Entertainment Music Country Music Chris Stapleton's 'Starting Over' Wins Album of the Year at the 2021 CMAs Chris Stapleton thanked his wife, Morgane, as well as "everybody that listened to the record" and "everybody that listens to music" By Daniela Avila Daniela Avila Daniela Avila is an editorial assistant at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2021. Her work previously appeared on The Poly Post. People Editorial Guidelines and Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 10, 2021 10:32PM EST Chris Stapleton takes the win! The "Cold" singer took home the coveted album of the year award at 2021 CMA Awards on Wednesday for his hit record Starting Over. "I want to say thank you to my wife again, I can't do this without her ever," Stapleton said, looking to his wife and collaborator Morgane Stapleton in the crowd. "And I want to say thank you to everybody that listened to the record, everybody that listens to music, you know, like country music fans." Stapleton, 43, went on to thank his competition in the category — Carly Pearce, Morgan Wallen, Eric Church, and Brothers Osborne — noting that there were "a lot of great records" up against his own. For more on the 2021 CMA Awards and other top stories, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day. "It's always an honor to receive album [of the year]," he said. "We work really hard to make albums, we believe in albums, and we like what that is. Thank you CMAs, thanks everybody, thank you so much." Chris Stapleton. abc/getty Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and Gabby Barrett Lead Nominations List at 2021 CMA Awards He and Church were tied for most nominations heading into the night with five each, and Stapleton also scooped up wins for song of the year, single of the year and male vocalist of the year. Check out PEOPLE's full CMA Awards coverage to get the latest news on country's biggest night. The country rocker released Starting Over in November 2020 — and in January in his Apple Music short film, said he hoped people would "find something that speaks to them" and "feel something" in the record following a difficult year. When he took home the ACM Award for album of the year earlier this year, he said that having his work recognized "means a lot. It really does." CMA Awards Adds Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown and More to Performance Line-Up "We worked really hard to make music. And we think a lot about it," Stapleton said at the time, before thanking his wife Morgane and album collaborators. The CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan, are broadcasting live from Nashville on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.