Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, and Lainey Wilson lead the 2025 CMA Awards nominations with six nods each, marking the first time three female solo artists top the list of nominees. Following them are Zach Top with five nominations, and Riley Green and Cody Johnson with four each. Morgan Wallen aims to defend his Entertainer of the Year title against past winners Wilson and Luke Combs, as well as Chris Stapleton (who is winless in the category despite nine nominations) and first-time nominee Johnson. Top’s album, Cold Beer & Country Music, is the first debut album nominated for Album of the Year since Stapleton’s Traveler in 2015.
The other Album of the Year nominees include Moroney’s Am I Okay?, Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion, Wallen’s I’m the Problem, and Wilson’s Whirlwind. The songs “You Look Like You Love Me” (Langley and Green) and “Am I Okay?” (Moroney) are the only works nominated across Single, Song, and Music Video of the Year categories. Miranda Lambert ties Reba McEntire for most Female Vocalist of the Year nominations with 18 nods, while Brooks & Dunn, Little Big Town, and Lady A add to their impressive total nominations for Duo and Group of the Year. New Artist of the Year nominees include Langley, Shaboozey, Top, Tucker Wetmore, and Stephen Wilson Jr., who is among the oldest nominees in the history of the category at the age of 46. The awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 19. (Billboard)