CMT Music Awards 2024: full list of winners, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson…

As expected, rapper Jelly Roll (real name: Jason DeFord) was one of the big winners in the 2024 CMT Music Awards which took place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas Sunday. The 39-year-old repeated his success from last year’s ceremony by taking home a clean sweep of three awards - all of his nominations, including one of the top honors: Video of the Year for his 2023 hit: Need a Favor.

Jelly Roll’s emotional speech

Jelly Roll, who recently picked up 2023 CMA Award for New Artist of the Year, made a typically impassioned acceptance speech, telling the audience: ”One year ago, I was invited to perform in my first awards show, and I walked on this stage and I sing Need A Favor for the first time on national television right here. What I’m emotional about is that last year, you had changed my life in every way I would never thought my life could be changed.

“It’s important that I stand up here tonight and represent those that are looking for second chances - the kids in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention facility, the kids down here in the Austin Juvenile Detention facility who are watching this tonight - I’m cheering y’all boys on. You can be this guy, you can change, you can turn it around - I promise you can baby!”

He later returned to the stage for a rendition of the first track from his 2023 album Whitsitt Chapel: Halfway To Hell - closing the night’s live performances which included That’s Texas (Cody Johnson), Country’s Cool Again (Lainey Wilson) and Put It in a Song (Trisha Yearwood).

Toby Keith remembered

Lainey Wilson who won her first Grammy for her critcally acclaimed album Bell Bottom Country, won the Female Video of the Year Award for Watermelon Moonshine. She also performed a rousing rendition of Toby Keith’s epic How Do You Like Me Now?! as a tribute to the late country star who sadly passed away of stomach cancer in February aged 62.

Country legend Trisha Yearwood was also honored - she picked up the June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award and also spoke about the influence Toby Keither had on here. “Garth and I both knew Toby well and we got a chance to be a part of a tornado relief concert he did. He was so great to his fans, so great to his friends - that’s what I am most excited about tonight, to see his band, part of this tribute and hear the music. I love the music and I think it’s fitting that we pay tribute to him”.

The CMT Music Awards, which celebrates the best in country music videos and television performances, is country music’s only entirely fan-voted awards event. It was originally launched in 1967 as the Music City News Awards and gained its current name in 2005. This year’s show was hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, making her fourth appearance as presenter.

Fans were able to vote for their favorite artists and live performances on CMT’s official website or by using the artist’s hashtag on the network’s social media platforms up to the 1 April deadline.