Thomas Rhett, Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy Announced as Early CMA Awards Winners

Thomas Rhett, Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy have been announced as early CMA Awards winners! […]

November 14, 2018, 2:02pm

Thomas Rhett, Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy have been announced as early CMA Awards winners! Thomas Rhett won for Music Video of the Year for “Marry Me,” while Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy won for Musical Event of the Year for their collaboration on “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”

So incredible! Huge thanks to @TKMcKamy for his vision on this video. Very special way to start #CMAawards //t.co/sFJzQZHeQq
— Thomas Rhett (@ThomasRhett) November 14, 2018

“So incredible!” Rhett wrote on social media. “Huge thanks to [director] @TKMcKamy for his vision on this video. Very special way to start #CMAawards.”

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Murphy’s win marks his first-ever time to take home the trophy, which makes the CMA Award that much more meaningful for both Chesney and Murphy. Although their award was handed out early, both men will take the stage during the live broadcast to perform their hit single.

“One of the highlights of my year was watching David Lee’s album find an audience and hearing ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ rolling out of people’s car speakers,” Chesney said. “And hearing the crowd roar every time he walked out on stage at the stadiums this summer … In a world where true originals are so hard to find, there’s only one David Lee Murphy, so beyond being thrilled for everything that’s happened with this song, I’m even happier to be able to sing it with him at the CMAs.”

“You know, I’ve always been into writing and singing my songs,” added Murphy. “I just love it. Recording No Zip Code with Kenny and performing with him this summer was fantastic. Being nominated? ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ spoke to so many people. It’ll be an honor to sing it on the CMA Awards.”

Rhett’s heart-breaking “Marry Me” video had a cliffhanger ending, but Rhett imagines the story would have ultimately ended well.

“At the end I wanted to really just rein in that Nicholas Sparks moment, and really give the viewers a positive ending,” Rhett said of the video. “I think she left the wedding and came and now they’re together wherever they are living in the Virgin Islands somewhere.”