Dierks Bentley reflected on the song that kicked off his career during a CMT Storytellers special, which aired days before the highly-anticipated 2023 CMT Music Awards on Sunday evening (April 2).
“This song really, really changed my life, and I wrote this back in Nashville (with Brett Beavers and Deric Ruttan),” Bentley told the crowd at his intimate, high-energy show. “We were just kind of messing around and talking about crazy things we’ve done in our youth, and some of the crazy things I was still doing back then, and (we) took those three different opinions and stories and perspectives and put them into one song. It came out this crazy song called ‘What Was I Thinkin,’’ it really did change my life and start everything.”
Bentley received two CMT Awards nods this year, including in the Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year categories. Both nominations are for his feature on Elle King’s collaboration, “Worth A Shot.” See the full list of nominees here. The 2023 CMT Music Awards will air live from Moody Center in Austin, Texas, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET, per CMT. The show is set for April 2 on CBS.
Bentley performed career-spanning hits during the CMT Storytellers event, including “I Hold On” and “Gold,” the title track of his latest album. Watch his performances below.