CMA Awards 2016: Top Moments Backstage at the 50th Annual CMA Awards
Garth Brooks and Thomas Rhett admit they shed tears during an emotional open.
— -- The 50th Annual CMA Awards packed in tons of A-list stars and plenty of incredible, star-studded performances.
"Good Morning America" co-anchor Lara Spencer caught up with the big winners backstage, including Thomas Rhett who won Single of the Year for his song "Die a Happy Man." Rhett told ABC News that winning in front of his family and colleagues was extra special.
"To just be in the environment of not only Alan Jackson, Charlie Pride, Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, but also Beyonce is here -- there are four generations of country music/hip hop royalty. It was just one of the coolest 50th CMA's I have ever been to. To win in that environment was extra special," he said.
Rhett co-wrote the winning single with two others that he had never worked with before and said their wives were the inspiration for the hit song.
"We wanted to write a song that would be played at weddings for a long time and that was the first song we wrote together and we wanted to write all about our significant others so it was very personal to my wife and very personal to their wives as well," he said.
Other than the win, Rhett's favorite moment of the show was meeting Randy Travis for the first time and seeing him perform: "Watching Randy sing the final 'Amen' ... me and Garth [Brooks] literally looked at each other because I was sitting right behind him, and we both had tears rolling down our eyes."
Rhett called it "the most spiritual country music moment I had ever experienced."
Garth Brooks had another emotional moment, taking home one of the most anticipated awards of the night, Entertainer of the Year, for the seventh time in the artist's esteemed career.
"This is awesome," Brooks said backstage after then win. "The 50th it is never going to come again ...This is cool."
Brooks said that he wanted to make sure everyone that helped make the win possible got a chance to spend time with him and hold the award for themselves. He also compared his win to that of NFL legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, who was in attendance at the show, and his Superbowl 50 win.
"I saw Peyton backstage but he won the 50th... I am going to make a ring out of this," Brooks joked about transforming his CMA award into a ring like Peyton's.
Brooks, who performed a duet alongside his wife Tricia Yearwood, said the two would celebrate the win all night.
"We are not going to go home...I don't know where we are going but we're not going to go to bed for a long time," he said.
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