Darius Rucker surprised with CMA Humanitarian of the Year award

ABC/Larry McCormack

Darius Rucker was presented the 2023 CMA Humanitarian of the Year award while on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

The honor came as a surprise to Darius.

After Darius recounted the charitable life lessons his mom instilled in him, Kelly told Darius, “Well, I have a surprise for you and I was very excited to do this.” “Really?” asked Darius. “Yeah, he really doesn’t know about it. This is not TV, this is real,” she tells the audience before presenting a shocked and elated Darius with the award.

“When I was a kid, [my mom] instilled in us that you help people – not people that are less fortunate; you help people that need help,” Darius told Kelly before the surprise. “We grew up in a really poor neighborhood with not much and, you know, there was no reason for me to believe that I was gonna be here and make it. But she always instilled in me ‘believe in yourself, you can do whatever you want.'”

Darius’ latest album, Carolyn’s Boy, which he named after his mom, is available now wherever you listen to music.

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