1. Lainey Wilson 

After coming off her Whirlwind tour Laniey Wilson brought home multiple awards as well as hosted the CMAs. Her tour which highlighted her newest album by the same name ran from March 4, 2024 to November 8, 2025. The album hit “in the top 10 across an array of Billboard album charts, including Independent Albums (No. 1), Top Country Albums (No. 3), the Billboard 200 (No. 8), Vinyl Albums (No. 3) and Indie Store Album Sales (No. 10),” according to Billboard. Moving on to her CMA appearance, she walked away with Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the year and Album of the Year for Whirlwind. These are not her first CMA wins but instead marks her second Album of the Year win and her fourth Female Vocalist of the Year win. 

2. Luke Combs 

Two time CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs lands second on our list. Known for songs such as “Beautiful Crazy”, “Fast Car” and “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma”, he has earned at least one nomination at the CMA awards since 2017 according to Biography. Over the years Luke Combs has walked away with Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year and even Male Vocalist of the Year. This year he was nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year. While he did not take home any awards, he did open the show and also performed their duet ‘Pray Hard’ with BigXthaPlug which has hit 222k views on Youtube after 8 days. 

3. Ella Langley

From her duet with Riley Green “You Look Like You Love Me” released in 2024, Ella Langley hit the charts after writing her first song with her aunt in 2017. This duet also won her Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year. Ella was also nominated for New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2025 CMA Awards. During the 2024 awards her duet brought home Musical Event of The Year after releasing in June of the same year. This duet is part of her album “Hungover” and which features other songs such as “Paint the Town Blue” and “Hungover.”  

4. Cody Johnson

Male Vocalist of the Year Cody Johnson not only walked away with that title, but he was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year and for his song with Carrie Underwood “I’m Gonna Love You” he was nominated for both Music Video of the Year, Musical Event of the Year. He has been releasing music since 2009 with his first song “Pray For Rain.” His first hit was “On My Way To You” which was a Top 20 on the Country Airplay chart. He will be on tour in 2026 including a stop in Little Rock on March 28. 

5. Riley Green 

Working with Ella Langley on the duet “You Look Like You Love Me” released in 2024, Riley Green was able to walk away with some CMA Awards. The duet won Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year. He was not nominated for anything else this year other than the duet. His last album, “Don’t Mind if I Do” was released in October of 2024. Between speculation and social media, fans have put Riley Green, Ella Langley and Megan Moroney in a love triangle after the release of the duet and their tour. Fans have believed that there was tension between the three, however they have addressed the rumors even after using social media to throw subtle shade.