Maren Morris Breaks Down During New Artist of the Year Acceptance Speech
Maren Morris won big at the 2016 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 2) in Nashville, taking home the award for New Artist of the Year.
West Virginia native Jennifer Garner was on hand to present the award, for which the diminutive singer beat out Kelsea Ballerini, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion and Cole Swindell.
Morris took the podium just minutes after tearing up the awards show with an incendiary, over-the-top performance of her career-making debut single, "My Church," demonstrating on country's biggest night exactly why she was the most-nominated artist in 2016.
"Y'all ... I can't win this award right after performing. I'm gonna fall apart," she said.
"This is so crazy. So, last year I sat across the street at a bar and watched this show," she said tearfully. "I never thought as a songwriter I'd be standing here today. Thank you so much for voting for me."
Morris also thanked the songwriting community, her family, her professional team and her boyfriend, Ryan Hurd, who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday.
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