Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson and Blake Shelton all moved up the list this year. See where they rank.
Lainey Wilson at The 59th Annual CMA Awards held at the Bridgestone Arena on November 19, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Michael Buckner
Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson and Blake Shelton moved up our list of the top winners of all time at the Country Music Association Awards. Brooks & Dunn won vocal duo of the year for the 16th time. Wilson won three awards – entertainer of the year, female vocalist of the year and album of the year for Whirlwind. Shelton won musical event of the year for his featured role on Post Malone’s “Pour Me a Drink.”
The CMA Awards were first presented in 1967. Eddy Arnold, a country star since the 1940s, was the first entertainer of the year winner. Loretta Lynn won female vocalist of the year. Jack Greene, though less-remembered today, was the night’s top winner with three awards – album of the year, single of the year and male vocalist of the year.
The show was first televised the following year, 1968 – more than two years before the Grammy Awards presented their first live telecast in March 1971. It’s one of the few awards shows that has aired on all three major networks – NBC (1968-71), CBS (1972-2005) and ABC (2006 to the present).
Thirteen artists have won 11 or more CMA Awards in competition. Here is a complete list. This list doesn’t count honorary awards. Following the lead of the official CMA list of its all-time top winners, it gives artists credit for just one win in a category, even if they also produced or co-produced the recording.
We also looked back to see if the acts won new artist of the year (known as the horizon award from 1981-2007). As you will see, not all did!
Here’s a complete list of all artists who have won 11 or more CMA Awards.
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Kenny Chesney, 11
Image Credit: Rick Diamond/WireImage Awards span: 2004-21
Categories with most wins: Entertainer of the year and musical event of the year (4 each)
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 1999 but lost to Jo Dee Messina.
Entertainer of the year wins: 4 (2004, 2006-08)
Other wins: Album of the year (1), music video of the year (2)
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Tim McGraw, 11
Awards span: 1997-2013
Category with most wins: Musical event of the year (3)
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 1994 but lost to John Michael Montgomery.
Entertainer of the year wins: 1 (2001)
Other wins: Album of the year (2), single of the year (1), male vocalist of the year (2), music video of the year (1), vocal event of the year (1)
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Blake Shelton, 11
Awards span: 2010-25
Category with most wins: Male vocalist of the year (5)
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 2003 but lost to Joe Nichols.
Entertainer of the year wins: 1 (2012)
Other wins: Album of the year (1), single of the year (1), song of the year (1), musical event of the year (2)
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Keith Urban, 12
Image Credit: Peter Kramer/Getty Images Awards span: 2001-18
Category with most wins: Musical event of the year (4)
Horizon/new artist?: Won in 2001
Entertainer of the year wins: 2 (2005, 2018)
Other wins: Single of the year (1), male vocalist of the year (3), music video of the year (1)
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Lainey Wilson, 12
Awards span: 2022-25
Category with most wins: Female vocalist of the year (4)
Horizon/new artist?: Won in 2022.
Entertainer of the year wins: 2 (2023, 2025)
Other wins: Album of the year (2), music video of the year (2), musical event of the year (1)
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Garth Brooks, 14
Awards span: 1990-2019
Category with most wins: Entertainer of the year (7, which is the record in the category)
Horizon/new artist?: Won in 1990
Entertainer of the year wins: 7 (1991-92, 1997-98, 2016-17, 2019)
Other wins: Album of the year (2), single of the year (1), music video of the year (2), vocal event of the year (1)
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Miranda Lambert, 14
Image Credit: Sara Kauss/WireImage Awards span: 2010-20
Category with most wins: Female vocalist of the year (7, which is the record in the category)
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 2005 but lost to Dierks Bentley. Nominated again in 2006 but lost to Carrie Underwood.
Entertainer of the year wins: 0 (6 nods)
Other wins: Album of the year (2), single of the year (1), song of the year (1), music video of the year (2), musical event of the year (1)
Notes: Lambert has the most awards by a female artist, but Lainey Wilson is catching up fast.
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Brad Paisley, 14
Awards span: 2000-10
Category with most wins: music video of the year (4, which is the record in the category)
Horizon/new artist?: Won in 2000.
Entertainer of the year wins: 1 (2010)
Other wins: Album of the year (1), male vocalist of the year (3), musical event of the year (3), vocal event of the year (1).
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Alan Jackson, 16
Awards span: 1992-2003
Categories with most wins: entertainer of the year, vocal event of the year (3 each)
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 1990 but lost to Garth Brooks.
Entertainer of the year wins: 3 (1995 and 2002-03)
Other wins: Album of the year (2), single of the year (2), song of the year (2), male vocalist of the year (2), music video of the year (2)
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George Strait, 17
Image Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images Awards span: 1985-2013
Categories with most wins: Album of the year and male vocalist of the year (5 each). His five wins for album of the year constitute the record in the category.
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 1983 but lost to John Anderson.
Entertainer of the year wins: 3 (1989-90 and 2013)
Other wins: Single of the year (2), musical event of the year (1), vocal event of the year (1)
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Vince Gill, 18
Awards span: 1990-99
Category with most wins: Male vocalist of the year (5)
Horizon/new artist?: Not nominated.
Entertainer of the year wins: 2 (1993-94)
Other wins: Album of the year (2), single of the year (1), song of the year (4), vocal event of the year (4)
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Chris Stapleton, 19
Awards span: 2015-24
Category with most wins: Male vocalist of the year (8, the record in the category)
Horizon/new artist?: Won in 2015.
Entertainer of the year wins: 0 (9 nods)
Other wins: Album of the year (3), single of the year (3), song of the year (3), music video of the year (1)
Notes: Stapleton has the most wins by a solo artist.
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Brooks & Dunn, 20
Image Credit: Michael Buckner Awards span: 1992-2025
Category with most wins: Vocal duo of the year (16, the record in the category)
Horizon/new artist?: Nominated in 1992 but lost to Suzy Bogguss.
Entertainer of the year wins: 1 (1996)
Other wins: Album of the year (1), single of the year (1), music video of the year (1)
Notes: Ronnie Dunn won an additional award for co-writing “Believe,” the song of the year winner in 2006, with Craig Wiseman.
