And the ACM for album of the year goes to…Morgan Wallen.
Wallen, 28, took home the award for album of the year forDangerous: The Double Albumat the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards on Monday.
“When I started this album, I was a kid. By the time I put it out, I was a father,” Wallen — who is dad to 20-month-old sonIndigo Wilderwith ex-girlfriend KT Smith — began in his acceptance speech.
“That’s become more important to me than anything else,” he continued. “To my son, this album and this award will signify that his daddy was a fighter, and he chased his dreams and worked hard to make them a reality.”
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Wallen added, “I want to say a special thank you to all of the songwriters, producers and musicians that played on this album. I wish you were standing here next to me now. This project would not be complete without each of them.”
Morgan Wallen.Kevin Winter/Getty
“I’d also like to thank my good lord and savior Jesus Christ, my family, my friends, my team in Nashville, country radio and everyone who has shown me grace along the way,” he said. “Most importantly, I have to address my fans personally and directly: thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Morgan Wallen.Ethan Miller/Getty
Wallen released the album in January 2021, just weeks before he came under fire for using the N-word in a leaked video.
As a result, the musician had his music pulled from radio waves and his record label contract suspended. He was also deemed ineligible at both the ACM and CMT Awards in 2021, and was banned from participating in the Billboard Music Awards, and from any non-collaborative categories at the CMA Awards.
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Wallen has since apologized on several different occasions, and revealed toGood Morning America’s Michael Strahan in July that he checked into a rehabilitation center after the incident.
“For 30 days, I spent some time out in San Diego, California, you know, just trying to figure it out … Why am I acting this way? Do I have an alcohol problem?” he said. “Do I have a deeper issue?”
Wallen explained the situation in the controversial video, saying that he and his friends would “say dumb stuff together” and “in our minds, it’s playful. That sounds ignorant, but that’s really where it came from, and it’s wrong.”
He added that he did not use the word frequently, and “didn’t mean it in any derogatory manner at all.”
The “7 Summers” singer is currently in the midst of a 46-city arena tour that will continue through September.
source: people.com
