Ella Langley Leads 2026 CMA Awards With Nine Nods

Ella Langley leads the nominations for the 60th annual Country Music Association Awards, announced Thursday, September 10, earning nine nods for a breakout year powered by her crossover hit Choosin Texas. The tally ties the record for the most nominations in a single year by a female artist, a mark previously set by Miranda Lambert in 2010 and matched by Lambert in 2014 and Lainey Wilson in 2023, and it sits one shy of the all-time single-year record of 10 set by Alan Jackson in 2002. Lambert, Langley's mentor and frequent collaborator, follows with the second-most nominations this year, with seven according to most accounts of the announcement. Kacey Musgraves and Ben West each received five nominations, while Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Stephen Wilson Jr. each landed four. Luke Combs, Wilson and mix engineer Dave Clauss received three apiece. The entertainer of the year field pits Langley, a first-time nominee in the top category, against Combs, Johnson, Stapleton and defending champion Wilson, who will also host the ceremony for the third consecutive year. It is the first time in three years that two women have been nominated simultaneously for the award.