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2020 CMA Awards: How Morgan Wallen went from getting eliminated in 'The Voice' to winning New Artist of the Year

'It's been tough. I've had a lot of really good things happen this year, and some things I wouldn't consider good. But this is something I'd put at the top of the list'

Morgan Wallen is taking home the 54th CMA ‘New Artist of the Year’ Award beating popular country singers like Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andress, Gabby Barrett and Carly Pearce. On receiving the award, the 27-year-old country singer honestly said, “Well, I did not expect to get this,” and added, “I would like to thank the good Lord first of all.”

2020 hasn’t been a great year for the singer as he was dropped off an SNL performance recently after being spotted maskless partying in Alabama. Hoping this award will bring the much-needed positivity, the singer said, "It's a little kick in the year towards the top, I hope!"

"It's been tough. I've had a lot of really good things happen this year, and some things I wouldn't consider good. But this is something I'd put at the top of the list," he said referring to the new trophy.

The singer also performed at the CMA Awards where he showed his love for the hometown Sneedville, Tennessee, with his song 'More Than My Hometown' when the backdrop featured a Sneedville road sign.

From being eliminated in Season 6 of 'The Voice' to getting the 54th CMA New Artist of the Year award, Morgan Wallen’s career has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. And the singer acknowledges the highs just as much he had to accept the lows.

After being eliminated in the playoff rounds of 'The Voice' in 2014, the singer worked on solo music and signed with Big Loud Awards in 2016. He debuted with the single ‘The Way I Talk’ and released his first album ‘If I Know Me’ in 2018. The album’s third single 'Whiskey Glasses' became the first breakthrough for Wallen as it reached number one on the Country Airplay in June 2019. 

'If I Know Me' reached number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart after a record-breaking 114 weeks in August. Wallen’s ‘7 Summers’ has been so far the most successful song as it broke the record for the most first-day streams for a country song on Apple Music, lending him his very first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #6.

His fans celebrated the win on Twitter where a fan wrote, “Congratulations.  Cannot wait to see you in concert hopefully 2021.” Another wrote, "Congatulation @MorganWallen for them great tunes (#whiskeyglasses)  Thank you for the medication 4 the soul" A user shared, “We love his music! We first saw him when he opened for @lukecombs Congratulations @MorganWallen!”

Just like his fans, Wallen is also hoping for a better 2020, "I feel like I might be in a better spot, with everything going on this year," he said in his speech. "I feel like I'm back at home now with myself, which is nice."