Y’all, is he the male Adele? Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan weren’t the only ones praising Chris Stapleton during the 2015 Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The country newcomer — who released his debut solo LP Traveller in May — received an overwhelming amount of support via social media, and massive applause after his downright incredible performance with Justin Timberlake.
Stapleton, 37, stole the show at the CMAs, taking home three of the biggest awards of the night: New Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year.
Here are five things to know about the “Tennessee Whiskey” crooner:
1. Though he’s new to the CMAs, he’s been in Nashville for over a decade
The Kentucky native moved to Tennessee in 2001 to pursue music. He worked as a songwriter for 15 years, but didn’t get his big break until he signed with Warner Chappell Music as a solo artist in January 2014.
2. You’ve probably heard his music before — you just didn’t realize it
Stapleton worked with some of the biggest names in country music before becoming a household name himself. He wrote — and did backup vocals for — Adele’s “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” Luke Bryan’s “Drink a Beer,” Kenny Chesney’s “Never Wanted Nothing More,” Blake Shelton’s “100 Miles,” and “Too Fast” for Jason Aldean. “I always just try to write the best songs that I can at any given time,” he told Rolling Stone in August 2014. “And sometimes those songs are for me, and sometimes they’re for other people. And that’s to be evaluated after the fact.”
3. He rocked out in bands before going solo
The country superstar was the lead singer for the band SteelDrivers from 2008 to 2010. He later founded the Southern rock band The Jompson Brothers, and opened for the Zac Brown Band in 2010. “I don’t like to put things in a box all the time,” he told RS of his music range. “If I’m feeling like rock, we’ll do some of that, and if I’m feeling some other way, we might do some of that.”
4. Fans may have heard his work in movies
Stapleton contributed to the soundtracks of 2010’s Country Strong and 2010’s Valentine’s Day. He also has writing credits on episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Apprentice, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
5. He’s head over heels in love
Stapleton has a son and daughter with his wife, singer-songwriter Morgane. “I gotta thank my wife again,” he said during his Male Vocalist speech Wednesday night. “She always pushes me to be the best I can be and do anything.” He also opened up about his marriage in an interview with The Washington Post this past August. “My wife has great taste in everything but men. The vast majority of the songs on my debut album, Traveller, came from lists she made,” he said at the time. “Oh, we drive each other crazy once in a while. But being without each other drives us even more crazy.”
