Chris Stapleton Owned the CMAs Last Night!

In September, shortly after the nominees for the 2015 CMA Awards were announced, The Boot argued that at this year’s awards ceremony, country music newcomers such as Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Stapleton, Maddie & Tae and Sam Hunt could give established artists a run for their money. He won awards in three big categories including New Artist Award, Album of the Year Award, and the coveted Male Vocalist of the Year Award.

Wednesday night is considered country music’s biggest night of the year.

Stapleton went on to win new artist and album of the year for “Traveller”. Not only did the Traveller singer sweep the CMA Awards, but he also invited his personal friend and Tennessee native Justin Timberlake on stage to duet with him on two songs.

In a musical highlight, Justin Timberlake teamed up with Stapleton for a mashup of Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and Timberlake’s “Drink You Away”. Not only did they perform their hit single “Girl Crush”, but they also took home the award for Song of the Year.

The audience was in awe: Timberlake’s wife, actress Jessica Biel, watched excitedly and bopped her head while Keith Urban recorded the performance with his phone.

She beat out Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and other.

“Look, they’re not even sitting together”, Paisley said as the camera panned to Sesame Street’s Miss Piggy and Kermit the frog. “I know every artist does, so when you are part of those five spots that are honored, it just means so much”, band member Karen Fairchild said in a recent interview.

Little Big Town: Don’t be surprised to see this group on the Grammy stage come February.

“‘Cause there’s nothing like your love to get me high, “Timberlake sang”. While the wins don’t necessarily translate to country music air play, it could spark a trend toward more traditional country music. Little Big Town, who won its fourth trophy for Vocal Group of the Year, performed the platinum-selling hit during the show. Another streak of six now belongs to Miranda Lambert as female vocalist. The song was pulled from a few country radio stations because of its lyrics.

Reba McEntire with Brooks & Dunn: Country music may be experiencing one of its best years in ages, but to understand how it got so good, allow Reba and Brooks & Dunn to remind you how a couple of (still great) legends paved the way.