Chris Stapleton’s oldest two children made a rare appearance at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards last night.
Stapleton’s son, Wayland and daughter, Ada joined him and wife, Morgane on the red carpet at the ACMs in Las Vegas.
Stapleton, who is a father to five children in all, is typically private when it comes to his family. However, his two oldest children joined him at the ACMs to celebrate one of them turning 13, according to Hello Magazine.
Stapleton also thanked his children and wife, Morgane when he took home the award for Male Artist of the Year.
“Thank you so much,” Stapleton said while accepting the award.
“I want to say thank you first of all to my wife Morgane Stapleton, she’s my rock. Everything I do is because of her,” Stapleton added before thanking his children.
“Got my kids with me tonight. Wayland, he’s 13 today. It’s his birthday, happy birthday! “My daughter Ada. This is a dream. Every minute we get to live this. Everybody that is in these seats and all the fans are here—it’s a dream. It really is. And I’m evidence that you know, dreams come true all the time,” he continued.
“So, thank you to everybody and to all the guys in this category, this wonderful field of guys. Any one of them deserves this award, and that’s the truth. I’m so grateful to be part of this community. Thank you so much!”
A major win for @ChrisStapleton taking home ACM Male Artist of the Year at the #ACMawards! pic.twitter.com/XH7Pw78gvv
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) March 8, 2022
In addition to Male Artist of the Year, Stapleton was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“You Should Probably Leave”), and Video of the Year (“I Bet You Think About Me” with Taylor Swift). Stapleton was among the artists at the top of the pack with the most ACM nominations for 2022.
Along with his award for Male Artist of the Year, Stapleton performed his song, “Watch You Burn” in honor of the 60 people killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas back in 2017. Stapleton wrote the song following the tragic incident.
Stapleton’s wife, Morgane joined him onstage during his performance, which you can watch below.
Co-hosted by global icon Dolly Parton with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, the two-hour show livestreamed without commercials and featured 20+ performances from some of country music’s hottest superstars and rising newcomers.
The performance lineup included Parker McCollum and Lainey Wilson, who were crowned this year’s New Male and New Female Artist of the Year, respectively as well as Barrett, Allen, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Walker Hayes, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, Lady A and Kelly Clarkson.
“The concert event of the year” also included several collaborations, including Parton featuring Kelsea Ballerini (“Big Dreams & Faded Jeans”), BRELAND featuring Thomas Rhett (“Praise The Lord”), Jordan Davis (“Buy Dirt,” feat. Luke Bryan), Brothers Osborne and Brittney Spencer (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”), Parmalee and Blanco Brown featuring Brooke Eden (“Just the Way”), Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (“Never Wanted to Be That Girl”), and Chris Young featuring Mitchell Tenpenny (“At the End of a Bar”).
The 2022 ACM Awards presenters included Alan Ritchson (actor, Reacher), Derek Carr (quarterback, Las Vegas Raiders), Guy Torry (comedian, Phat Tuesdays), James Patterson (author, Run Rose Run), Jason Aldean, Kelsey Asbille (actor, Yellowstone), Luke Grimes (actor, Yellowstone), Mickey Guyton, and Tom Pelphrey (actor, Outer Range).
The ACM Awards made history as the first major awards show to livestream exclusively as it streamed live on Prime Video in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
See more photos of Chris Stapleton and his family below.
