Chris Stapleton was almost baffled to be named the CMA's Male Vocalist of the Year. He claimed his trophy in person during the awards show on Wednesday night (Nov. 8).

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"Any one of these guys in this category deserves this award," he said as he opened his acceptance speech. "I've won a couple of these, and I'm always shocked that I win one. And I'm humbled here tonight to get to stay in such a wonderful crowd of people."

He also took a moment to thank his wife and fellow singer, Morgane, who was beaming in the audience.

"I wanna thank my wife, Morgane, who I don't do any of this without her," he confessed. "Sure don't get any of these without her."

He beat out some tough competition to earn his victory: Jelly Roll, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and Cody Johnson were all nominated in the category this year.

It's Stapleton's third consecutive year winning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year — his seventh overall — and you'd be hard pressed to find a candidate who deserves the title more. The star's powerhouse, soulful voice is perhaps more well-known than any other in the genre.

Stapleton has been releasing new music in 2023, and as always, he continues to showcase the foundational talent that made him a star while experimenting with forays into the rock and soul genres. This year, he delivered vocal finesse and tenderness as Carly Pearce's "We Don't Fight Anymore" duet partner — a song they performed on the CMAs stage earlier on Wednesday evening — and showed off his rock side on his new solo single, "White Horse."

He also had a banner year as a live performer, kicking off 2023 with a Super Bowl National Anthem performance. From there, Stapleton headed up a new iteration of his annual All-American Road Show Tour and played some stadium shows with George Strait and Little Big Town — a lineup he's already extended into 2024.

Stapleton was also nominated for the evening's top honor, Entertainer of the Year, which was awarded to Lainey Wilson.

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*Remember: The best way to watch the CMA Awards is on ABC with ToC on your phone.

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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes