashley McBryde? Or Carly Pearce? Are the CMA voters just lazy and check off the same name over and over? I really like Lainey, I think most of us do, but she simply isn’t EOTY material yet. As someone said on the live blog post last night, this just makes the CMA’s look even more silly and irrelevant. These awards mean nothing.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:06 am
Let me try another example.
At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Bonnie Raitt was up for Song of the year against Taylor Swift, Adele, Beyonce, Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar, and Harry Styles—basically the biggest artists in all of music. Bonnie Raitt won. How? Because when you have such a stacked field, the other nominees all siphon votes from each other. This is what allows a dark horse to emerge who despite their relative “smallness,” they still pull a plurality of votes.
Like you said, the real key here was getting the nomination in the first place. If you’re in the race, you can always pull off the fluke and win. That’s what Lainey Wilson did. But just like Bonnie Raitt, in my opinion at least, it’s hard to say it’s not deserved.
November 9, 2023 @ 11:13 am
I can definitely see how the heavy hitters split the votes, leading her to win, but someone who opened for Luke Combs really shouldn’t be nominated for this award, let alone then win it over him. But I absolutely see your point as to how she won. And I do appreciate her and enjoy her music.
November 9, 2023 @ 3:22 pm
That comparison isn’t quite the same, though, because the Grammys now have 10 nominees in each of the major categories (which they seemingly did to copy the Oscars). Expanding it to 10 makes it a complete crap shoot, since it’s quite possible that the winner is winning as little as say 15% or 16% of the vote. When it’s capped to the top five, the winner has to get at least 20% of the vote.. and is probably getting at least 25% (and probably at least 33% in most years). It’s still possible that split voting is what happened here to allow Lainey to sneak out with the win, but this result doesn’t happen as often when it’s limited to five nominees.
November 9, 2023 @ 2:31 pm
Why not? It’s not a career award, nor a commercial success award. It’s an award for work during the year. She’s been everywhere, representing country well.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:39 am
Don’t feel bad for Lambert or Uunderwood. Lainey is great. Morgan should have gotten EOTY. CMA virtue signaling. Just like Grammys.
Least we are headed in right direction.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:44 am
Two Words:
DUMP
TRUCK
November 9, 2023 @ 9:50 am
Haters will hate but a very well written explanatory article Trigger, laying out just how it all came together for Lainey Wilson at this point in her career which I think will be long and fruitful.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:54 am
Guess I’m in the minority as usual. I liked the slower songs and thought the emphasis on them was the CMA’s subtle way of nudging country radio toward more complex,thoughtful country music without turning the genre into the domain of oh-so-sensitive folkies and Lilith Fair types. Spacing “Where the Wild Things Are,” “White Horse” and “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” out a bit instead of having them all in the same half hour, might have helped.
Can anyone explain how Morgan Wallen could be horribly off key on “John Deere Green” yet just fine on “Man Made a Bar”? Was Auto-Tune in the audio chain for the latter, and if so, why wasn’t it in the former?
November 9, 2023 @ 10:08 am
It was any specific slow song, but the succession of them that I think made the 2023 CMA Awards a little snoozy. This is definitely different than a “bad” awards presentation. I just think the producers could have done a better job selecting songs and interspersing them better as you said. Overall, it beats other alternatives. But I do feel like the entertainment value of this year’s show did not hold up to last years.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:56 am
Well said. I am so glad seeing Lainey finding success. I do not even care too much for her albums. I am always wanting her to go more traditional. I’d settle for 1997. hahaha maybe this will spark some trend chasers that end up creating better music.
November 9, 2023 @ 9:57 am
“soon the interlopers and larpers who thought it was fashionable to attempt to co-opt country to assert pet political causes will be gone too. Those left will be the people with a love of country music deeply embedded in their heart who would never give up on the music, will never give in to the outside pressures put on the genre, will fight for country music, including making sure it’s a place where everyone can succeed,”
I appreciate your optimism, Mr. Trigger.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:18 am
I mean, she has been kicking ass all year. College Gameday intro, Yellowstone, regular touring, creating a unique identity, high production value music videos, hosting CMA fest, quality music, and being more entertaining on stage than her competitors. Good for her. I don’t care about tour balance sheets. If tour success should be the determining factor for the award then they should have one of those locked and loaded IRS agents come on stage and tell us who the winner is.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:33 am
Didn’t go into this in the article because it was getting so long. But yes, she’s had some big opportunities with stuff like “Yellowstone” that has given her a “Entertainer” boost beyond the music.
November 10, 2023 @ 7:53 pm
The article was OK, but was not relevant. There is no more country music. I hope Lainey has great success, but she is no EOTY. Garth is not a great singer, but a hell of a entertainer. Miranda is a great entertainer. There are many country singers I would pay to go see, Lainey is not one of them. I don’t care if they are men or women. You bring up Maren, ask around no one cares . CMA’s keep getting worse, I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish, but it’s not bringing the best in country music.
November 11, 2023 @ 5:59 am
Who are the country singers you would pay to go see?
I’m curious since you say there is no more country music.
November 14, 2023 @ 2:54 pm
Chapel Hart and Ashley McBride.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:30 am
Did you mention anywhere how much audio sweetening was happening? The only ones where it didn’t seem super obvious was when Morgan Wallen was performing, like Eric sounded like Eric. Anyone that has seen most of those acts live know that is NOT what they sound like live.
November 9, 2023 @ 12:23 pm
I’ll beg to differ on several of those acts I’ve seen live. Ashley McBryde has been flawless vocally when I see her, as has Cody Johnson, and Carly Pearce.
November 9, 2023 @ 12:52 pm
You are right about those, I would also add the Buffett segment
November 9, 2023 @ 4:01 pm
Absolutely incorrect Clint. If you think Chris Stapleton enhances his vocals you are nuts. Also, the best thing about country music vs. pop, R&B and other genres is the fact that they perform live and not pre-recorded bullshit.
November 9, 2023 @ 5:21 pm
Complaining that everyone is using Auto-Tune is such a default argument. I didn’t hear any Auto-tune last night. Perhaps someone used it. Morgan Wallen most definitely didn’t. But beyond that, making that blanket accusation against every performer is something I would never do. Save that argument for when it’s obvious. Otherwise, you’re just the boy that cried wolf.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:42 am
Isn’t it all just horse trading at these awards things? You scratch my back I’ll scratch yours.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:51 am
“What they will remember is the night Lainey Wilson broke down the barriers for the women of country music in a very big way. ”
As others have already started to say, this is only true if we see a shift in how country/country radio approaches women and “real” country. The industry is clearly behind Lainey Wilson, but what’s to stop her from being a token? “Oh, how can you say we’re male-biased if we gave EOTY to a woman? How can you say we’re still too pop-focused if we gave EOTY to an actual country artist?”
But why should we be confident in that? What we’ve seen over the past two years is that going all-in on Lainey Wilson has come at the expense of other women moreso than men, while creating little to no new female stars in the process. Carrie and Miranda have become afterthoughts from an industry/radio/awards perspective even though they’re still household names. The on-the-cusp women like Kelsea Ballerini and Ashley McBryde haven’t gotten to the next level – in Kelsea’s case, she’s actually having a harder time charting even though she’s releasing her most compelling material. Megan Moroney has all the intangibles and tangibles to be a star (and she already has a passionate stan army) yet only got the “paper #1” treatment for her breakthrough in Tennessee Orange and is getting the snail-pace treatment for her subsequent releases.
Meanwhile, yes, maybe Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen didn’t win the big award – but they’re still dominating the conversation. And your “basic white guy named Dylan or Jordan or Dustin or Russell or Chase” still has a far better chance of getting a #1 than almost any woman out there.
“All the Morgan Wallen fans bellyaching that he didn’t win Entertainer of the Year or anything else despite being the most commercially successful artist in music at the moment, get over it. It’s due to his own stupid mouth.”
So two things here. One – the industry has to decide where it stands on Morgan Wallen and be transparent about it. When he was banned from the awards circuit that one year, fine. People might not have felt he deserved the reaction, but the industry made it clear he wouldn’t be welcome and wouldn’t be winning.
But the second you use him to market your show, playing the heck out of him on the radio, not to mention start nominating him for these awards, you say he should be fairly considered for this award. Louis CK did something far worse, has gotten far less forgiveness from the public, yet wins the Grammys for which he’s nominated because all nominees have to be considered on their merits.
Chris Brown hasn’t really been forgiven, but he also doesn’t really get seriously nominated/pushed for truly major awards, so it’s less frustrating/confusing when he doesn’t win. There’s no illusion the industry is totally OK with him.
Two – if Morgan Wallen’s year didn’t guarantee him EOTY (vote split argument makes no sense because he should have been the unanimous vote-getter based on the usual standard – there was not even a Jokic to his Embiid in 2023), it creates confusion about what this award is supposed to represent. And if it’s not a touring/commercial/overall star power award … then it becomes even more frustrating that Carrie or Miranda never got it because while you could make the case that they were never quite as big on all fronts as their male counterparts, they were definitely more talented and exciting than some past winners.
November 9, 2023 @ 11:41 am
I’m definitely not saying that this solves all the problems for women in country music. All I’m saying is that Lainey Wilson is a woman, she’s country, and she won. And I refuse to see it as anything but a good thing. Should Carrie and Miranda have won it at least once over the last dozen years? Of course. But I can’t control that. What I can attempt to control is folks downgrading this win because they have perverse incentives to characterize that this means nothing for women, or maybe that it’s actually worse for women because she’s a “token.” Screw that. We’ve been advocating for a woman to win this for a dozen years. This is a victory. Now, let’s go build off of that.
People have to get off the obsession with radio, and women on it. Radio is a dying medium in the corporate/mainstream world. If you want to support women, start building alternatives to radio through streaming, social media, etc. Radio isn’t supporting Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Tyler Childers, Billy Strings, etc., and they’re out there killing it. Miranda just signed with Big Loud who’ve been saying specifically that radio is a secondary strategy for them.
The future is streaming and social media. The day that women win equal play on radio will be the day it’s no longer relevant so it doesn’t matter. That’s what happened with CMT.
November 9, 2023 @ 8:19 pm
I wouldn’t see it as a good thing, or a win, I would see it as the ultimate disrespect. When a headlining act whose not even had 1/4 of the career as Miranda & Carrie wins before them, something is wrong. Just because she’s a women & makes Country music doesn’t mean she’s deserving of Entertainer of the Year, you need to remember what award this is for, it’s for the biggest EOTY out of all those nominated. Not what gender you are or how country you are, but how big of an entertainer you have been.
When you look at Carrie’s year vs Lainey’s, sorry but Carrie had a bigger year entertainment wise. A nation wide stadium tour, a residency in Las Vegas, opening for Guns n Roses, all her Opry Appearances, plus all the extra shows she’s done outside of touring aka festivals etc, Sunday night football theme, public appearances (today show, rock hall of fame etc), and more I can’t put on here, it just doesn’t stack up.
What this win says is that Carrie & Miranda will never be EOTY according to the CMAs & that’s about as much BS as you can get. Because in 10, 20, 30 even 50 years from now, when people look back at Country music those two women will come up, they have had a lasting impact on the genre. They will be remembered as two of the biggest stars of their time.
You may not like Carrie’s music or think she’s that Country anymore, but you can’t argue she doesn’t work her butt off doing what she does. That she hasn’t worked hard to show up for this genre, make her opry apperances where others like Blake Shelton skip out. And she’s done it all whilst being a mother & wife. It’s something that’s not easy for everyone to do, but she’s done it & never complains, never gets into the politics of things. She does her job & does it to 150%. When has she ever had an off day performing?
I like Lainey, I think she’s a wonderful & talented person with a big career ahead of her & winning FVOTY was a good call, but EOTY was not. That was the wrong call again, Morgan, Luke & Carrie all come out far ahead of Lainey in being deserving of that award based on what the category is. Sorry Trigger I just can’t agree, this is not a good thing, it’s a slap in the face to two of the most hard working, dedicated women in Country music who’ve more than proven themselves worthy of EOTY & I am just happy they didn’t turn up to be publicly shunned like this yet again by the CMAs.
November 9, 2023 @ 8:58 pm
If you want me to defend Lainey Wilson getting Entertainer of the Year before Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert, you’ve come to the wrong place. I can’t defend that because as I said in the article, it’s pretty indefensible. I think both of these women should have won it at least once. But there is nothing I can do about that. What I can do is celebrate a woman winning the award finally after 12 years, and a woman who has a promising career and a dedication to country music.
November 9, 2023 @ 10:59 am
Trigger, a correction (because I know the Ballot.) Luke Combs accepted and won the award for “Fast Car” where he was the nominee for the song, along with his producers. That category was “Single of the Year.” Sara Evans read a statement for Tracy Chapman winning “Song of the Year,” where the award goes to the writer. Luke Combs did not accept the award on Tracy’s behalf. His win was his own with his production team.
But yes, fantastic for Tracy!
November 9, 2023 @ 11:27 am
Hey CMA Voter, I though that’s what I was saying, just in a different way. We have definitely seen the performers of “Song of the Year” get up and accept the award with the writers in the past. Combs could have gone up there and done that, and instead it was allowed to be Chapman’s moment, which I think was the right thing to do.
November 9, 2023 @ 11:11 am
I just think Morgan Wallen is, frankly, a tool. I consider his music to still be bro country. A bit more substantive, but bro country nonetheless. And the way he was moving about on stage, throwing hands and rubbing at his crotch, made him look like he was trying to be “hip-hop” with Postie on stage. Not a good look when you’re trying to recover from a racism scandal.
I get why the CMAs involve him, I do. You can’t ignore his commercial success. But I do think it is quite funny how the show producers did not let him perform on his own at all. First with Eric, then with Post Malone and Hardy. He’s on a leash and he knows it.
November 9, 2023 @ 11:33 am
The Joe Diffie performance with Hardy and Morgan (before Post Malone came out) was like two drunk buddies doing karaoke.
November 9, 2023 @ 11:28 am
Well I signed up just to post. I am a Miranda fan and believe she should have won EOTY at least once by now. Understand SCM comment about the future but Miranda has been working her butt off for 20+ years which in country today is a lifetime. I too am so sick of the BRO boys like Bro Osbornes and Dan/Shay…like NO ONE ELSE?? Cmonn … those guys do not live up to the 80s of Brooks and Dunn and Alabama. Love the LIVE blogs!
November 9, 2023 @ 11:37 am
Great article Trigger, I do follow along with the split votes and Dark Horse theory, also including her foray into TV juggernaut Yellowstone and huge fashion success , bringing the bell bottoms back in a big way. (no pun intended or maybe i am LOL)
I hope she will be able to keep up with everything and not go the burn out route. Too much too soon? Time will tell. Congratulations Lainey 🙂
November 9, 2023 @ 11:40 am
Amen. Country still appears to be Country. Last year we were jumping off the Awards-watching-fence. Country is the antonym of Woke. Thank God. And it will be forever, given this Talent we support.
November 9, 2023 @ 1:05 pm
Yes but EOTY is not called ‘Most Country Artist of the Year’ is it. Stick to what the award is about, the most Entertaining Artist of the Year. Sorry but that’s not Lainey.
November 9, 2023 @ 12:19 pm
Lainey’s boyfriend’s uncle is a big-wig industry insider.
Maybe that’s how she won?
November 9, 2023 @ 12:37 pm
Big wig as in the uncle wears toupees that are big 80s styled
November 9, 2023 @ 5:23 pm
You know who is also a “big-wig industry insider”? Lainey Wilson’s label head.
This is dumb.
November 11, 2023 @ 5:27 am
i don’t know who he is, but he doesn’t have enough pull to sway a CMA EOTY award. The woman is legit. Let her have the award.
November 9, 2023 @ 12:25 pm
Lainey’s streaming #s are just “ok” – so her fan fare is very average.
For comparisons, Dustin Lynch has 6 million monthly streams while EOTY Lainey has 7 million monthly streams on Spotify.
Jordan Davis has around 9 million.
Luke Combs has like 25+ million
November 9, 2023 @ 8:25 pm
Morgan Wallen – 23.9 million
Luke Combs – 20.5
Chris Stapelton – 18.8
Carrie Underwood – 9.8
Lainey Wilson – 7.3
And some guy named Zach Bryan has 26.5 million, which is more than all the above for the folks not so good with numbers.
November 9, 2023 @ 1:01 pm
Sorry but I can’t agree with you. It might not just be about touring but it certainly is about being the best Entertainer of the Year. Not who’s most ‘Country’, but whose been the most entertaining artist out of all those nominated. That’s not Lainey. Morgan, Luke & Carrie have all had an incredible year with big headlining tours, public apperances, Magazine coverage, Opry performances & Carrie a Las Vegas residency as well as opening for Guns n Roses. The fact the first women to win in 12 years was a newbie is a massive slap in the face to Carrie & Miranda. The level of disrespect shown by the CMAs year on year towards two of the most hard working & inspirational female country artists warrants the discussion. Carrie toured twice with an infant that required feeding, there’s even a pic of her feeding her child whilst getting ready before a show. She was a mother to her kids whilst doing a massive national tour, that’s something no male artist has to worry about. It’s amazing & as a women I am in awe of her. Yes she will have had help, but still being a mother is not the same as being a father, they are different & there have been many mothers in Country music who deserve recognition for not only being a hard working Country star but also holding their families together & raising their children alongside their job. And Miranda has been a pillar in Country music for a long time now, she’s paid her dues, she’s risen to the top. Been successful as a solo artist & in a group, she’s done more than enough to earn EOTY. What the CMAs said last night was Carrie & Miranda will never be good enough for them & they will never win that award, so good on both of them for not turning up. CMA’s don’t deserve their talent so I hope they continue to ignore the show, don’t perform, don’t present, don’t even turn up. CMAs invited Morgan so they could use his star power for ratings just like they used Carrie for years as a presenter. I mean the Single of the Year was won by a cover, a cover. All the talk of talented song writers in Nashville etc & they give Single of the Year to a cover. That’s just straight up wrong & I feel for the hardworking songwriters who wrote original music that did well this year. Nah the CMAs are a load of BS that have nothing to do with talent & everything to do with who knows who.
November 11, 2023 @ 5:38 am
if you take all of that into account, you would also have to take luke bryan raising his sister’s kids into account. it’s a great sentiment, but it doesn’t have room in the voting parameters for the award.
i totally agree with you about the cover song. that’s like antique furniture to me.
November 9, 2023 @ 2:17 pm
Excellent commentary, Trig.
Miranda and Carrie hbith have deserved to win in the past and we’re overlooked, odds are slim either will ever be nominated again. The both could be bitter about this (and maybe they are just a bit), but I have a feeling both are very happy for Lainey. Miranda always says “when one of us (women) wins, we all win” or something like that.
I think it’s also important to point out, that the CMAs have been very generous to both Carrie and Miranda over the years – especially Miranda who is the most awarded woman in the history of the association. Miranda won female vocalist of the year more than any other female act, more than Reba, more than Martina and some of those years, even those of us who are her biggest fans will have to be honest enough to admit she probably was not the most deserving nominee. Sometimes, the most deserving person doesn’t win – and that’s just the way awards shows go.
I also firmly believe that although Lainey was NOT the most deserving last night, there will come a year when she WILL be. And now, at least she won’t go down in history with the other deserving women who should have won and never did.
I was kinda furious last night, but after reflecting on it today and reading your article, I have a new perspective. Carrie and Miranda certainly have a bone to pick with the CMAs, but last night was actually a win for them. Those two women carried the torch for women in country music on their backs for almost 20;years. Lainey’s win last night is a direct result of all their hard work and their refusal to let “girl country” die.
I WOULD like to see the CMAs go to a ranked choice voting system though. That would prevent the “dark horse” scenario that you wrote about.
November 9, 2023 @ 4:45 pm
Agree that Carrie & Miranda have paved the way but what does it say about the CMAs attitude towards women in Country music when a person whose never even headlined a tour wins Entertainer of the Year before the 2 biggest female entertainers in Country music? Nothing good that’s for sure. This really was a slap in the face to Carrie & Miranda & I hope they stay well away from the CMAs in future, they deserved better.
November 9, 2023 @ 6:42 pm
Let’s be honest, they slapped Miranda and Carrie in the face as soon as they didn’t offer the performance slots this year. Carrie was nominated for Entertainer of the Year. She was the only nominee that didn’t perform.
The CMAs have devalued women artists forever. I guess I just choose to be happy that this year, the injustice happened on the female side for a change.
November 9, 2023 @ 2:37 pm
Speaking of talent, singing ability, the interpretation, the distillation of our fragile human condition through words and sound, y’all, Sierra Ferrell has announced, on her Facebook page,
a 10-gallon-hat-full of gigs starting on
Friday, March 1st, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. It’s the “Shoot For The Moon Tour”
Best Wishes to Sierra Ferrell and the gang!!!
You can find her FB easier than I can link to it! Artist pre-sale ticket info there
November 9, 2023 @ 3:12 pm
The problem with Luke’s version of “Fast Car” is that it’s bland & straight up karaoke. Any half decent karaoke singer could put together a version like that in their local bar. The reason it got all the airplay (including crossover) is because Luke is the biggest country star right now not named Morgan. Luke has much, much better songs/performances in his catalog. Thus, that is the issue with it winning Single & Song of the year.
November 9, 2023 @ 3:39 pm
Personally I don’t think anybody even knows what qualifies to make someone entertainer of the year worthy particularly these shows. Lainey isn’t bad but from what I’ve heard, she isn’t that great. I don’t really care who wins but this just seems so out of place.
November 9, 2023 @ 4:18 pm
How is entertainer of the year not Zach Bryan? He’s the one who is getting grassroots support for his live shows. Wallen has radio play and streams numbers too but Zach is the one who is filling that role as an entertainer.
November 9, 2023 @ 6:49 pm
This was the worst information or lack of such I have had the lack of pleasure to read since we fought for woman’s rights and equality for all. It is a shame but expected Miss Morris would get attacked for standing up for someone and calling out the wrong doers. Too bad we can’t all just work to do better on our shortcomings. Instead we attack the person calling attention to them. NOT RIGHT…. don’t dig heals in , unless you are going to ask for forgiveness. You know you still can be wrong ,no matter your age or occupation !!!
November 9, 2023 @ 7:09 pm
LOL
November 9, 2023 @ 7:35 pm
Oh , I have no response. I never prepared for this type of banter. Thought this was a grown up site. My apologies.
November 9, 2023 @ 7:54 pm
I think what’s missing from the conversation is the strength of the fanbase. Lainey’s fans are over-the-moon about her. She is creating a kind of loyalty hardly seen by female acts in country. A large portion of them are turning up to other artists’s shows because she’s on the bill.
Lainey’s fans are more vocal (or at least more pleasant to engage with online) than Carrie’s fans, and Miranda is, well, polarizing. Both Carrie and Miranda have had hits, have had successful tours. But neither have enjoyed the buzz Lainey is enjoying.
I have not seen this kind of buzz around a female artist in my lifetime. My understanding is Lainey’s will-not-be-ignored work ethic and the fact we are seeing her *everywhere* is very similar to how Reba started out–running from the gate and not slowing down, as it were.
Both Reba and Lainey also have very genuine personalities that are engaging and fun. In a word, both are “characters” that draw people in. Carrie and Miranda are, IMHO, not.
Last thought on Ms. Wilson: Lainey is enjoying the kind of success that I think the industry expected Carly Pearce to have. Lainey has steamrolled over that momentum and taken the spotlight. As others have mentioned, it’s a shame that the industry really only highlights one country “it” girl at a time. There’s room for all the women.
I, for one, appreciate the return to EOTY as an all-around award. It proves that you can earn anything if you work your bell bottoms off.
November 9, 2023 @ 8:37 pm
Okay last time I am posting on this topic, but I am offically over Lainey winning EOTY cause I just found out that Kaylee Bell won the Jeff Walker Global Country Artist award last night at the CMAs & as a Kiwi that makes me inredibly proud!! Go Kaylee! This is awesome & it def beats everything else!
November 9, 2023 @ 8:53 pm
“Girl power yas queen slay” seems to trump any logical discussion on this topic.
November 9, 2023 @ 11:03 pm
I was never aware of “why” anyone won EOTY. I watched the awards every year and could not understand why someone won or didn’t win. Now I know what the award is supposed to be about. Thank you and Congratulations to all of the winners this year and in the past years.
November 10, 2023 @ 2:00 am
“…. soon the interlopers and larpers who thought it was fashionable to attempt to co-opt country to assert pet political causes will be gone too.”
Wish we could lose Aldean and his (as Trigger calls it), “shi#ty tractor rap” too. Fingers crossed !
November 10, 2023 @ 7:27 am
In my opinion her fame has become because of a few things other artists just don’t have.
1. Luck as you say she has come into the fray at the end of bro-country.
2. Great marketing as you see her face and songs everywhere from Yellowstone, Ford Truck commercials, etc.
3. A small but great collection of songs released around the same time.
4. A signature style that sets her apart from everyone else. Miranda had that also when she first come on to the scene but hers was jeans instead of dresses and attitude.
I don’t see this change as all that new. I saw the country music torch passed last night from Martina McBride, to Miranda Lambert, and now to Lainey Wilson.
November 10, 2023 @ 5:02 pm
That’s it… that’s what you came up with for a justified win for Wilson? Trigger anyone being honest with themselves would tell you she shouldn’t have been nominated, let alone win. I thought maybe you would have some insight we all didn’t realize or think of. The fact that Luke Combs or Chris Stapleton didn’t win ETOY is just wrong. Telling us it’s a “win for the future” is fully admitting Wilson did nothing close to deserve the win. She literally just wasn’t the best ETOY in any way you measure it, sales, touring, singles or even popularity. Miranda and Carrie should have been nominated over Wilson. Odd.
November 10, 2023 @ 5:10 pm
My explanation was not that it’s a “win for the future.” Did you only read the last paragraph? I went into great detail how this was likely the result of vote splitting, and CMA voters voting for Lainey in the wake of the Maren Morris exit from country that was dominating the news cycle right when voting started.
I respect everyone who thinks the other nominees are bigger and deserved the win more. From a statistical standpoint, that’s inarguable. But I do think that voters were looking toward the future with Lainey, and that is how she drew a plurality of votes in an extremely crowded field.
November 10, 2023 @ 7:07 pm
As a fan of the genre but not a super fan of any specific artist really, it seemed to me that Lainey moved the needle more than the others this year. Will Luke and Morgan really leave an impression ten years from now. They are average at best. Stapleton is a generational talent to be sure but not the most exciting performer to be sure. Carrie is a legacy act at this point. Should she be a multi time winner of this, sure but that’s in the past. Lainey has rocketed to the top in a male dominated industry and is far more entertaining than the others. She may have opened for Luke but I bet at the end of that tour she was getting a louder reception on stage than he was.
November 10, 2023 @ 7:09 pm
And Trigger when will we get a Morgan Stapleton album. She’s so talented and needs her own thing eventually.
November 10, 2023 @ 11:38 pm
I’m all for it.
November 11, 2023 @ 6:36 am
To me, it’s simple, of the five that were nominated, only one puts out country music. So, of course she won. Seems to me. the nominating process is the problem.
November 11, 2023 @ 8:08 am
Having never listened to Lainey Wilson before, I dove into BBC last night to see what all the fuss is. My first take is a lot of it feels like bro country list style lyrics about how sassy or down home she is, over slightly outlaw backbeats with a lot of 70s soul and funk on top. It’s definitely not what I am after, and I wouldn’t say it’s particularly good. Although it is very well produced or recorded. I want to see and hear country singers focusing on good songs that go deeper than signifying how country or sassy they are. Good songs that are country because they’re played as country music, instead of songs about being country played as soul or southern rock or whatever.
November 11, 2023 @ 11:10 am
I don’t get this overcompensating by giving females more awards at the CMA’s or ACM’s. I think it would be better to just play them more often on the radio.
November 11, 2023 @ 11:31 am
They’re trying to persuade radio via awards.
November 11, 2023 @ 6:36 pm
Let me preface this comment with saying, I think Trigger is a good writer and I enjoy everything everything on this site. I would also like to offer some meta commentary on something I’ve noticed over time and reading many articles.
Much of country music now like everything else has an overt political dynamic to it. It’s just a product of the time that we live in I guess. I have my thoughts on why, but I won’t explore that here.
One of the main telos of country music now is pushing this sort of forced egalitarian project. It is taken for an obvious fact that it is lacking in this way, and working to “break down these barriers,” is a worthy aim for the genre. Every piece, no matter how critical a tone it may take, always stays well within that frame. Making country music more POC, more queer, more women representation, etc. is always taken completely for granted like it’s just totally self evident that it’s a worthy goal. This is forced into everything no matter what the cost, and actually it can’t even be questioned that there is a cost.. it’s just an unalloyed good. The only thing left to squabble about is who is actually bringing about the country utopia better. To the extent that one of the more blow hard artists of the genre draws your ire, it’s only because they are ultimately setting the goal back because they are too sanctimonious, or virtue signally, or go too far or whatever. It’s never that their values actually suck.
Maybe you do share these values.. and if so, then hey that’s fine. It’s just hard for me to believe that anyone doesn’t see that there is never an end to it. It’s a goal that can’t be achieved. A fight that can’t be won. Even if you did, the goal posts would just move. Getting to complete parity in every metric isn’t really the real point for the grievance mongers. The point is to use the grievance (or pseudo grievance) as a way of drawing attention or unearned praise and grandstanding as long as possible to stay in the spotlight. If we reach full equality what would they do? Announce that we have arrived, and throw a big party and start up the true meritocracy now?
Will you ever step outside the frame?
November 12, 2023 @ 2:05 pm
Hey Trenton,
Thanks for the commentary.
I can only speak for myself. But as a member of the country music community, I want to make sure that country music is a place where EVERYONE feels comfortable and welcomed, and I want to know that anyone can make it in country music based on their God-given talent and ability and nothing else.
That said, I do not need to see gender parity at all times to believe this is the case, or think that just because gender parity doesn’t exist this means that country music is systemically and irrevocably sexist. One of the reasons there are less women in country music simply has to do with inventory. There are less women making country, and those women tend to release less music.
That said, when you only have 2 women win Entertainer of the Year in the last 22 years, you probably have a problem. It doesn’t mean you need to have 11 women to have won. But to have less than 10% speaks to a discrepancy that as a community, we should try to address.
Having worked in this business for 16 years, I have seen how much harder it is for women to succeed. Is it because there are misogynists actively trying to keep women down because they hate women as some claim? Probably not, except for in rare cases. But the barrier of entry and success is harder for women to achieve, and you don’t have to be “woke” or anything else to recognize that, and potentially try to address it.
November 14, 2023 @ 3:28 pm
Absolutely. I don’t understand why Chapel Hart hasn’t been signed. They’re entertaining and they have great lyrics.
I’ve only just starting listening to some country again. A decade of beer and truck songs that sound identical just make me sick.
All these awards shows are popularity contests anyway. I never watch them, ill just catch clips the next day on YT.
Lainey’s ok, but Ashley’s voice is so much better. It was nice to know a woman won rather than a beer and truck boy.
November 12, 2023 @ 4:37 pm
Let’s be honest, she won because someone with great influence and money wanted her to win. Any excuse is just that. In no way, no matter how talented, does she meet the criteria for ETOY. The entertainment industry is all about pandering, ass tonguing and ball licking, and award shows are, for the most part, a joke. Is Wilson talented? Hell yes. Did she deserve the award? Not unless the CMA is changing the criteria from here on out.
November 14, 2023 @ 7:35 am
Well written article!
I did not know people get so mad if someone wins or not wins EOTY Award. I’m sure the artists who did not win, probably don’t even feel upset about it. They are all relevant artists right now, some of them, their time will come…some their time is running out (Carrie Underwood) Just be happy and enjoy the music. I never thought once, that Lainey Wilson did not “deserve” this award. I think it’s great that they have several different criteria to hand this award out, and are not just looking at concert sell out statistics.
November 23, 2023 @ 3:14 pm
I vehemently disagree with you about Fast Car. It’s an excellent song by both Luke and Tracy, but to win a ‘country’ award is a slap in the face of all the actual country song writers. Bro country song writers as well. You are entitled to your opinion, especially on your site, but you’re wrong.
thanks
December 19, 2023 @ 8:05 pm
I know that Lainey Wilson is the Bell of the Ball right now so giving an opening act like her Entertainer of the Year over Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen who are selling out stadiums is surprising but understandable. But not giving Morgan Wallen Album of the Year by the CMA’s after his album broke every record for sales ever – even topping Taylor Swift for Album of the Year for the Billboard Awards. Morgan receiving EVERY Country Music award at Billboard Awards shows that Billboard got it right. The CMA’s not giving Wallen Album of the Year makes them nothing short of the Laughing Stock of Country Music. CMA can do what they want for Entertainer of the Year but they got Album of the Year wrong and the much bigger and prestigious Billboard got it right. To put the power of Morgan Wallen’s album in perspective – legendary trio Lady Antebellum has over 2 Billion downloads for their career. Morgan Wallen has over 18 Billion downloads for this year alone – which no other country artist comes close to. Enough said – and thank you for listening! ????????????
February 2, 2024 @ 9:07 pm
She sucks never would of picked her really
March 2, 2024 @ 8:13 pm
Touting Lainey Wilson as a country music artist is a clear indication of the ignorance of those who cannot distinguish country music from southern pop. Pop music with a twang is still pop music.