Nominees Revealed For 59th Annual CMA Awards

Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, and Lainey Wilson top the list with six nominations each, followed by Zach Top with five, and Riley Green and Cody Johnson with four each. Kristian Bush, Carson Chamberlain, Luke Combs, Charlie Handsome, Chris Stapleton, and Morgan Wallen each earned three nominations. 

Wilson, Combs, Johnson, Stapleton, and Wallen are also contenders for Entertainer of the Year, the evening’s highest honor.

First-time nominees include Johnny Clawson, Jon Decious, Jessie Jo Dillon, Josh Dorr, Alexandra Gavillet, Lalo Guzman, Jimmy Harnen, Brandon Lake, Micah Nichols, John Park, Aaron Raitiere, Matt Rovey, Kyle Sturrock, Wales Toney, Tucker Wetmore, and Stephen Wilson Jr.

The 59th CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 19, from 8:00–11:00 PM EST on ABC, with next-day streaming on Hulu.

“Each year, the CMA Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication of our community,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s nominees reflect the most impactful work in Country Music, and we’re grateful to our voting members for their time and expertise, ensuring the CMA Awards truly represent the genre’s excellence. Congratulations to all nominees.”

📻The CMA also revealed its Broadcast Awards finalists, with recent Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee Rowdy Yates earning nominations for both Daily and Weekly National Personality of the Year. Cumulus Media’s “New Country 96.3” KSCS Dallas-Fort Worth secured three major-market nods: one for Station of the Year, plus Personality nominations for the morning team of Mark “Hawkeye” Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez, and midday host “Rachel Ryan.”

Winners will be chosen through a final round of voting by eligible CMA Professional members. The third and final ballot will be emailed on October 1, with voting closing on October 29 at 6:00 PM CT.Finalists for the CMA Broadcast Awards were also announced, with winners to be determined this month by a panel of distinguished broadcast professionals from various market sizes and regions. Winners will be revealed in October and honored at the CMA Awards.

🎵The 59th Annual CMA Awards Final Nominees:

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

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR:

• Ella Langley
• Shaboozey
• Zach Top
• Tucker Wetmore
• Stephen Wilson Jr.

📻2025 CMA Broadcast Awards – Finalists For 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, Texas
• “Rachel Ryan” (Rachel Ryan) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
• “The Scotty Kay Show” (Scotty Kay) – WUSN, Chicago, Ill.

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, Tenn.

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.
• 2025 CMA Broadcast Awards – Finalists For Radio Station Of The Year (by market size):

MAJOR MARKET:

• KKBQ – Houston, Texas
• KSCS – Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
• KYGO – Denver-Boulder, Colo.
• WUSN – Chicago, Ill.
• WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.

LARGE MARKET:

• WCTK – Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket, R.I.
• WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
• WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.
• WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
• 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.