Wynonna Judd was humble and kind when she took the stage at the 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards. 

After all, the “I Saw the Light” singer gave a nod to Tim McGraw as she looked back on her decades-long music career while accepting the first-ever Country Champion Award at the Sept. 28 ceremony. (See the complete list of winners here.)

Joking how half of the audience either “don’t know who I am” or was “not born when I had my years of being fabulous,” the 59-year-old pointed out that “back in 19-blah-blah-blah, Tim McGraw opened for me.”

“Four weeks ago, I opened for Tim,” she continued to laughter and applause. “The highs are highs and the lows are low, baby, but don’t ever let them tell you who you are.”

Elsewhere in her speech, Wynonna noted how the definition of champion means “to do battle for others’ honor,” quipping to the crowd, “and that is exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow when I get on a commercial flight and fly to Denver and do one more show, because I can’t get enough of you.”