“Country Music’s Biggest Night” is just months away, and we already know some key details about the event.
The 53rd annual CMA Awards will take place on Wednesday, November 13 on ABC. The ceremony will be hosted by Carrie Underwood for the 12th year in a row, and guest co-hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton will assist her throughout the night.
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Together, the three co-hosts will lead the charge in “celebrating legendary women in Country Music” throughout the night. So it seems fitting that for the first time in years, a female artist was nominated for the night’s top prize….Entertainer of the Year.
Another talented female vocalist was given the honor of helping announce the first batch of CMA Award nominees during an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday (August 28). That vocalist was none other than Ashley McBryde, who joined Jimmie Allen to announce some of the nominees.
The nominees they revealed were in the following categories:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
- Center Point Road by Thomas Rhett
- Cry Pretty by Carrie Underwood
- Dan + Shay by Dan + Shay
- Desperate Man by Eric Church
- GIRL by Maren Morris
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
- “All My Favorite People” – Maren Morris feat. Brothers Osborne
- “Brand New Man” – Brooks & Dunn with Luke Combs
- “Dive Bar” – Garth Brooks & Blake Shelton
- “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
- “What Happens in a Small Town” – Brantley Gilbert & Lindsay Ell
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Cody Johnson
- Ashley McBryde
- Midland
- Carly Pearce
- Morgan Wallen
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
- Garth Brooks
- Eric Church
- Chris Stapleton
- Carrie Underwood
- Keith Urban
Underwood’s nod in the Entertainer of the Year category is noteworthy.
The #CMAawards ENTERTAINER of the Year nominees are…@GarthBrooks@EricChurch@ChrisStapleton@CarrieUnderwood@KeithUrban
Follow us on Twitter & YouTube to see more nominees revealed by @MidlandOfficial & @MorganWallen at 10 AM|ET via @Billboard livestream! pic.twitter.com/X623C6xRqK
— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) August 28, 2019
In 2017 and 2018, no female artist was nominated for the award, which caused a lot of controversy. But now Underwood is up for the prize, and based on her successful Cry Pretty Tour, we’d say she has a good chance to win it.
A second batch of nominees will be announced by Morgan Wallen and Midland on a livestream with Billboard at 10 AM ET. So stay tuned, because that’s when some of the big categories will be revealed!
In the meantime, get yourself hyped up for the awards by watching the video the CMA used to announce Underwod, McEntire, and Parton as this year’s hosts. You can find that video below.