Hardy and Lainey Wilson are off to a good start going into the 2023 ACM Awards. Late Wednesday night (May 10), it was revealed that they have won in the Visual Media of the Year category for the “Wait in the Truck” video.
The category was previously known as Video of the Year.
Competition was tough in this category, with strong contenders in the running by both solo performers and duo acts. Kelsea Ballerini‘s “Heartfirst,” Cole Swindell‘s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God,” Cody Johnson‘s “‘Til You Can’t” and Carly Pearce‘s “What He Didn’t Do” were all nominated against Hardy’s video, which features Wilson.
The Visual Media of the Year trophy is awarded to the artist who recorded the song, as well as the music video’s director.
“Wait in the Truck” was the chart-topping lead single off of Hardy’s sophomore album, The Mockingbird & the Crow. A sinister and dark murder ballad that Hardy wrote with help from Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt and Renee Blair, the song tells the story of a guy who picks up a girl on the side of the road, and when he see that she has been physically abused, he tracks down the partner who hurt her and kills him.
He goes to jail for his crime, but ultimately has no regrets: “It was worth the price to see a brighter side of the girl I picked up that night,” Hardy sings in the final verse of the song.
The music video for “Wait in the Truck” adds visual elements to that same storyline, with Hardy playing the guy who carries out some vigilante justice, and Wilson playing the woman he finds on the road. Scenes of the night itself are interspersed with court room shots, as Wilson never stops advocating for the stranger who defended her in her darkest moment.
Inkwell Productions produced the “Wait in the Truck” video, and it was directed by Justin Clough.
The 2023 ACM Awards will broadcast live from Frisco, Texas’ Ford Center via Amazon Prime Video this year. Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton will host. It is Brooks’ first time hosting any major awards show. The stream starts at 8PM ET, with red carpet footage running prior.