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The Country Music Association revealed “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” megastar Luke Combs is the recipient of the 2023 CMA International Artist Achievement Award. Combs, a nine-time CMA Award winner, received the honor in early November, during events surrounding the 57th annual CMA Awards hosted on November 8 in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee, per a press release issued Thursday (December 14).
Milly Olykan, CMA Vice President of International Relations & Development, surprised Combs with the victory following his CMA Awards rehearsal on Tuesday, November 7, backstage at Bridgestone Arena. The award “recognizes outstanding achievement by a United States-based artist who has demonstrated the most significant creative growth, development and promotion of the Country Music industry outside of the United States during the eligibility period,” the Association noted.
Combs performed dozens of shows spanning three continents and 16 countries on his massive world tour this year, selling out venues around the globe. The North Carolina-born artist kicked off his tour just after releasing Gettin’ Old, his 18-track album that serves as a follow-up to the 12-track project, Growin’ Up, which released in 2022. Gettin’ Old included fan-favorites like the title track, “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Love You Anyway,” and others, in addition to his award-winning cover of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman. Combs won the Single of the Year award for his rendition of “Fast Car,” which also won in the Song of the Year category, a history-making victory for Chapman.
“5 Foot 9” artist Tyler Hubbard also took part in a surprise for 2023 CMA International Award winner, New Zealand-born country star Kaylee Bell. Bell received the 2023 CMA Jeff Walker Global Artist Award on the CMA Awards red carpet. That award honors “outstanding achievements by a Country Music artist who is originally based internationally and currently signed outside of the United States. The artist must have furthered the popularity of Country Music as well as brought attention to the Country Music format in their foreign based territory during the eligibility period,” according to the Country Music Association.
Combs was up for the International Artist Achievement Award alongside Kip Moore and Morgan Wallen, the Country Music Association announced in September.
“As we continue to see Country Music grow globally, it is thanks in large part to those who have supported our mission and spearheaded events, initiatives and programming to reach new territories around the world,” Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, said at that time. “The dedication from each of these nominees has made them a vital part of the success of our genre internationally, and we cannot wait to celebrate them in the coming months.”
Winners of four remaining 2023 CMA International Awards categories will be presented with awards in the coming months, the Country Music Association noted in its announcement on Thursday.
Photo: Josh Brasted/CMA