Three women are tied for the most nominations, with Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson and Megan Moroney each receiving six. A woman has certainly led all nominations before– Wilson received the most in both 2023 and 2022 — but there has never been a time when three solo women shared the top spot. Not coincidentally, these three extremely talented artists are the women receiving the most airplay at terrestrial radio right now. Each has current hits in the top half of the chart. They will face off in a number of categories, including single, song, female vocalist and music video of the year. 

Jelly Roll has only seen his popularity rise since he first received five nominations in 2023 (and won best new artist). He was among only a handful of artists who had ever gone from receiving a new artist nom one year to an entertainer of the year nod the next in 2024. But despite growing only more successful, Jelly Roll finds himself virtually shut out this year — except for one nomination, for musical event of the year, as the featured artist on Contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”

Zach Top lost best new artist last year to a well-deserving Megan Moroney, but his star has only risen since then as he has become the new go-to male to symbolize the new traditionalist movement. The result is the most nominations for any male artist this year. He’s recognized again in best new artist (acts can be nominated twice if they haven’t won in any other category) and, like with the ACM Awards in May, he earned both that plaudit and an album of the year nomination, a very rare combo. 

The reigning entertainer of the year, whose new album, I’m the Problem, has spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, earns three nominations, but given the year he’s had, that feels like the bare minimum. He receives nominations for entertainer, album and male vocalist, but no song, single or musical event of the year nods — despite having multiple chart-toppers and a killer duet with Tate McRae, which hit No. 1 on  the Billboard 100 and Hot Country Songs, and is one of the most streamed songs of the year.

This has been Riley Green’s year, but there was no guarantee the CMA voters were going to recognize his ascent. If you need proof, look no further than he went from receiving his first and only nom (and win) last year for “you look like you love me” with Ella Langley for musical event of the year, to four nominations this year — second only to Zach Top for the most among male artists. This year, “you look like you love me” snags single, song and music video of the year nods, and the pair’s duet, “Don’t Mind If I Do,” is up for musical event of the year. The only question is how on earth did his steamy video for “Worst Way” not get a music video nod?

For the love of everything country, the genre needs some new duos. All the ones nominated here have their strong suits, but this is the third year in a row we’ve seen the same slate. LOCASH couldn’t even sneak in despite having a Country Airplay No. 1, “Hometown Home,” this year, while (no disrespect to the talented duo) Maddie & Tae, whose May album didn’t chart or yield any hit singles, received their 11th consecutive nomination. Sugarland also re-entered the picture with a tour with Little Big Town and a new EP but got no love.  While we’re at it, Parmalee again goes unrecognized in vocal group of the year, despite also having a Country Airplay-topper.

Wilson has quickly become a favorite among country music tastemakers for good reason, given his gritty, emotional, raw delivery and singular songs, but he largely remains a critical darling — so it’s a very pleasant surprise to see him receive a well-deserved, if somewhat unexpected, best new artist nomination. There are certainly others, including Hudson Westbrook and Ty Myers, who have had more commercial success, but few have reached the depths of Wilson. It’s especially impressive considering he’s also had a fairly slight output, with only the deluxe edition of his acclaimed 2023 album, Son of Dad, coming out during the eligibility period, as well as Blankets, a four-song EP released in August that covers a quartet of Wilson’s favorite rock songs. 

It was only four years ago that Church led the CMA Awards nominations (in 2021, he and Chris Stapleton each received five), and five years since he won entertainer of the year. He’s been here before — he garnered no nominations in 2023 — but he is an artist who continues to challenge his audience, and maybe this year’s concept album, Evangeline vs. the Machine was a step too far for voters. (Though the set’s lead single, “Hands of Time,” did reach No. 15 on Country Airplay.)

It’s likely that no one had Blake Shelton’s first single for Wheelhouse/BBR/BMG after 20 years on Warner Music Nashville on their bingo card for song of the year. He’d received no nominations since 2019, when he won for single of the year for “God’s Country,” and there were plenty of songs that seemed to have more traction this year than “Texas,” although it did reach No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The nomination goes to the songwriters — Johnny Clawson, Josh Dorr, Kyle Sturrock and Lalo Guzman — each of whom receive their first CMA nomination here, but it’s nice to see a veteran like Shelton have a tune resonate with voters again. 

For whatever reason, Brown is just not the CMA Awards voters’ cup of tea. He’s only received nominations for work he’s done with others (“Famous Friends” with Chris Young and “Thank God” with his wife Katelyn), so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that they have ignored him once again despite his success. It’s a shame, though, because his chilling, brutally honest song about depression and mental health, “Haunted” with Jelly Roll, deserved a song of the year nomination for its frankness, and for Brown taking his music into a different direction. You couldn’t have found an artist with two more diverse songs this year than Brown with “Haunted,” which he co-wrote, and his fun Country Airplay No. 1 with Marshmello, “Miles on It.”