Wynonna Judd saw more than just light at the 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards.
The “No One Else On Earth” singer is being honored with the first-ever Country Champion Award for both her music and philanthropic work at the Sept. 28 ceremony, an achievement she said that hits close to home. As Wynonna exclusively shared with E! News on the red carpet, “It means that my son and daughter realize how hard I’ve work and it pays off.” (See all the red carpet arrivals here.)
“It’s easy to stand up here with sparkles and hair and everything grand,” continued the 59-year-old, who is mom to kids Elijah, 28, and Grace, 27,” but I’ll go home tonight and wake up, get on a plane and fly to Denver to do one show—because that’s what we do.”
While the 2022 death of her mom Naomi Judd—with whom she made up the country music duo The Judds—has had a “devastating” impact on the family, Wynonna believes the singer’s legacy lives on when she channels her grief into music.
“I’m turning my pain into purpose,” she shared, “and I go on stage every night and I sing like it’s my last show because you never know.”