Gabby Barrett Emotionally Accepts Her First Billboard Music Awards

Gabby Barrett is a 2021 Billboard Music Award winner!

The country star took home her first-ever Billboard Awards on Sunday, winning Top Country Female Artist, Top Collaboration and Top Country Song, and she gave an emotional acceptance speech celebrating her massive year.

"I'm gonna try to keep together, as best I can," Barrett laughed as she held back tears. "I wasn't supposed to mess up my makeup, so I gotta play it cool now."

"This means so much to me," she continued. "I've been performing for 10 years, really hard...we've worked so hard to get here."

Barrett also thanked her family, husband Cade Foehner, their daughter, Baylah, her team, and, of course, her fans. 

"Thank you, guys, so much. You make dreams come true, this has changed my life forever. I've never done this before...thank you, thank you, thank you!"

ET's Lauren Zima caught up with Barrett backstage after her big wins, where she admitted she was having a hard time processing the major moment.

"When you step up there and you have the mic, and it's like, 'OK, this is your moment,' it's kind of like all your hard work and all the emotions that took you to get there, and the blood, sweat and tears, it kind of just like hits you like a brick wall and you're like, 'Whoa I'm actually here!'"

The singer said it was "so special" to think of her daughter watching her big win from home. "She gets to see her mommy living out her dreams, and I hope it just encourages her to dream big towards things, and that it's able to happen."

She also took a moment to gush about Foehner, who helped her up to the stage for her big speech, saying, "He's a sweetie. He's the best. Seriously, best friend ever, best partner ever. I love him so much."

Barrett also spoke with ET about her whirlwind year of success ahead of the BBMAs, saying the ride has been "overwhelming, but in the best way."

"This is one of those things where it’s hard to put into words because it doesn’t really feel real. When you work for so long towards something and it actually happens, it’s hard for me to switch gears because I've just been in the mode of trying to get to these places, getting on the award, and getting number one songs. Now that you're actually at the pit stop, 'We're here, we're making a stop.' It’s like 'Whoa!' It's really cool."

Barrett hit the ground running after finishing third on American Idol's season 16 in 2018. In October 2019, she and Foehner, who also competed on Idol, got married. They welcomed their daughter on Jan. 18, of this year.

"I had no idea this was going to happen. Ever since getting off American Idol and hitting back at the ground, moving to Nashville and diving into everything and working hard to get a record deal, writing songs, and really getting into the community, the music industry has been absolutely wonderful towards me," she shared. "Which is extremely humbling. I'm very blessed for that."

"It has been a crazy roller coaster the past three years," she added, noting that she'll be "flying on cloud nine for a bit."

See more in the video below!

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