Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson are the top nominees for the 59th annual CMA Awards with six nods each. It’s the first time that three female solo artists have shared the lead. They are followed by Zach Top with five nods; Riley Green and Cody Johnson with four nods each; and Kristian Bush, Carson Chamberlain, Luke Combs, Charlie Handsome, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen with three nods each.
Wallen, last year’s winner for entertainer of the year, is back to defend his title. The other nominees in that category are Wilson, who won two years ago; Combs, who won in 2021 and 2022; Stapleton, who has yet to win (despite nine nods in the category); and Johnson, who is nominated for the first time.
Top’s Cold Beer & Country Music is the first debut studio album to be nominated for album of the year since Stapleton’s Traveler a decade ago.
“You Look Like You Love Me” by Langley and Green, and Moroney’s “Am I Okay?” are this year’s only works to be nominated for single, song and music video of the year. Some may be surprised by the nominations for “You Look Like You Love Me,” which won last year for musical event of the year.
Miranda Lambert received her 18th nomination for female vocalist of the year, which enables her to tie Reba McEntire for the most nods in the history of the category.
Brooks & Dunn, the reigning winners for vocal duo of the year, received their 26th nomination in the category, extending their lead as the duo with the most nods in the category.
Little Big Town received its 20th nomination for vocal group of the year, which puts the band just one nod behind Alabama for the most nominations in the history of the category. Lady A, which received its 18th nomination in the category this year, is in third place on the all-time list.
Shaboozey and Top are both nominated for new artist of the year for the second year in a row. They lost last year to Moroney. (Moroney, for that matter, was on her second nomination when she won. She had lost the previous year to Jelly Roll.) CMA rules allow artists two nominations in this category, provided they haven’t won in any other category.
If Shaboozey wins, he’ll become the third Black artist to win new artist of the year (or a predecessor category, the Horizon Award), following Darius Rucker (2009) and Jimmie Allen (2021). Charley Pride, the most successful Black artist in country music history, landed his first CMA nominations in 1968, 13 years before the inception of the Horizon Award.
The other nominees for new artist of the year are Langley, Tucker Wetmore and Stephen Wilson Jr. Wilson, who has had the least commercial success of this year’s nominees in the category, is a country and rock guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. At 46, he is among the oldest nominees in the history of the category.
Charlie Handsome is competing with himself for album of the year. He is among the producers of both Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion and Wallen’s I’m the Problem. In much the same way, Aaron Raitiere is competing with himself for song of the year. He co-wrote both Wilson’s hit “4x4xU” and the Langley-Green hit “You Look Like You Love Me.”
Handsome received a third nod, for producing Post Malone’s “Pour Me a Drink,” featuring Blake Shelton, which is nominated for musical event of the year. This puts him in a tie with Kristian Bush and Carson Chamberlain for this year’s most nods by a non-artist. Bush was nominated for his work with Moroney; Chamberlain for his work with Top. Bush now has five career CMA nominations for his work as a producer, in addition to 19 nominations as half of the duo Sugarland.
Steel guitarist Paul Franklin received his 33rd nomination in the musician of the year category. Amazingly, even with all those nominations, he has yet to win. The other nominees in the category are past winners Jenee Fleenor and Brent Mason and past nominees Rob McNelley and Derek Wells.
First-time CMA Awards nominees (in addition to Wetmore and Wilson) include Johnny Clawson, Jon Decious, Jessie Jo Dillon, Josh Dorr, Alexandra Gavillet, Lalo Guzman, Jimmy Harnen, Brandon Lake, Micah Nichols, John Park, Raitiere, Matt Rovey, Kyle Sturrock and Wales Toney.
“Each year, the CMA Awards shine a light on the creativity, passion and dedication of our community,” Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO, said in a statement. “The nominees announced today represent some of the most impactful work happening across country music.”
The 59th Annual CMA Awards are voted on by the 7,132 voting-eligible professional members of the Country Music Association, which include industry professionals, recording artists, songwriters, producers and musicians. Winners will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible CMA professional voting members. The third and final ballot will be emailed on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Wednesday, Oct. 29 (6 p.m. CT).
The 59th Annual CMA Awards broadcasts live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on ABC and next day on Hulu. The program is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is executive producer, Alan Carter is director and Jon Macks is head writer. Tickets are on sale now at the CMA site.
Here’s a complete list of nominations for the 59th annual CMA Awards.
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
Single of the Year
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
“4x4xU” – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” – Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews
“Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Producer: Kristian Bush; Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank
“I Never Lie” – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Mix Engineer: Matt Rovey
“You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley & Riley Green; Producer: Will Bundy; Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley
Album of the Year
Award goes to Artist, Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney; Producer: Kristian Bush; Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank
Cold Beer & Country Music – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Mix Engineer: Matt Rovey
F-1 Trillion – Post Malone; Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
I’m the Problem – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi; Mix Engineers: Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi
Whirlwind – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Song of the Year
Award goes to Songwriter(s)
“4x4xU”; Songwriters: Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere, Lainey Wilson
“Am I Okay?”; Songwriters: Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird, Megan Moroney
“I Never Lie”; Songwriters: Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols, Zach Top
“Texas” ; Songwriters: Johnny Clawson, Josh Dorr, Lalo Guzman, Kyle Sturrock
“You Look Like You Love Me”; Songwriters: Riley Green, Ella Langley, Aaron Raitiere
Female Vocalist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Lainey Wilson
Male Vocalist of the Year
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top
Morgan Wallen
Vocal Group of the Year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays
Vocal Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War And Treaty
Musical Event of the Year
Award goes to Artists and Producer(s)
“Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green (featuring Ella Langley); Producers: Scott Borchetta, Jimmy Harnen, Dann Huff
“Hard Fought Hallelujah” – Brandon Lake with Jelly Roll; Producer: Micah Nichols
“I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson (with Carrie Underwood); Producer: Trent Willmon
“Pour Me a Drink” – Post Malone (feat. Blake Shelton); Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome
“You Had To Be There” – Megan Moroney (feat. Kenny Chesney); Producer: Kristian Bush
Musician of the Year
Jenee Fleenor – Fiddle
Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Brent Mason – Guitar
Rob McNelley – Guitar
Derek Wells – Guitar
Music Video of the Year
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
“Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Directors: Alexandra Gavillet, Megan Moroney
“I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson (with Carrie Underwood); Director: Dustin Haney
“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson; Director: TK McKamy
“Think I’m In Love With You” – Chris Stapleton; Director: Running Bear
“You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley & Riley Green; Directors: Ella Langley, John Park, Wales Toney
New Artist of the Year
Ella Langley
Shaboozey
Zach Top
Tucker Wetmore
Stephen Wilson Jr.
CMA Broadcast Awards winners will be determined by a final round of judging this month. Entries are judged by a panel of broadcast professionals, representing all market sizes and regions. The winners will be revealed in October. Recipients will be celebrated at the CMA Awards.
Broadcast Personality of the Year (by market size):
Weekly National
“Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton” (Lon Helton) – LH Productions
“The Country Top 40 With Fitz” (Cory “Fitz” Fitzner) – Hubbard Broadcasting
“The Original Country Gold” (Rowdy Yates) – Syndicated Media
“Today’s Country Radio” (Kelleigh Bannen) – Apple Music Radio
“Y’all Access with Kelly Sutton” (Kelly Sutton) – Compass Media Group
Daily National
“Big D & Bubba” (“Big D” Derek Haskins, “Bubba” Sean Powell, Carsen Humphreville, Jonathan Shaffer, and Garrett Freche) – Silverfish Media
“Highway Mornings With Cody Alan” (Cody Alan and Lauryn Snapp) – SiriusXM
“Ridin’ With Rowdy” (Rowdy Yates) – SuiteRadio / RFC Media
“The Rob and Holly Show” (Rob Stone and Holly Hutton) – Audacy
“Wilhite and Wall Show” (Darren Wilhite and Tim Wall) – Ebert Productions
Major Market
“Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Sam Sansevere, and “Dubs” Michael Wilczynski) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
“Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
“The Lo Show” (Lauren “Lo” Barker) – KKBQ, Houston
“Rachel Ryan” (Rachel Ryan) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
“The Scotty Kay Show” (Scotty Kay) – WUSN, Chicago
Large Market
“Deb & Matt in the Morning” (Deborah Honeycutt and Matt Malone) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
“The Q Morning Crew w/ Mike & Amanda” (Mike Wheless and Amanda Daughtry) – WQDR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
“Scott and Shannen” (Scott Dolphin and “Shannen O” Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee, Wis.
“Tim & Chelsea” (Tim Leary and Chelsea Taylor) – WIRK, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
“Wayne D and Tay” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Tay Hamilton) – WSIX, Nashville
Medium Market
“The Doc Show with Chewy” (Ken “Doc” Medek and Sean “Chewy” Medek) – WGGY, Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.
“Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
“Joey & Nancy” (Joey Tack, Nancy Barger, and Karly Duggan) – WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.
“Mo & StyckMan” (Melissa “Mo” Wagner and Greg “StyckMan” Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
“Spencer Graves Show” (Spencer Graves, Megan Terry, and Blair Davis) – WDXB, Birmingham, Ala.
Small Market
“Ben & Arnie” (Ben Butler and Arnie Andrews) – WCOW, La Crosse, Wis.
“Brent Lane and The Cat Pak Morning Show” (Brent Lane and Jordan Glass) – WYCT, Pensacola, Fla.
“Dan Austin Show” (Dan Austin) – WQHK, Fort Wayne, Ind.
“Hilley & Hart” (Kevin Hilley and Erin Hart) – KATI, Columbia, Mo.
“Liz & Scotty in the Morning” (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) – KCLR, Columbia, Mo.
Radio Station of the Year (by market size):
Major Market
KKBQ – Houston
KSCS – Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
KYGO – Denver-Boulder, Colo.
WUSN – Chicago
WXTU – Philadelphia
Large Market
WCTK – Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket, R.I.
WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
WSIX – Nashville
WUBE – Cincinnati
WWKA – Orlando, Fla.
Medium Market
KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
WHKO – Dayton, Ohio
WIVK – Knoxville, Tenn.
WLFP – Memphis, Tenn.
WQMX – Akron, Ohio
Small Market
KATI – Columbia, Mo.
KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
WCOW – La Crosse, Wis.
WKML – Fayetteville, N.C.
WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
