The 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards brought together some of the biggest names in country music, as well as some newcomers to the industry, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. One of said newcomers who walked the red carpet yesterday (May 8) was Maddox Batson, who touched on his “biggest inspiration musically” and more while speaking to CMT.
CMT had some rather unconventional practices on the 2025 ACM Awards red carpet, going so far as to gift Riley Green a big, juicy steak. With surprise snacks aside, their conversations were also out of the ordinary, asking individuals things that were written by fellow country stars, rather than original questions.
In a video shared to CMT’s TikTok profile, Batson was asked a question written by country music icon Eric Church, which reads “What is your why in country music? Why do you do it?”
Before answering the question, the “I Don’t Like You Anymore” singer gushed about Church. “Eric, you’re one of my biggest inspirations musically. I am happily obliged to answer your question,” he spilled, prior to delving into the details of the actual question.
“Why do I do country music? It’s country music. It means so much to me and my family,” Batson dished. “I grew up in the country music realm. My dad, he’d always play like old nineties country or like bluegrass and stuff like that. And then my sister, she’d always play I feel like the newer stuff. So I’ve always grown up around it, you know, and I have such a great appreciation.”
The 15-year-old concluded with an ear-to-ear smile, “I think it’s such a great community and just being like accepted into the country music realm just means so much to me… I love it so much. That’s the whole reason. I love country music so much, and I wouldn’t rather be in any other genre. I love it” — how sweet is that?
Studying country music from a very early age, Batson has paved the way for a successful career in the industry, initially gaining a following on social media by covering songs by Zach Bryan to the Red Clay Strays and beyond. Since then, he has released several original songs — even dropping his debut EP in March, First Dance, including fan-favorite tunes like “Southbound,””Girl In Green” and more — as well as writing songs for stars like Lana Del Rey and Quavo.
If his trajectory stays the same, maybe someday Batson will become just as legendary as his musical inspiration, Church.
