00:00Ella Langley, my sister. I don't even know where she's at right now. My redneck sister. That's what I like to call her. She's never even looked at me funny when I talked and I knew that that was I was like, okay, we're gonna be friends. I feel like we speak the same language, a language that comes from growing up like we did, playing in the dirt and riding as fast on a horse as we could possibly go. It just seemed like we were both on the same page.
00:28And as soon as I met her, I knew she was different. She had this spark and this go-getter attitude that I was drawn to and the kind of attitude that it takes for anybody in this business to do it.
00:41And before I even heard her sing, I knew that she was pretty special. She's the kind that just jumps in head first and gives it 190%. It don't matter what it is. If that means her show, her songwriting, she's in it. And I like people like that.
00:57And there's no doubt that she has already made her mark in this industry and she ain't going anywhere.
01:03She's got the guts and the grit to be here as long as she wants to be.
01:07And she has become a dear friend and we've already made some really great memories together on the side-by-side at midnight, riding around the farm.
01:16But we can't talk about all those, so we're just gonna move it along.
01:20But any wisdom that has been passed along to me from the women in the business, I've tried to share it with Ella.
01:29And Ella seems like she's all ears. She wants to listen. She wants to know more and do more and be more.
01:35And that's what makes her just a superstar.
01:38I'm proud of Ella, not just for being the trailblazing artist that she is, but for the heart that she's got to go with it.
01:43She is a rising star today, but I truly believe Ella Langley will be a rising star generations from now.
01:49It gives me great pleasure to present this year's Rising Star Award to my girl, Ella Langley.
02:04Podiums make me so nervous. I don't know what that is.
02:06Thank you. Thank you. You look good.
02:11Poor damn.
02:12Lainey, thank you for saying that.
02:17My life has literally been insane the past, really, six months, six to seven months.
02:23It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. It's the only thing I've tried to do. It's the only job I've ever had.
02:28And there's been a lot in my life where, I think this was called the Rookie Award at some point,
02:32so I kind of wrote something in my head towards that.
02:35And there's been a lot of times in my life where I felt like a rookie.
02:40Bringing in an EV speaker and figuring out an eight-channel mixer by myself felt like a rookie.
02:47My first tour ever felt like a rookie.
02:49Getting in a van with my band, you know how cool it was to travel there in one vehicle and not our separate Honda Accords?
02:54It was sick.
02:56Going into a writer's room for the first time.
03:00Putting out a record for the first time.
03:02I felt like a rookie every single one of those.
03:03Tomorrow, I'm playing Nissan Stadium for the first time, and I'm going to feel a little bit like a rookie walking out there.
03:10But, man, I'm so grateful for that girl and that woman that showed up and kept showing up because it's brought me here today.
03:18And so I'm grateful for that.
03:22So thank you to my team who has, I mean, good Lord, do they, Bradley Jordan, Megan Hine.
03:29I mean, I don't know what I would do without them.
03:31Tour manager Katie is my date tonight here.
03:35This is for all of us.
03:36This is for everybody.
03:37We're all working our ass off to get where we're trying to be.
