His family couldn’t be in attendance, but Thomas Rhett took time to praise his wife, Lauren Akins, and daughters Willa Gray, Ada James and Lennon Love while accepting the prestigious CMA Triple Play Award. The honor is given to songwriters who have achieved three No. 1 hits in 12 months, which Rhett did with “Sixteen,” “Look What God Gave Her” and “Remember You Young,” his three most recent chart-topping singles.
“To my team who listens to my songs, my two best A&R people, my two little girls, if they don’t like it in the car, it probably means it’s not a very good song,” Rhett said from stage when accepting his trophy. “My wife just had our third baby, so they’re not here, but my support goes out to them for being my rocks, always standing by me. I’m so super grateful to the Lord for just allowing me to write songs and sing for people. It’s a huge honor.”
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Rhett also praised his friends and fellow songwriters, including those who will travel hundreds of miles just to write with Rhett.
“To all my friends that I see in the crowd, that I do life with,” Rhett said. “They come on the bus during the weekends and write a bunch of songs that might not ever get cut and they allow me to chase down two weeks of the Post Malone vibes that may never see the light of day.
“It’s an honor to get to stand up here not only as an artist, but as a songwriter,” he continued. “It’s really cool to see a bunch of artists in this room who have taken it upon themselves to say what they want to say and be honest and I’m so thankful for my team. Thankful for the people who listen to our terrible songs as well as those that the good ones.”
Other artists who received CMA Triple Play Awards include Dan + Shay‘s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, Old Dominion‘s Matt Ramsey and Trevor Rosen, Kane Brown and Luke Combs. Songwriter Ashley Gorley received three Triple Play Awards, signifying nine No. 1 songs within one year, including Luke Bryan‘s “What Makes You Country,” Dierks Bentley‘s “Living” and Dustin Lynch‘s “Ridin’ Roads,” among others.
Photo Credit: Getty / Jason Kempin
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