Ella Langley Leads 2026 CMA Awards Nominations With Nine, as Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves Also Score Big Tallies

When the Country Music Association unveiled its 2026 CMA Awards nominations on Thursday morning, Ella Langley stood alone at the top with nine nods. That haul leaves her just a single nomination shy of the all-time one-year record of ten, set by Alan Jackson back in 2002. With her breakout hit "Choosin' Texas" having ranked as the year's biggest song across every genre, Langley has vaulted into arena-headliner territory and now holds a place few artists ever reach. Her nine mentions include a first-ever entertainer of the year nomination, and given how steep her ascent has been, she enters that race as the clear favorite. It also marks the first time in three years that two women are simultaneously up for the night's biggest prize, with defending winner Lainey Wilson sharing the ballot.

Miranda Lambert landed the second-most nominations with seven, a figure that blends her own recorded output with four nods earned through her songwriting and production work on Langley's tracks. Kacey Musgraves and Ben West each collected five; Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Stephen Wilson Jr. scored four apiece; and Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs and Dave Clauss picked up three each. Wilson, who took entertainer of the year in 2023 and again in 2025, was also announced last week as host of the CMA broadcast for a third consecutive year. Joining her in the entertainer of the year field are Combs, Johnson and Stapleton, making this year's lineup identical to last year's save for one swap: Langley now fills the slot Morgan Wallen occupied in 2024.

Wallen, still the genre's undisputed modern superstar, has a far quieter cycle this time around, earning just two nominations, both in the musical event category for collaborations, one of them a duet with Langley. He won entertainer of the year only two years ago, but his decision to skip the ceremony and decline country music's highest annual honor may have shifted how voters view him in that category going forward. Timing also plays a role: Wallen was off-cycle as a recording artist, as his "I'm the Problem" album fell outside the 2026 eligibility window and his latest single, "Been by Now," arrived too late to qualify. Meanwhile, pop's biggest name, Taylor Swift, returned to her CMA roots with a single of the year nomination for "I Knew It, I Knew You." It is her first nod in that category since 2013, when she was recognized for her guest turn on Tim McGraw's "Highway Don't Care," and only her second CMA mention this decade after a 2022 video of the year bid for "I Bet You Think About Me," her duet with Chris Stapleton. The track, a country-leaning closing theme from "Toy Story 5," is expected to fuel a long awards season that could carry into Grammy and Oscar conversations.

No one has seen a sharper jump in CMA standing this year than Stephen Wilson Jr., who managed just one nomination last year, for best new artist, even after being handed a major platform with repeated appearances on the 2025 telecast. He returns with four nods, including another shot at best new artist and his first berth in the coveted male vocalist of the year field. The 60th Annual CMA Awards will hand out honors across entertainer of the year, single, album, song, female vocalist, male vocalist, vocal group, vocal duo, musical event, musician, music video and new artist.