Thomas Rhett won the 2016 CMA Awards' Single of the Year honor, for "Die a Happy Man," a song on his 2015 album, Tangled Up. The singer admits that he was unprepared for how the song, which he wrote for his wife Lauren, would affect his entire career.

"The fact that the song did what it did, and we're still here almost a year later, winning an award for Single of the Year, is crazy," Rhett shared with The Boot and other reporters backstage. "This was such a special night. I've always wanted to win a CMA award, so to win for a song that means so much to me is a dream come true."

Rhett may not have been able to predict how successful "Die a Happy Man" would be, but he says that everyone else around him knew instantly that it would be a hit.

""Die a Happy Man" was one of those that, when I wrote it and I sent it to my label, immediately, the response was, 'This is a career record,'" Rhett recalls. "If you know me, then you know that we're super open about our marriage on Instagram and stuff ... This song just transcended a lot to the fans."

For Rhett, winning at the 50th anniversary of the awards show made the trophy that much more meaningful.

"You couldn't ask for a bigger night to win this award," Rhett mused after his win. "There's country music royalty in the house ... I was at rehearsal today, and I was watching all of my legends that my dad grew up listening to, and that I grew up listening to. There's, like, four different generations of country music royalty in here."

Winning his first CMA caps off a busy year for Rhett, including touring with Jason Aldean. As Rhett prepares to embark on his own headlining 2017 Home Team Tour, he says that he hopes his good fortune continues into the new year.

“I don’t even know what to think; I just hope I’m prepared for all these adventures I’m about to set out on,” Rhett recently told The Boot. “This year has been amazing; it’s one for the books. When I look back in 20 or 30 years, I know this year will be very memorable to me.”

"Die a Happy Man" was also nominated for Song of the Year; that award went to Lori McKenna, for Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind."

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