CMA Awards Preview: Everything You Need To Know

Here’s everything you need to know about Wednesday’s 56th annual Country Music Association Awards!

The show, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, airs live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Lainey Wilson leads the list with six nominations, including the coveted Female Vocalist and Album of the Year categories. Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton follow with five nods each. Chris notched another nomination in the Entertainer of the Year category while Morgan Wallen finds himself in that category for the first time. In addition, actress Blake Lively received a Video of the Year nod for her work on Taylor Swift‘s “I Bet You Think About Me” music video.

Entertainer of the Year

• Luke Combs
• Miranda Lambert
• Chris Stapleton
• Carrie Underwood
• Morgan Wallen

Female Vocalist of the Year

• Miranda Lambert
• Ashley McBryde 
• Carly Pearce
• Carrie Underwood 
• Lainey Wilson

Male Vocalist of the Year

• Eric Church
• Luke Combs 
• Cody Johnson 
• Chris Stapleton 
• Morgan Wallen 

Vocal Group of the Year

• Lady A 
• Little Big Town 
• Midland 
• Old Dominion 
• Zac Brown Band 

Vocal Duo of the Year

• Brooks & Dunn 
• Brothers Osborne 
• Dan and Shay
• LoCash
• Maddie and Tae 

Album of the Year

• Growin’ Up – Luke Combs
• Humble Quest – Maren Morris
• Palomino – Miranda Lambert
• Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ – Lainey Wilson
• Time, Tequila and Therapy – Old Dominion

Single of the Year

• “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis
• “Half of My Hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
• “Never Wantd to Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryade
• “’Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson
• “You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton

Song of the Year
(award goes to songwriters)

• “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis
• “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” – Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce
• “Sand in My Boots” – Morgan Wallen
• “Things a Man Oughta Know” – Lainey Wilson
• “You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton

New Artist of the Year

• Hardy
• Walker Hayes 
• Cody Johnson
• Parker McCollum 
• Lainey Wilson 

Musical Event of the Year
Award goes to Artist(s) and Producer(s)

• “Beers On Me” – Dierks Bentley with Breland and Hardy
• “If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
• “Longneck Way to Go” – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi)
• “Never Say Never” – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson)
• “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde 

Music Video of the Year 
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)

• “I Bet You Think About Me” (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) – Taylor Swift (featuring Chris Stapleton)
• “Longneck Way to Go” – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi)
• “Never Say Never” – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson)
• “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
• “’Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson

Musician of the Year

• Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
• Paul Franklin, Steel guitar
• Brent Mason, Guitar
• Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
• Derek Wells, Guitar

Everyone loves seeing the winners, but we also love the performances. Here’s what to expect:

• Luke Bryan – “Country On”
• Luke Combs – “The Kind of Love We Make”
• Cody Johnson –  “Til You Can’t”
• Miranda Lambert – “Geraldene”
• Reba McEntire –  Special Performance
• Carly Pearce – “Dear Miss Loretta”
• Cole Swindell – “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”
• Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart”
• Morgan Wallen – “You Proof”

Collaborations and Tributes:

• Loretta Lynn Tribute – Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire
• Alan Jackson  Tribute – Jon Pardi, Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood and Lainey Wilson
• Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce and Kelly Clarkson – “You’re Drunk, Go Home”
• Brothers Osborne with The War and Treaty – “It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)”
• Hardy and Lainey Wilson – “Wait in the Truck”
• Elle King and The Black Keys – “Great Balls of Fire”
• Ashley McBryde, Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, Pillbox Patti and John Osborne – “When Will I Be Loved”
• Thomas Rhett and Katy Perry – “Where We Started”
• Chris Stapleton and Patty Loveless – “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”
• Zac Brown Band, Jimmie Allen, Marcus King – “Out in the Middle”

And here’s a full list of presenters.

• Baseball player Mookie Betts
• Breland
• Oscar winner Jessica Chastain
• Jordan Davis
• Actress Sara Drew
• Yellowstone star Cole Hauser
• Tyler Hubbard
• Wynonna Judd
• Lady A
• Actor Rex Linn
• Little Big Town
• Parker McCollum
• Reba McEntire
• TV stars Ben and Erin Napier
• Jeannie Seely
• Actor Michael Shannon
• Lainey Wilson