Ella Langley Leads The 2026 CMA Nominees

The CMAs announced their 2026 nominees yesterday.  

Ella Langley leads with nine nominations, including Entertainer of the Year. Miranda Lambert has seven, and Kacey Musgraves and producer Ben West each with five.

Taylor Swift will also attend the awards for the first time in 10 years, since her song, “I Knew It, I Knew You” is nominated for Single of the Year.  She says, quote, “Looks like I haven’t yee’d my last haw.”

The awards air live on Wednesday, November 18th on ABC and Disney+.  Lainey Wilson will host.  Here are the nominees:

Entertainer of the Year:

Luke Combs

Cody Johnson

Ella Langley

Chris Stapleton

Lainey Wilson

Single of the Year:

“Be Her”,  Ella Langley

“Choosin’ Texas”,  Ella Langley

“I Knew It, I Knew You”,  Taylor Swift

“Somewhere Over Laredo”,  Lainey Wilson

“The Fall”,  Cody Johnson

Ella is the eighth artist in CMA history to land two Single of the Year nominations in the same year.

Album of the Year:

“Ain’t In It For My Health”,  Zach Top

“Dandelion”,  Ella Langley

“Middle of Nowhere”,  Kacey Musgraves

“Parker McCollum”,  Parker McCollum

“The Way I Am”,  Luke Combs

Song of the Year:

“Be Her”,  Ella Langley

“Beautiful Things”,  Megan Moroney

“Choosin’ Texas”,  Ella Langley

“Dry Spell”,  Kacey Musgraves

“Gary”,  Stephen Wilson Jr.

Female Vocalist of the Year:

Miranda Lambert

Ella Langley

Megan Moroney

Kacey Musgraves

Lainey Wilson

Male Vocalist of the Year:

Luke Combs

Cody Johnson

Chris Stapleton

Zach Top

Stephen Wilson Jr.

Vocal Group of the Year:

Lady A

Little Big Town

Midland

Old Dominion

The Red Clay Strays

Vocal Duo of the Year:

Brooks & Dunn

Brothers Osborne

Dan + Shay

Muscadine Bloodline

Thelma & James

Musical Event of the Year:

“A Song to Sing”,  Miranda Lambert with Chris Stapleton

“Horses and Divorces”,  Kacey Musgraves featuring Miranda Lambert

“I Can’t Love You Anymore”,  Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen

“If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay”,  Carly Pearce and Riley Green

“McArthur”,  HARDY, Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, and Tim McGraw

Music Video of the Year:

“Choosin’ Texas”,  Ella Langley

“Dry Spell”,  Kacey Musgraves

“Gary”,  Stephen Wilson Jr.

“The Fall”,  Cody Johnson

“White Horse”,  Chris Stapleton

New Artist of the Year:

Avery Anna

Carter Faith

Emily Ann Roberts

Tucker Wetmore

Stephen Wilson Jr.

Categorised in: Country Music News

This post was written by Cheryl Johnstone