Country Music Association Awards
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.[1][2] The televised annual presentation ceremony features performances and award presentations by popular country music artists, with occasional appearances from pop and rock artists.[1] The CMA Awards were first presented in 1967, and televised for the first time the following year.
| Country Music Association Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current: 54th Annual Country Music Association Awards | |
 50th anniversary logo | |
| Awarded for | Achievements in country music |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Country Music Association |
| First awarded | 1967 |
| Website | www.cmaawards.com |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | NBC (1968–1971) CBS (1972–2005) ABC (2006–present) |
History
The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in 1967; the Entertainer of the Year award that night went to Eddy Arnold. The second annual CMA awards were presented in October 1968; NBC taped the ceremony and televised it a few weeks later. Since then, the awards have been televised live, usually in October or November, by NBC from 1969 through 1971, by CBS from 1972 through 2005, and by ABC beginning in 2006. Starting in 1968 they were held at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry (initially at Ryman Auditorium, and from 1974 through 2004 at the new Grand Ole Opry House).
In 2005, the awards show was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Since 2006, they have been held at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.[3] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 54th CMA Awards were held at Nashville's Music City Center.[4]
Prior to 2017, the awards were generally held on the first Wednesday in November. However, since then the awards have been rescheduled for later in the month to avoid conflict with a possible game seven of Major League Baseball’s World Series, since the 2016 ceremony aired the same night as Fox’s eventual telecast of game seven of the 2016 Series, which beat the CMA Awards in the ratings.
Eligibility and voting
Albums and songs released between July 1 of the previous calendar year and June 30 of the award show's year are eligible for consideration.[5] More than 7,300 individuals from the Country Music Association trade group vote for the nominees and winners through three rounds of balloting.[5]
Awards
Annual awards are given in the following twelve categories: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, New Artist (previously known as the Horizon Award until 2008), Vocal Group, Vocal Duo (introduced in 1970), Single, Album, Song, Musical Event (split off from the Vocal Duo award in 1988 as Vocal Event), Music Video (introduced in 1985), and Musician.[1] The distinction between the Duo and Event awards is that the former is presented to two artists who normally perform together, while the latter was specifically created to honor one-off collaborations. Nine awards are also given to radio broadcasters for Station of the Year and Personality of the Year (divided into four categories each, based on market size), as well as National Personality of the Year to the host of a nationally syndicated show.[1] Since 2012, the ceremony features a Lifetime Achievement Award.[6] Vince Gill, and Alan Jackson are the only individuals to win Entertainer of the Year, Male/Female Vocalist of the Year or Group/Duo of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year all in the same year.
Categories
- Entertainer of the Year
- Male Vocalist of the Year
- Female Vocalist of the Year
- Vocal Group of the Year
- Vocal Duo of the Year
- New Artist of the Year
- Musician of the Year
- Album of the Year
- Single of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Musical Event of the Year
- Video of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- International Achievement Award
Defunct Categories
- Comedian of the Year (1967-1970)
- Instrumental Group of the Year (1967-1986)
Radio Awards
- National Personality of the Year
- Major Market Personality of the Year
- Large Market Personality of the Year
- Medium Market Personality of the Year
- Small Market Personality of the Year
- Major Market Station of the Year
- Large Market Station of the Year
- Medium Market Station of the Year
- Small Market Station of the Year
Major awards
CMA Awards hosts
The first ceremony in 1967, which was not televised, was co-hosted by Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry. Vince Gill hosted the awards from 1992 to 2003. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood have co-hosted the ceremonies from 2008 to 2018. For the 2019 ceremony, Carrie Underwood hosted alongside Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. McEntire returned to host the 2020 ceremony with Darius Rucker.
Award Milestones
Most Awarded
| Artist | Awards[7] |
|---|---|
| Brooks & Dunn | 18 |
| Vince Gill | |
| George Strait | 17 |
| Alan Jackson | 16 |
| Garth Brooks | 14 |
| Brad Paisley | |
| Miranda Lambert | 13 |
Most Nominated
| Artist | Nominations[8] |
|---|---|
| George Strait | 83 |
| Alan Jackson | 81 |
| Brad Paisley | 58 |
| Miranda Lambert | 55 |
| Vince Gill | 54 |
See also
- Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
- CMA Music Festival, a CMA-produced summer event which is part of the CMA broadcast contract with ABC
References
- Country dj. "Country Music Association Awards". Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- CMA Awards. "Country Music's Biggest Night". Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- "CMT : CMA Awards : Archive : 2005 : Country Music Association". www.cmt.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9474772/2020-cma-awards-first-group-performers
- "It's Balloting Season at CMA!". CMA World. Country Music Association. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- "Kenny Rogers Presented With the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award". CMA World. Country Music Association. November 8, 2013. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- https://cmaawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CMA-Awards-Winners-by-Most-Wins-November-2019.pdf
- https://cmaawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CMA-Awards-By-Most-Nominations-November-2019.pdf