For the first time ever, Chris Stapleton is the reigning ACM Awards Entertainer of the Year. The father of five has been nominated a total of five times, winning in the category for the first time this year — a victory that he admits he did not expect.

“By any imaginable metric, I don’t deserve this, but thank you,” Stapleton said. “There are so many other great people in this category. I stand up, and I play music. That’s what I try to do every night. I write songs, and I make records.”

“I never thought of myself as somebody who’d win this award,” he continued. “I’m so grateful for each and every person who works so hard to make us able to do what we do — my wife Morgane, thank you.”

Stapleton also took time to thank his record label, management, band members and more, before getting emotional as he dedicated the trophy to his children.

“I’m really at a loss of what to say, but I want to say, my kids sitting at home, they give up a lot of my time, a lot of my wife’s time so we can do this,” he said. “This is for them.”

Stapleton will spend part of his summer on the road, but not just headlining his own shows. Instead, the 45-year-old will return to being an opener, for George Strait, for several stadium shows, including two in Nashville.

“I love doing these shows with George about as much as I like doing anything,” Stapleton said of their upcoming dates. “There’s nothing to compare it to. So many of his songs are in the ethos of what country music is. Playing these shows together is a great experience all the way around.”

Stapleton was also nominated for Male Artist of the Year, with that award going to Morgan Wallen, and Song of the Year, for “You Should Probably Leave,” with that trophy going to Cole Swindell‘s “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.” He shared the Entertainer of the Year category with Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert  Carrie Underwood and Wallen.

Photo Credit: Gilbert Flores for PMC