Luke Combs Crowned 2021 CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year

Luke Combs is 2021's CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year. His first win concluded the 2021 CMA Awards, which took place in Nashville on Wednesday night (Nov. 10).

He was shocked to hear Alan Jackson call out his name as the last and biggest winner of the night. Seated, he buckled over and then stood up to hug his wife on his way to the stage. There, he gave the country legend a big hug.

"Alan Jackson said my name, twice just now," Combs said, struggling for words. "I have never written a speech for something like this which is not serving me well right now."

Combs, who debuted a new song called "Doin' This" during the show earlier in the night, thanked fans, fellow artists and his label. "I don't deserve to win it," he said of the Entertainer of the Year trophy, "but I'm sure as hell glad I did." He was nominated once before, in 2020.

Combs was competing against Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood for Entertainer of the Year at the 2021 CMA Awards. Talking about the prospect of winning earlier in the week, he admitted he'd party either way.

The Country Music Association held the 2021 CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. The show, hosted for the first time by Luke Bryan, returned to the venue — its home since 2006 — after one year at Music City Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic.