The 2023 Country Music Association Awards struck a very obvious sense of inclusion, with a celebration of fresh talent, old favorites, and classics lost.
Lainey Wilson, the "Things a Man Oughta Know" singer, was voted Entertainer of the Year, becoming the first woman to do so since Taylor Swift in 2011. Song of the Year and Single of the Year went to Luke Combs' cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," which sparked an interesting debate regarding race and artistic appreciation.
T.J. Osbourne of the Brothers Osbourne and John Osbourne won Duo of the Year two years after T.J. Osbourne came out as gay. In what was possibly the night's most popular moment, freshly crowned Best New Artist Jelly Roll sang The Judds' smash song "Love Can Build a Bridge" with emerging Black country artist K. Michelle.
"Country music's biggest night" is clearly intended to showcase the best of country, and this year's best looked like different collaborations, varying genres, and a spectrum of stories unified in the sake of darn fantastic music. But the question remains: Did it accurately depict country music?
For country fans, Lainey Wilson, a 31-year-old Louisiana native with a big TikTok audience and a career full of songs that would make Tanya and Reba proud, is a household name. Her triumph for Entertainer of the Year makes sense (as does the title of her upcoming tour, "Country is Cool Again"). Wilson is the first woman to win the award in 12 years, following an era of Carrie Underwoods, Miranda Lamberts, Hillary Scotts, Maren Morrises, and Kelsea Ballerinis.
Despite the fact that women are praised in country music, statistics do not support the stories we tell ourselves. Only ten of the 57 performers named Entertainer of the Year since the CMA Awards' inception in 1967 have been women or women-led. Each winner is chosen from a short list of five nominees, and women or groups featuring women make up only 45 of the 228 nominations over the years. Only one Black artist has ever been nominated or won a CMA Entertainer of the Year Award outside of the gender spectrum. Charley Pride, who won in 1971, was nominated several times more and is one of country music's few known Black forefathers.
One could claim that these statistics are no longer relevant. They could argue that the last few years have heralded a new breed of country stars who defy the White, heterosexual, and primarily male stereotypes, and that it takes time for new acts to make an indelible mark. Change can even come from within the ranks: The Brothers Osborne were already well-known in country music when TJ Osborne declared his sexuality in 2021, and the fact that they are still loved by the genre's most influential figures must signify something.
The idea of a more inclusive country music future, on the other hand, is a tired song. This year's CMA Awards reminded me of the 2019 ceremony, when Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson sang "Rainbow Connection" together in an obvious display of progressive country strength. It felt like a promise back then, the same kind of promise weaved throughout this year's event.
A promise, however, is not a reality, and it cannot change what people listen to, who listens to it, or what the culture of country music is. For the majority of country music's existence, white men have dominated award events and the radio. Despite widespread support, women continue to be statistically underrepresented. LGBTQ artists and vocalists of color are uncommon on country music charts.
They are not the most successful in terms of album sales or tour attendance. While various musicians have achieved success in country subgenres, the popular perception of country music is still constrained by assumptions about race, gender, and politics, Being unique in the industry, no matter how much it is celebrated on a large Nashville stage, is still a liability in practice.
Maren Morris, who has five CMA Awards and a Grammy, is one of a growing number of country performers who are defying country music's dominant culture. She openly chastised Jason Aldean's controversial song "Try That in a Small Town," and called out his wife Brittany in 2022 for making transphobic remarks on social media. Morris said in September that she is evaluating her connection with the genre she adores. "Music is meant to be the oppressed's voice—the genuine oppressed. And now it's being used as a particularly destructive weapon in culture battles," Morris explained to the Los Angeles Times.
Though Morris has stated that she is not done with country, she was not present at this year's CMA Awards - a minor detail, but one that served as a counterpoint to the show's displays of unity and diversity. "I am who I am. This is how I was conceived. "This is how I grew up," she told US Weekly. Despite the fact that numerous Black women and men have made waves in country music, the former reality star admits she understands she looks and sounds different than the vast majority of people who have stepped into the spotlight. She also claims that it shouldn't matter.
It was enough for Lainey Wilson, who sings about domestic violence and heartache and whose most complicated love affair, like so many others in the country who dare to be different, is with the music itself. The 2023 CMA Awards, strewn with new sounds, new stories, and the rewards of emotion, and, yes, even shadowed by long-held divisions beneath, didn't exactly depict country music as it is. However, it portrayed country music as it could be.