00:00Thank y'all so much. Christina, Jessica, and Melinda, for my first date, eating scrambled egg for breakfast and doing
00:10an interview with the Duck Blind.
00:11I appreciate all y'all have done for me in my career. Y'all have really championed me from day
00:15one, so everybody at Billboard, thank y'all so much for that.
00:20Hitmaker Award is very fitting. Clint Black, everybody.
00:28I mean it when I say you're a big reason that I'm doing what I'm doing, and I'm up here
00:32today.
00:32I remember finding out you wrote your own songs and wrote some by yourself.
00:36Three number ones, solo written number ones here.
00:41I got two, so.
00:46But it's always been a lot to me, your friendship, and all you've done for me and how you've guided
00:49me over the years.
00:51You know, when you write songs by yourself, you know this.
00:53You don't have that guy in the room that's going, yeah, that's it, or that, hey, that's a great line.
00:58And for me, this kind of recognition is that pat on the back that gives me the confidence to go
01:02out and write more songs and play more shows.
01:04So thank y'all so much for this.
01:05I want to thank my team, Big Machine, Scott, Jimmy, New Hargis, Doki, Daniel and Zach, Austin, Neil, Agency, Addie,
01:15Jesse Vaughn, Warner Chapel.
01:18I had a lot of great role models growing up in country music.
01:21My granddad, Buford, loved country music.
01:23I mean, loved it.
01:25And I remember a few weeks ago, my grandmother, Lola Jean, got to come to my show in Atlanta.
01:30Had two sold-out nights over there, and she said, man, I just wish Buford could see this.
01:35And it's moments like this that make me very certain he's sitting in a recliner somewhere watching down on all
01:40this.
01:40So thank y'all so much for helping me make that old guy proud.
01:42I appreciate you.
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