“Different for Girls” by Dierks Bentley and Elle King Wins Musical Event of the Year; Chris Stapleton and Director Tim Mattia Win Music Video of the Year for “Fire Away”
NASHVILLE – Winners in two of the 12 CMA Awards categories were announced live on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” this morning from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, which is the site of “The 50th Annual CMA Awards.”
The news was delivered by GMA anchor Lara Spencer and welcomed by cheers from the thousands of fans gathered on the plaza at the Bridgestone Arena waiting to see four-time CMA Awards nominee (and newly-announced winner for CMA Musical Event of the Year) Dierks Bentley.
“For a decade, ‘Good Morning America’ has set the tone for Country Music’s Biggest Night by jump-starting the day with superstar performances from Nashville,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Announcing the winners in two of our categories is a great way to generate excitement and celebrate our artists and their music with fans across the country.”
Hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” airs tonight (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.
Winning CMA Musical Event of the Year was Bentley and Elle King for “Different for Girls.” Written as a testament to women’s emotional strength, the song became what Bentley called a “centerpiece” of the album Black after he and producer Ross Copperman flew to Austin in a rainstorm to capture King’s vocals. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in September and showed a deeper side to Bentley’s album following on the heels of his summertime party hit, “Somewhere on a Beach.”
This marks Bentley’s third CMA Award and King’s first. His previous wins include the Horizon Award in 2005 (now New Artist of the Year) and Music Video of the Year in 2014 for “Drunk on a Plane.” One of the top nominees this year, he is also nominated for Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Black.
Winning CMA Music Video of the Year was Chris Stapleton and director Tim Mattia for “Fire Away.”
In the video, Stapleton plays a supporting role as a bartender in this harrowing video, which follows a young couple from happy times through anguish as the woman makes two suicide attempts. The video was designed to promote mental health awareness and ends with the web address of the Campaign to Change Directions, which aims to change the culture of mental health in America.
This is Stapleton’s first win in this category and adds another trophy to his four previous wins (Stapleton took home a second trophy for producing 2015 Album of the Year Traveller) . Tonight he is nominated for Entertainer, Male Vocalist, and Single of the Year for “Nobody To Blame.”
This marked the fifth year the categories were announced on “Good Morning America.” In previous years, the winners were announced in pre-televised activities and acknowledged during the CMA Awards broadcast. Dan + Shay will host pre-telecast ceremonies tonight and will present the trophies to the winners as well as Musician of the Year (who will be invited to participate in backstage media interviews). In addition, the duo will present CMA Broadcast Awards for Personality and Radio Station of the Year.
“The 50th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer and Paul Miller is the Director.
Fans can get more information on “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” and sign up for CMA emails and exclusives by visiting CMAawards50.com.
