Morgan Wallen took home the most coveted award at the 2024 CMA Awards — figuratively, that is.
Wallen, 31, won entertainer of the year at the CMAs on Wednesday, Nov. 20, but was not in attendance, prompting host Jeff Bridges to accept the win on behalf of the “Last Night” singer.
“Morgan was unable to come tonight, so I will accept this award on his behalf,” Bridges told the crowd. “Okay, let’s hear about Morgan!”
It remains unclear why Wallen – who wrapped up his One Night at a Time tour in October – was absent from the night’s festivities. He was the most nominated artist going into the show, with nominations for Entertainer, Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year and Music Event of the Year.
A representative for Wallen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The singer, who was already nominated for entertainer of the year in 2023 and 2022, ended up beating out Chris Stapleton, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and Luke Combs for the win.
The star was ineligible to compete for awards in the solo categories, including entertainer and male singer of the year, at the 2021 CMAs after he was caught using a racial slur on camera.
He returned to the 2023 awards, where he joined HARDY and Post Malone for a performance dedicated to Joe Diffie.
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Wallen released his third studio album, One thing at a timein March 2023, and at the beginning of this year he took the first place of the single with Post Malone, with the song “I Had Some Help”.
See all of PEOPLE’s complete CMA Awards here.
Most recently, the country singer released the single “Love Somebody” on October 18.
That same week, he wrapped up his massive One Night at a Time World Tour in Charlotte, NC
One thing at a time is among the most successful releases in his career. Not only did he debut at the top Billboard 200, it held the position for 19 consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running No. 1 country album of all time on the chart.
The track from the album “Last Night” reached number one on Billboard Hot 100 — Wallen’s first song to do so — and earned a nomination for Best Country Song at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
The 58th Annual CMA Awards air live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, November 20 from 8-11pm on ABC. The show airs the next day on Hulu.
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Source: HIS Education