The CMA Awards are country music’s biggest awards show, where stars are honored for their singing and songs. In 2025, Cody Johnson surprised everyone by winning Male Vocalist of the Year over eight-time winner Chris Stapleton, turning a “no chance” story into a dream come true.
You could see it on his face. This was a moment he had been fighting for his whole life. For years, doors closed in his face. Labels told him no cowboy hat, no fiddle, no steel guitar. He kept hearing “no” and kept going anyway.
And here he was, finally winning the biggest vocal prize in country music… in the same category as the guy he calls a “genius.” Cody did not trash Stapleton. He did the opposite. He called beating him “like racing Dale Earnhardt and somehow getting there first.”
Backstage, he talked about trusting God’s path, about not quitting when it would have been easier to walk away.
Cody Johnson CELEBRATES CMA Awards Win & Gives Update on Ear Drum (Exclusive)
In the group category, a young band from Alabama called The Red Clay Strays did the same thing on a bigger scale. They beat Old Dominion, the group that had won the same award seven years in a row. The turning point was their live performance of their song “People Hatin’.” It mixed raw rock-and-roll energy with a simple message about loving one another instead of fighting, and you can feel exactly why that moment pushed them into the spotlight for fans of real, gritty country.
The Red Clay Strays – Full Live Set | CMA Awards 2025 Breakout Performance
Right after winning Male Vocalist of the Year over Chris Stapleton, he sat down and talked, with no script, about what that moment really meant. He opened up about years of closed doors, about being told “no” to the cowboy hat and the traditional sound, and about why he never gave up. He also shared how it feels to move into true headliner status with shows like Stagecoach.