Everything is bigger in Texas! Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown took home the top honor of Video of the Year at the 2023 CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2.
“Oh, my gosh! First off, I am so nervous,” Katelyn, 30, said. ” This is all so new to me and when we recorded this song a year ago, I never in my life would ever think this was going to happen. But I just want to say thank you so much to my amazing husband. I love you. This is so special that we get to share this together every night, and I love you so much.”
The Browns shared a kiss before Kane took the mic. “I’ll be quick. I just want to say thank you to the fans who voted,” the Tennessee native, 29, said. “I want to say thank you to Sony [and] my awesome manager, Martha. This is Alex Alvga. He moved here from Barcelona. He wanted to be a video director. He’s done, like, all of my music videos. He’s making the American Dream come true.”
The Video of the Year winners — who married in 2018 and share daughters Kingsley, 3, and Kodi, 14 months — were up against steep competition, beating out Blake Shelton (“No Body”), Carrie Underwood (“Hate My Heart”), Cody Johnson (“Human”), HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson (“Wait in the Truck”), married couple (“Thank God”) and Morgan Wallen (“You Proof”).
Before learning who took home the coveted trophy, fans were treated to a night of country music performances and genre-mixing duets.
Alanis Morissette was joined by the night’s most-nominated artist, Wilson, 30, who earned four nominations for the 2023 show. The twosome teamed up with Ingrid Andress, Madeline Edwards and Morgan Wade to sing Morissette’s iconic 1995 hit “You Oughta Know” for the crowd.
Carly Pearce, meanwhile, took the stage with Gwen Stefani for a country-pop duet that wowed fans. Shania Twain, who was honored with the 2023 CMT Equal Play Award, demanded attention when she sang for the rowdy audience — and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
For the first time in CMT Music Awards history, the awards show took place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The memorable occasion was cohosted by Kelsea Ballerini and Kane who have both become staples at the music event.
The “Mountain With a View” songstress, 30, has now emceed four CMT Music Awards, while the “What Ifs” crooner has been part of the hosting duo for three years.
As in years’ past, fans waited all night long to see who would take home the Video of the Year title, a category that Underwood, 40, has dominated in recent history.
The “Before He Cheats” songstress had 25 CMT Music Wins — the most in the awards show’s history — heading into the 2023 event after taking home the Video of the Year trophy last year. She shared the 2022 honor with Jason Aldean for their duet, “If I Didn’t Love You.”
“Thank you so much,” Underwood said in April 2022. “Thank you, fans. I mean, this belongs to you.”
Aldean, for his part, gushed over the win, noting it was the first time he’d been dubbed Video of the Year winner.
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“I think Carrie and I sort of hit the scene at the same time. The fact that you guys care enough about us this many years into our careers to vote for us and care enough about what we’re doing, to still listen to the music and vote for us means the world to me,” the “Big Green Tractor” crooner, 46, said at the time. “Thank you guys so much.”
