At this year’s Country Music Awards (CMA), New Zealand star Kaylee Bell has been awarded for her musical talent
Bell took home the ‘Jeff Walker Global Country Artist’ award, which “recognises outstanding achievements by someone originally based internationally and currently signed outside of the United States,” according to the CMA website.
The Canterbury-born artist received the award on the red carpet and shared a video on her Instagram story once the trophy was in her hands.
“Something wild just happened y’all,” she said. “First CMA I cannot believe it. This is amazing.”
The next day she shared her musical story and expressed gratitude to the industry and her fans.
“As a kid, I grew up singing country music in New Zealand with my siblings. We’d play every weekend and then I’d go back to school and wouldn’t really talk about it.”
“It’s wild now just to see how it’s blown up. My friends now send me songs that they love - they listen to fresh country on the weekend. It’s just wild how quickly this whole thing is changing, particularly in New Zealand and Australia. I get to see it first-hand.”
“Thank you for loving country music as much as I do because I really do just love the genre so much. I’m such a fan of other artists and songs and I love that I get to do this.”
Earlier this year, Bell made music history after her massive New Zealand tour. The country pop singer-songwriter had been completing her 17-date ‘Boots ‘N All’ tour across Aotearoa when she was presented with a plaque for her ‘Red EP’ reaching a certified Gold in Australia.
It marks the first time in 20 years that a female Australasian country artist's EP has reached Gold and the first time an independent female country artist has claimed the title.
Kaylee is a friend of More FM and we couldn’t be happier for her. Congratulations!!!
