In perhaps the least surprising development in recent CMA Awards history, Ella Langley emerged at the front of the pack when nominations for the 2026 telecast were announced Thursday morning, scoring nine in all, just one shy of the all-time single-year record set by Alan Jackson in 2002. Miranda Lambert has this year second-most nominations, with seven. Some are for her own releases, but it’s notable that four of Lambert’s nods come for her work as a songwriter or producer on recordings by… Ella Langley.
Others being rewarded by Country Music Association voters with multiple nominations include Kacey Musgraves and Ben West with five each; Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Stephen Wilson Jr. with four each; and Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs and Dave Clauss with three nominations each. (Scroll down for the full list of nominees.) Foremost among Langley’s nine nods is her first-tine nomination for the CMAs’ top prize, entertainer of the year. Given that Langley has the biggest hit of the year in any genre with “Choosin’ Texas,” a smash that helped propel her to arena headliner status, she has to be considered a frontrunner for the top prize despite this being her first time landing in that rarefied territory. This marks the first time in three years that two women have been simultaneously nominated for that award, with defending champion Lainey Wilson also earning another shot at it. (Wilson, who picked up EOTY in 2023 and again in 2025, was also announced last week as host for the CMAs telecast for the third year in a row.) The other three candidates for entertainer of the year are Luke Combs, Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton.
The list of candidates for the top prize duplicates last year’s roster of EOTY nominees, with the exception of Langley taking the spot that went to Morgan Wallen in 2024. Although he remains undeniably country’s biggest modern superstar, Wallen takes a lower profile in this year’s nods with just two nominations, both of them for collaborations that got nods in the musical event category, including a duet with (surprise) Langley. It was just two years ago that Wallen won entertainer of the year, but his not showing up for the ceremony to claim country music’s highest annual honor may have affected how voters felt about honoring him as EOTY going forward.
But it’s also worth noting that, as recordings go, he was off-cycle, with his “I’m the Problem” album predating the 2026 eligibility period and his latest single, “Been by Now,” too fresh to have been considered. Pop’s biggest superstar, Taylor Swift, returned to her CMA-winning roots by getting a nomination for “I Knew it, I Knew You” for single of the year. It is her first nomination in that category since 2013, when she was nominated for top single for a featured appearance on Tim McGraw’s “Highway Don’t Care.” It is only her second CMA nomination this decade, the last having been for video of the year in 2022 for “I Bet You Think About Me,” a duet with Chris Stapleton.
It’s the first stop in what looks to be a long awards season for “I Knew It, I Knew You,” the country-flavored closing theme song from “Toy Story 5,” which is likely to figure into upcoming Grammys and Oscars consideration. If you’re looking at who has the most increased profile in CMA nominations this year, that would be Stephen Wilson Jr., who last year had just one nomination — for best new artist — even though he was given a big look with repeat appearances on the 2025 telecast. This year, the critically acclaimed artist returns with four nominations, including another shot at best new artist, plus his entree into the coveted male vocalist of the year category and a nom for song of the year for his single “Gary.” Musgraves received plenty of attention this year for an album, “Middle of Nowhere,” and single, “Dry Spell,” that were perceived as her return to a more identifiably country sound.
The CMAs did not abandon her as she explored other musical strains; her previous album, “Deeper Well,” was also nominated for album of the year. But 2026 does mark the first time she has received four nominations in a single year since 2013. One of the most notable nominations is the one shared by Musgraves and Lambert, who were perceived to have had a decade-long beef.
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