9 Artists Who Stand The Chance To Make History At The 2026 CMA Awards
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The nominees for the 2026 CMA Awards were announced on September 10. Ella Langley leads the pack with nine nominations, followed by Miranda Lambert with seven.
The nominees list included a few snubs and surprises…and more surprises may be in store on the night of the ceremony.
With so many nominations, Langley and Lambert are among the artists poised to make history at this year’s CMA Awards. The program will air on ABC on November 18 and will be hosted by Lainey Wilson.
Following the nominee announcement, the CMA shared a facts sheet with the press. This sheet names the singers who could shatter records, achieve career “firsts,” or both at this year’s CMA Awards.
Between that sheet and our own background knowledge, we compiled a list of several stars who may experience a life-changing night on November 18.
See nine of those stars below! Is your favorite artist one of the potential history-makers?
Some Of The Artists Who May Experience A Career-Defining Night At The 2026 CMA Awards
Ella Langley
With nine nominations, Ella Langley has more chances to make history at the CMA Awards than anyone else this year.
For starters, she could break the record for the most awards won in a single night. She would have to win six trophies in order to break the record, or five to tie it. The record is currently held by four artists: Lainey Wilson, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, and Johnny Cash.
To make things even sweeter, Langley could achieve the rare feat of winning Entertainer of the Year in her first year of being nominated. Only 11 artists have done so before, and Ella could be the 12th.
Additionally, if Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” or “Be Her” wins Single of the Year, she would become the second artist to win the category in back-to-back years. She won in 2025 with “you look like you love me,” her hit duet with Riley Green.
Lady A is the only other artist to achieve two consecutive wins for Single of the Year. They did so with “I Run to You” in 2009 and “Need You Now” in 2010.
Plus, Langley could pull off a similar feat in the Song of the Year category. If “Choosin’ Texas” or “Be Her” wins, she would become the fifth person to win the category in two consecutive years. Her win in 2025 was also for “you look like you love me.”
Song of the Year is bestowed upon the songwriters, not always the artist, unless they wrote the winning song (like Langley). The previous songwriters to achieve a back-to-back win are Freddie Hart, Don Schlitz, Vince Gill, and Lori McKenna.
To sum it up, Langley could have a HUGE night at the CMA Awards this year!
Stephen Wilson Jr.
Stephen Wilson Jr. made quite the impression at last year’s CMA Awards with his solo performance of “Stand By Me” and his “Took a Walk” collaboration with Shaboozey. He was nominated for New Artist of the Year, but didn’t win.
This year, he’s one of the top nominees, with four nominations to his name. He earned nods for Song of the Year, Music Video of the Year, New Artist of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year.
If he wins any of those categories, he’ll experience an unforgettable evening by taking home his first-ever CMA Award!
Lainey Wilson
On top of hosting the 2026 CMA Awards, Lainey Wilson is also nominated in three categories: Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Single of the Year.
Wilson could make history by becoming the first-ever female artist to win Entertainer of the Year three times. Wilson, Barbara Mandrell, and Taylor Swift have all won the category twice.
Three wins would also rank Wilson with Alabama, Alan Jackson, and George Strait, who are currently in a tie for the third-most Entertainer of the Year wins. Only Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks outrank them, with four and seven wins, respectively.
Also, if she wins Female Vocalist of the Year, Wilson will be just one of two artists to pull off five consecutive wins in the category. The previous singer to achieve that milestone was Miranda Lambert.
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert already holds the record for the most CMA wins for a female artist, with 14 trophies in her collection. She could add seven more to the group this year.
Even one win would help Lambert make history, as she’d extend her record as the winningest female performer at the CMA Awards. But there’s a much more remarkable feat she could achieve.
Brooks & Dunn currently hold the record for the most wins in CMA Award history, with 20. If they don’t win Duo of the Year this year, and Lambert wins all seven awards she’s up for, her career wins would jump to 21, surpassing the duo’s record.
If Brooks & Dunn do win Duo of the Year, and Lambert still wins all seven of her nominations, then they would tie for the most wins.
Lambert also made history before the ceremony even began. She broke the tie between herself and Reba McEntire for the most nominations in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. They both previously had 18, but Lambert now has 19.
Brooks & Dunn
As we mentioned above, Brooks & Dunn have won more CMA Awards than any other artist, with 20 under their belts.
They’re only nominated for one award in 2026 (Duo of the Year). But if they win, they’ll extend their already-impressive record.
Plus, they’ll pull off an impressive three-peat in the Duo of the Year category, as they also won in 2025 and 2024.
Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton has been nominated for a whopping 46 CMA Awards over the course of his career, scoring four nominations for 2026. He earned nods for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.
Stapleton already holds the record for the most wins in the Male Vocalist of the Year category, with eight. He could extend that record this year with a ninth win.
Blake Shelton, George Strait, and Vince Gill are in a tie for the second-most wins in the category, with five each.
Like Miranda Lambert, Stapleton also has the potential to tie or break Brooks & Dunn’s record for the most wins in CMA history. He has won 19 times before.
One win for Stapleton and zero for Brooks & Dunn would leave them tied. Two wins for Stapleton and one for Brooks & Dunn would also result in a tie.
But if Stapleton wins two awards this year, and Brooks & Dunn win nothing, he would break their record. If Brooks & Dunn win their award, Stapleton would need to win three to break their record.
In the event that Lambert wins all seven of her awards, bringing her career total to 21, Stapleton has to win two trophies to tie her or three to surpass her.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is nominated for her first CMA Award since 2022. Her hit song “I Knew It, I Knew You” earned a nod for Single of the Year.
If Swift takes home the trophy, it would be her first time winning a CMA Award since 2017, when she won Song of the Year as the writer of Little Big Town‘s “Better Man.”
But Swift hasn’t received a CMA Award as an artist in 13 years, when she won Music Video of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for her feature on Tim McGraw’s “Highway Don’t Care.”
Tim McGraw
Speaking of Tim McGraw, he’s another artist who’s poised to make history at the 2026 CMA Awards!
McGraw only earned one nomination this year. He received a nod in the Musical Event of the Year category for his inclusion on HARDY‘s “McArthur” collaboration, which also features Morgan Wallen and Eric Church.
But that one nomination is enough to set McGraw up for a major milestone.
McGraw currently has four wins in the Musical Event of the Year category, tying him with Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, and Vince Gill. A fifth win would make him the sole record holder.
Cody Johnson
Cody Johnson is closing out our list of artists who could make history at the 2026 CMA Awards! He is nominated for four awards this year: Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.
Johnson could join a pretty elite club if he wins Entertainer of the Year. As you might recall, he already won the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year award in May.
Winning the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year award in November would make him one of only a few artists to win both awards in the same year. Other acts who’ve done so in the past include Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, and Dolly Parton, among others.
Don’t forget to tune in to the CMA Awards on November 18 to see if Cody Johnson or any of these other artists manage to make history in the ways we outlined here!
