Updated: November 8, 2021
Luke Bryan will host the 55th CMA Awards, airing on Wednesday, November 10, on ABC. The nominees, presenters, and performers are listed below.
Presenters
- Trace Adkins
- Ingrid Andress
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Deana Carter
- Lauren Daigle
- Russell Dickerson
- Faith Fennidy
- Florida Georgia Line
- Freddie Freeman
- Amy Grant
- Dulé Hill
- Alan Jackson
- Elle King
- Lady A
- Zachary Levi
- Scotty McCreery
- Hayley Orrantia
- Katy Perry
- Lionel Richie
- Darius Rucker
- Susan Sarandon
- Saycon Sengbloh
- Kurt Warner
- Lainey Wilson
- Trisha Yearwood
Performers
- Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
- Luke Combs
- Miranda Lambert
- Old Dominion
- Chris Stapleton
- Chris Young and Kane Brown
- Jimmie Allen will perform his hit “Freedom Was A Highway.”
- Three-time CMA Awards nominated group this year Brothers Osborne will deliver a deeply personal performance from their CMA Album of the Year-nominated Skeletons.
- Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and five-time nominee this year including Entertainer of the Year again, Eric Church will perform his song “Heart on Fire” from his CMA Album of the Year-nominated Heart.
- Reigning and two-time consecutive CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Dan + Shay, nominated again in the same category this year, will perform their hit “I Should Probably Go To Bed.”
- CMA New Artist of the Year nominee Mickey Guyton will welcome rising artists Spencer and Edwards for a collaboration not to be missed from Guyton’s debut album, Remember Her Name.
- Two-time nominee this year Carly Pearce and three-time nominee this year Ashley McBryde will perform their heart-wrenching duet “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”
- And 10-time CMA Awards winner Blake Shelton will bring his “Come Back as a Country Boy” to the CMA Awards stage.
CMA Award Nominees
Eric Church and Chris Stapleton lead the pack with five nominations each. Next in line are Gabby Barrett, Jason Hall, and Jay Joyce.
Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, discussed this year’s nominees. “This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music. These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year’s nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!”
Check out the full list of nominees below and be sure to let us know who you’re rooting for!
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
- Eric Church
- Luke Combs
- Miranda Lambert
- Chris Stapleton
- Carrie Underwood
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
- “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young
Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt - “The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett
Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin - “Hell Of A View” – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - “One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - “Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
- 29 – Carly Pearce
Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Jimmy Robbins
Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore - Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey Moi
Mix Engineer: Joey Moi - Heart – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - Skeletons – Brothers Osborne
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
SONG OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Songwriter(s)
- “Forever After All”
Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford - “The Good Ones”
Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick - “Hell Of A View”
Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell - “One Night Standards”
Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde - “Starting Over”
Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
- Gabby Barrett
- Miranda Lambert
- Ashley McBryde
- Maren Morris
- Carly Pearce
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
- Dierks Bentley
- Eric Church
- Luke Combs
- Thomas Rhett
- Chris Stapleton
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
- Lady A
- Little Big Town
- Midland
- Old Dominion
- Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
- Brooks & Dunn
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Florida Georgia Line
- Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s) and Producer(s)
- “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan
Producer: Paul DiGiovanni - “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer - “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert
Producer: Martin Johnson - “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young - “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
- Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
- Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
- Aaron Sterling, Drums
- Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
- Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
- “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
Director: TK McKamy - “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Director: Peter Zavadil - “Gone” – Dierks Bentley
Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske - “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Director: Patrick Tracy - “Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne
Director: Reid Long
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Jimmie Allen
- Ingrid Andress
- Gabby Barrett
- Mickey Guyton
- HARDY
CMA Awards 2021 – FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Weekly National
- “American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One
- “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Westwood One
- “Country Gold” (Terri Clark) – Westwood One
- “The Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – iHeartMedia
- “Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Compass Media Networks
Daily National
- “The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek Haskins, Sean Powell, Patrick Thomas and Carsen Humphreville) – Compass Media Networks
- “The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, “Morgan #2” Huelsman, “Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Scuba Steve” Stephen Spradlin, “Mike D” Rodriguez and “Utility Hillary” Borden) – Premiere Networks
- “CMT After Midnite” (Cody Alan) – Premiere Networks
- “The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Westwood One
- “The Music Row Happy Hour” (Buzz Brainard and Ania Hammar) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
Major Market
- “Angie Ward” – WUBL, Atlanta, Ga.
- “Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.
- “Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
- “The Morning Bull: George, Mo & Cowboy Dave” (George Lindsey, “Mo” Monica Lunsford and “Cowboy Dave” Bayless) – KILT, Houston, Texas
- “Tampa Bay’s Morning Krewe with J.R., Launa and Kevin” (“J.R.” Jon Jaus, Launa Phillips and Kevin Ebel) – WQYK, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Large Market
- “Jesse Tack” – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
- “Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
- “Lexi & Banks” (“Lexi” Elena Abatgis and “Banks” Jared Danielson) – KUBL, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
- “Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
- “The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Taylor Rosenberg) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
Medium Market
- “Brent Michaels” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.
- “Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
- “Julie and DJ in the Morning” (“Julie K” Kansy and “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
- “Mo & StyckMan” (“Mo” Melissa Wagner and “StyckMan” Greg Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
- “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
Small Market
- “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox and Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
- “Dr. Shane and Tess in the Morning” (Shane Collins and Tess Connell) – WPAP, Panama City, Fla.
- “KTTS Morning Show with Nancy & Rick” (Nancy Simpson and Rick Moore) – KTTS, Springfield, Mo.
- “Liz & Scotty in the Morning” (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) – KCLR, Columbia, Mo.
- “Steve, Ben and Nikki” (Steve Stroud, Ben Walker and Nikki Thomas) – WXBQ, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
CMA Awards 2021 – FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Major Market
- KNIX – Phoenix, Ariz.
- KNUC – Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
- KYGO – Denver-Boulder, Colo.
- WNSH – New York City, N.Y.
- WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.
- WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
Large Market
- WFMS – Indianapolis, Ind.
- WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
- WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
- WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.
- WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
Medium Market
- KATM – Modesto, Calif.
- KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
- KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
- WQMX – Akron, Ohio
- WXCY – Wilmington, Del.
Small Market
- KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
- KTTS – Springfield, Mo.
- WBYT – South Bend, Ind.
- WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
- WXFL – Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala.
- WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.
Check back for more information on CMA Awards 2021 as it’s released, or visit cmaawards.com.
