Country Music Association Awards facts for kids

Most recent CMA Award winners

Award Entertainer of the Year Album of the Year Winner Lainey Wilson Bell Bottom Country (Lainey Wilson)   Award Male Vocalist of the Year Female Vocalist of the Year Winner Chris Stapleton Lainey Wilson

The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, are special prizes given to country music artists. They also honor people in radio who help country music. These awards celebrate the best achievements in the country music world.

Every year, there's a big TV show where famous country artists perform. They also give out the awards during this show. Sometimes, pop and rock artists join in too. The first CMA Awards were given out in 1967. The show was first shown on TV the next year.

History of the CMA Awards

The very first CMA Awards happened on October 20, 1967. It was a ceremony in Nashville, but it wasn't on TV. That night, Eddy Arnold won the Entertainer of the Year award.

The second CMA Awards were held in October 1968. NBC recorded the show and played it on TV a few weeks later. Since then, the awards have been shown live on TV. They usually happen in October or November.

NBC showed the awards from 1969 to 1971. Then, CBS took over from 1972 to 2005. Since 2006, ABC has been the TV home for the CMAs.

From 1968, the awards were held at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. This included the Ryman Auditorium and later the new Grand Ole Opry House.

In 2005, the show moved to Madison Square Garden in New York City. But since 2006, it has been back in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena. In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 54th CMA Awards were held at the Music City Center in Nashville.

Since 2017, the awards show has been on the second Wednesday of November. Before that, it was usually on the first Wednesday. The change was made to avoid clashing with a possible Game Seven of the Major League Baseball World Series. In 2016, the CMA Awards aired at the same time as the World Series final game, and the baseball game got more viewers.

In June 2021, the Country Music Association said that ABC would continue to broadcast the awards until 2026. For the 55th CMA Awards in 2021, people attending the show had to be vaccinated against COVID-19. They also had to wear face masks.

How Winners Are Chosen

Songs and albums released between July 1 of the year before and June 30 of the award year can be considered. More than 7,300 people from the Country Music Association group vote. They vote in three rounds to pick the nominees and the final winners.

Award Categories

Each year, awards are given in twelve main categories. These include Entertainer, Male Vocalist, and Female Vocalist. There's also New Artist, which used to be called the Horizon Award until 2008. Other awards are for Vocal Group, Vocal Duo (started in 1970), Single, Album, and Song.

The Musical Event award started in 1988. It was separated from the Vocal Duo award. The Music Video award began in 1985. There's also an award for Musician of the Year.

The difference between Duo and Event awards is simple. Duo awards go to two artists who usually perform together. Event awards are for special collaborations between artists who don't usually sing together.

Nine awards are also given to radio people. These are for Station of the Year and Personality of the Year. These are split into four groups based on the size of the radio market. There's also a National Personality of the Year for hosts of big national shows.

Since 2012, there has been a Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. This special award honors artists for their long and amazing careers.

Only a few artists have won Entertainer of the Year, Male/Female Vocalist or Group/Duo of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year all in the same year. These include Vince Gill and Alan Jackson.

Main Categories

Old Categories

• Comedian of the Year (1967–1970)
• Instrumental Group of the Year (1967–1986)

Special Industry Awards

Radio Awards

Major Award Winners Over the Years

CMA International Achievement Award

This award is given to artists and music leaders from outside the United States.

International Artist Achievement Award

This award used to be called the International Touring Artist Award. It celebrates a U.S. artist who has done a great job growing and promoting country music outside of the United States. Dixie Chicks were the first artists to win this award twice. In 2008, more than one artist won the award.

• 2022: Ashley McBryde
• 2021: Luke Combs
• 2020: Keith Urban
• 2019: Kacey Musgraves
• 2018: Little Big Town
• 2017: Carrie Underwood
• 2016: Kacey Musgraves
• 2015: Not presented
• 2014: Brad Paisley
• 2013: Taylor Swift
• 2012: Lady Antebellum
• 2011: Brad Paisley
• 2010: Not presented
• 2009: Taylor Swift
• 2008: Dierks Bentley and Brooks & Dunn
• 2007: Dwight Yoakam
• 2006: Dixie Chicks
• 2005: Keith Urban
• 2004: Dolly Parton
• 2003: Dixie Chicks
• 2002: Bellamy Brothers
• 2001: Lonestar
• 2000: Reba McEntire
• 1999: Shania Twain
• 1998: Trisha Yearwood
• 1997: The Mavericks
• 1996: BR5 49

Global Country Achievement Award

This award is named after Jeff Walker. It honors a country music artist from outside the U.S. who has helped make country music more popular in their home country. This award started in 2003 and has been given out every year since, except for 2015. Artists from Australia have won this award most often.

• 2021: The Shires (UK)
• 2020: Ilse DeLange (The Netherlands)
• 2019: Travis Collins (Australia) and Ward Thomas (UK)
• 2018: Dean Brody (Canada)
• 2017: The Shires (UK)
• 2016: Gord Bamford (Canada)
• 2015: Not presented
• 2014: Morgan Evans (Australia)
• 2013: Gord Bamford (Canada)
• 2012: Jasmine Rae (Australia)
• 2011: The McClymonts (Australia)
• 2010: Tommy Emmanuel (Australia)
• 2009: Catherine Britt (Australia)
• 2008: Troy Cassar-Daley (Australia)
• 2007: Adam Harvey (Australia)
• 2006: Jason McCoy (Canada)
• 2005: Paul Brandt (Canada)
• 2004: Kasey Chambers and Slim Dusty (Australia)
• 2003: Lee Kernaghan (Australia)

International Broadcaster of the Year

This award recognizes a radio broadcaster outside the United States. It honors those who have made important contributions to country music in their country. Up to three people can win this award each year, but each must be from a different country.

• 2021: Baylen Leonard (UK)
• 2020: Ben Earle (UK)
• 2019: Baylen Leonard (UK)
• 2018: Chris Stevens (UK)
• 2017: Bob Harris (UK)
• 2016: Paul McGuire (Canada)
• 2015: Not presented
• 2014: Ricky Ross (UK)
• 2013: Bob Harris (UK)
• 2012: David Burton (Australia), Takehisa Matsuda (Japan) and Lee Williams (UK)
• 2011: Ken McLeod (Scotland), Felicity Urquhart (Australia) and Brian D'Arcy (Northern Ireland)
• 2010: Sandy Harsch (Ireland), Larry Cann (Australia) and Alan Watkiss (UK)
• 2009: Grant Goldman (Australia), Casey Clarke (Canada) and Brian Clough (UK)
• 2008: Pio McCann (Ireland), John Bond (Australia) and Joe Fish (UK)
• 2007: Nick Erby (Australia), Jackie-Rae Greening (Canada) and Georges Lang (France)
• 2006: Tim Rogers (UK), Ian Holland (Australia) and Helen Macpherson (Scotland)
• 2005: The Odd Squad (Canada), Ray Hadley (Australia) and Bryan Burnett (Scotland)
• 2004: Trevor Campbell (UK), Bob Harris (UK) and Nikos Garavelas (Greece)
• 2003: Pat Geary (Scotland), Johnnie Walker (UK) and John Laws (Australia)
• 2002: Stuart Cameron and David Allan (UK)
• 2001: Gary Beattie (Australia) and Bill Black (UK)
• 2000: Thomas Jeier (Germany), Korneliusz Pacuda (Poland), John Nutting (Australia) and Dick Barrie (Scotland)
• 1999: Trevor Smith (Australia), Dieter Vulpus and Bernd Schroeder (Germany), Country FM (The Netherlands)
• 1998: Ruud Hermans and Jan de Jong (The Netherlands), Lloyd Cole (Wales) and Kirsten Helm Petersen (Denmark)
• 1997: Walter Fuchs (Germany), Nick Erby and John Laws (Australia)

CMA Awards Hosts

The first CMA Awards in 1967 were hosted by Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry. This show was not on TV.

Vince Gill was a very popular host, leading the awards from 1992 to 2003. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood hosted together for many years, from 2008 to 2018.

For the 2019 show, Carrie Underwood hosted with Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. Reba McEntire returned to host in 2020 with Darius Rucker. Luke Bryan hosted the 2021 show by himself. He came back to host in 2022 with Peyton Manning.

Award Milestones

Most Wins

Most Nominations

Winning Four Main Awards in One Year

Only two artists have won the top four awards in a single year. These awards are Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Male/Female Vocalist/Group/Duo of the Year, and Song of the Year. Vince Gill did this in 1993, and Alan Jackson achieved it in 2002.

See also

• Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
• CMA Music Festival, a summer event produced by the CMA