Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney 's collaboration of "half of my hometown" picked up a pair of early wins on Wednesday morning (Nov. 10), ahead of the the 55th annual CMA Awards, which air on ABC tonight.
The song and its corresponding video won musical event of the year and music video of the year. Musical event of the year goes to both the artists as well as the song's producers, which include Ballerini, Ross Copperman and Jimmy Robbins.
The video for "half of my hometown," directed by Patrick Tracy, features Ballerini returning to her high school in Knoxville, Tenn., and imagining how life would look if Ballerini had not been determined to move to Nashville to chase her musical ambitions.
These mark Ballerini's first CMA Awards wins. In addition to his four CMA entertainer of the year wins, Chesney has previously won in the musical event of the year category for "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" featuring David Lee Murphy (2018), "Feel Like a Rock Star" with Tim McGraw (2012) and for "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" with McGraw and Tracy Lawrence (2007). Chesney has also previously picked up the music video of the year honor in 2011 for "You and Tequila," a collaboration with Grace Potter.
"half of my hometown" is included on Ballerini's 2020 album kelsea. Ballerini co-wrote the track with Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, Robbins and Shane McAnally. As Knoxville is a shared hometown for both Ballerini and Chesney, Ballerini invited Chesney to sing on the track. In October 2021, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
After receiving news of Wednesday's CMA Awards win, Chesney shared praise for Ballerini on social media, "Growing up in East TN, it’s a deeper kind of home. That’s what makes being part of #halfofmyhometown so special. I’m thrilled for Kelsea to have won Musical Event & Music Video of the Year! She couldn’t deserve it more & I’m honored to be a part of it. #cmaawards"
Watch the video for "half of my hometown" below:
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