The pop-country superstar Morgan Wallen won entertainer of the year, the top honor at the 58th annual Country Music Association Awards in Nashville on Wednesday night. The award recognized Wallen’s status atop the genre three years after the association banned him from performing at the 2021 show.
That year, Wallen was rebuked by many of the industry’s gatekeepers after video surfaced of him using a racial slur. This year, the singer did not attend the show, but was the most nominated artist with seven nods, including male vocalist of the year. Wallen’s lone win came after his 2023 album “One Thing at a Time,” hit No. 1 for the 19th time a year after its release, breaking Billboard’s record for most weeks at the top for a country album.
“Last Night,” a single from the LP, went platinum seven times and was 2023’s most-streamed song of any genre in the United States.
Wallen was also nominated for single of the year for his work on Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” one of the most popular songs of this summer, which spent six weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100.
The CMAs have not always recognized Wallen’s achievements and contributions to the genre. In 2023, when Wallen was considered one of the favorites, he walked away empty-handed after losing album of the year, male vocalist of the year, and the top category, entertainer of the year. In response to completely being shut out, Wallen said on Instagram that he, “Walked in tonight a winner, didn’t leave no different.”
The entertainer of the year award last night was presented by Jeff Bridges, who announced Wallen’s win to a resounding round of applause and cheers.
Wallen’s social media accounts made no note of the win Thursday morning. However, fans online were quick to congratulate the embattled singer, who in April was arrested and charged with three counts of reckless endangerment, a felony; and one count of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, after he was accused of throwing a chair from the roof of a Nashville bar.
A court date was set for early December after a judge granted a continuance, according to Billboard.
Despite Wallen’s industry rebuke for his use of the racial slur, his career recovered with little apparent ill effect. “Dangerous: The Double Album,” which he’d released just before the video surfaced, remained high on the charts for well over a year.
Several streaming platforms and country radio temporarily yanked his music from playlists and airwaves, and his record label temporarily suspended him. The Academy of Country Music Awards removed his name from its 2021 ballot, but the CMAs allowed “Dangerous” to compete for album of the year despite his being barred from attending.
Wallen, who first gained traction in the music industry as a contestant on “The Voice” in 2014, later apologized in a statement, saying that he was “embarrassed and sorry.”
“I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back,” he said. “There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever.”
Wallen retreated from public appearances, but his album sales soared in the aftermath and by 2022 the artist began to re-enter country’s biggest stages, including the Grand Old Opry, and sold out arena tours. He returned to the CMA stage that year to perform “You Proof,” a No. 1 single at the time.
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