The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The CMA is best known for its annual CMA Fest and Country Music Association Awards broadcast live on network television each fall.
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony features performances and award presentations by popular country music artists, with occasional appearances from pop and rock artists. The CMA Awards were first presented in 1967, and televised for the first time the following year.
Kenneth Eric Church is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's Sinners Like Me, produced three singles on the Billboard country charts including the top 20 hits "How 'Bout You", "Two Pink Lines", and "Guys Like Me".
Brent Mason is an American, Nashville, Tennessee-based recording studio guitarist and songwriter, performing primarily country music.
Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan is an American country singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association. In 2019, Bryan's 2013 album Crash My Party received the first Album of the Decade award from the Academy of Country Music. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with over 75 million records sold. Since 2018, Bryan has been a judge on American Idol.
Jon Randall Stewart is an American producer, songwriter, and musician.
Christopher Alvin Stapleton is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and the husband of Morgane Stapleton. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 1996, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to get an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, but dropped out to pursue his career in music. Subsequently, he signed a contract with Sea Gayle Music to write and publish his music.
Luke Robert Laird is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one Billboard singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Undo It"; Blake Shelton's "Gonna"; Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger"; Rodney Atkins's "Take a Back Road"; Eric Church's "Drink in My Hand", "Give Me Back My Hometown", and "Talladega"; Little Big Town's "Pontoon"; Luke Bryan's "I See You" and "Fast"; Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt"; Kenny Chesney's "American Kids"; Lady Antebellum's "Downtown"; and Jon Pardi's "Head Over Boots." He has also written and produced songs for Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Darius Rucker, and many others.
The Country Music Association Awards is a major awards show in country music, with the highest honor being the award for Entertainer of the Year. It is the final award presented at the ceremony and recognizes the artist "displaying the greatest competence in all aspects of the entertainment field", with consideration to not only recorded performance but also "in-person performance, public acceptance, leadership, and overall contribution to country music" they have exhibited throughout the eligibility period. It is generally considered the highest competitive honor presented at the CMA Awards.
The 2007 Country Music Association Award, 41st Ceremony, was held on November 7, 2007, at the Sommet Center (later the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony did not feature a host, but artists and guests introduced and presented awards throughout the evening. Brad Paisley, George Strait led the night with 5 nominations each including, Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.
Old Dominion is a modern American country music band formed in Nashville. The band consists of Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers (drums), Geoff Sprung, and Brad Tursi. Their music is contemporary country with rock instrumentation, and has pop overtones.
The 2006 Country Music Association Award, 40th Annual Ceremony, took place on November 6, 2006, and was the first ceremony to be held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (later known as Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville, Tennessee. This was also the first ceremony to be broadcast live from ABC. Brooks & Dunn, and Brad Paisley led with 6 nominations each including Album of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year.
The 52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards, commonly known as the 52nd CMA Awards, were held on November 14, 2018, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted for the eleventh and final time by CMA Award winners Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
The Country Music Association Awards is a major awards show in country music, with one of the primary awards being the New Artist of the Year Award. This award honors artists who have achieved national prominence through their work and are voted to have great success in the genre going forward. The award was known as the Horizon Award from 1981 until 2007 when it received its current title. An artist can be nominated twice in the New Artist category before they become ineligible, although the point at which an artist received "national prominence" is decided by the Country Music Association and is often a source of debate amongst fans and media. The inaugural recipient of this award was Terri Gibbs and the most recent winner is Jelly Roll.
53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards were held on November 13, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony recognizes some of the best country music released during the eligibility period. Carrie Underwood hosted the event with special guest hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, celebrating legendary women in country music. "In addition to awarding the year's best and brightest in the genre, the 53rd Annual CMA Awards will celebrate the legacy of women within country music, and we couldn't think of a more dynamic group of women to host the show." said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern. For the first time in CMA history, women were nominated in every category, except Male Vocalist of the Year. However, when all was said and done, the sole female Entertainer of the Year nominee, Carrie Underwood, lost the top honor to Garth Brooks; upsetting fans and leading to Garth Brooks stepping down from the category the following year.
The 2002 Country Music Association Awards, 36th Ceremony, was held on November 6, 2002 at the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville, Tennessee, and hosted by CMA Award Winner, Vince Gill. Alan Jackson lead the night with 10 nominations, including Album of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year.
The 1998 Country Music Association Awards, 32nd Ceremony, was held on September 23, 1998 at the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by CMA Award Winner, Vince Gill. Tim McGraw and George Strait went in to the night with 5 nominations each, including Entertainer of the Year. Steve Wariner led the night with 3 wins, including Song of the year.
The following list shows the recipients for the Country Music Association Award for Musician of the Year. First presented at the inaugural CMA Awards in 1967 to Chet Atkins as the Instrumentalist of the Year award, the category received its current name at the 1988 CMA Awards.
