Lil Nas X, Kacey Musgraves Score Early CMA Awards Wins

Congrats to Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and Kacey Musgraves!

Written by Chris Parton
Lil Nas X, Kacey Musgraves Score Early CMA Awards Wins
Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X; Photo courtesy of Adkins Publicity

The 53rd annual CMA Awards are still a few hours away, but trophies have already begun to get handed out. The winners of two awards were announced on Good Morning America by Maddie & Tae this morning (November 13), live from Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon.

First up was the category for CMA Musical Event of the Year, with the win going to “Old Town Road (Remix)” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. The crossover smash was produced by YoungKio, Michael Trent Reznor and Atticus Matthew Ross, and it’s victory marks the hit’s first country-specific award after initially being removed from country charts for not being “country enough,” and then being re-added once Cyrus was added to the track. “Old Town Road (Remix)” also won awards at the MTV Music Video Awards and Teen Choice Awards this year, and the chart-topping track is now Diamond-certified by the RIAA for selling more than ten million copies.

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FIRST COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD WIN! 🐎🐎🐎⚡️

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Meanwhile, the hardware for CMA Music Video of the Year goes to “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves and the video’s director, Hannah Lux Davis. The ambitious clip mixed symbolism and cinematography with stunning color and camera work, injecting a glimmer of hope into multiple hopeless situations. Musgraves’ “Rainbow” is also up for CMA Song of the Year at tonight’s show, and the singer herself is nominated for CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. “Rainbow” appeared on her acclaimed Golden Hour album, which also took home the Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Country Album.

Find out who else wins when the 53rd annual CMA Awards are co-hosted by Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, airing live tonight (November 13) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.