Backstage at the 2023 CMT Music Awards in Austin, the theme seemed to be both gratitude and disbelief. 

Newcomer Megan Moroney was so overcome she struggled to remember what month it is, after winning Breakthrough Female Video of the Year for her current hit, “Tennessee Orange.” Lainey Wilson was similarly perplexed, after taking home trophies for Collaborative Video of the Year for “wait in the truck” with HARDY, and simultaneously winning Female Video for “Heart Like a Truck,” the very day it climbed to #1 on the country chart. 

Jelly Roll was the night’s big winner, declaring he was ready to do some serious partying after grabbing three trophies for his breakthrough hit, “Son of a Sinner.”

Host Kane Brown and wife Katelyn took home the night’s biggest honor, Video of the Year, for their chart-topping first duet, “Thank God.” The superstar said he felt like he was getting to live his own career again, as he gets to share in his significant other’s first success as a recording artist. 

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