Ella Langley Leads the 2026 CMA Awards With Nine Nominations

We figured a big morning was coming, but seeing the number in print still landed different: Ella Langley pulled nine nominations when the 2026 CMA Awards nominees were announced Wednesday — more than anyone else in country music this year.

Nine. That ties the record for the most CMA nominations a woman has ever earned in a single year, a mark Miranda Lambert set in 2010, matched again in 2014, and that Lainey Wilson pulled level with in 2023. Ella now stands right there with them, and she's only two albums into this whole thing.

Here's the spread. Entertainer of the Year — the big one — alongside Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson. Album of the Year for Dandelion. Female Vocalist of the Year. She's doubled up in both Single of the Year and Song of the Year, with "Be Her" and "Choosin' Texas" each landing in both races. Music Video of the Year for "Choosin' Texas." And Musical Event of the Year for "I Can't Love You Anymore" with Morgan Wallen.

That Entertainer of the Year nod is the headline for us. It's her first time in the category, and with "Choosin' Texas" being the biggest hit in any genre this year — 20 weeks and counting at No. 1 on the Hot 100 — she walks in with a real frontrunner's case. It's also the first time in three years that two women are up for Entertainer at once, with reigning winner Lainey Wilson back in the mix. Miranda Lambert followed Ella with seven nominations; Kacey Musgraves landed five.

Lainey, for her part, is pulling double duty — she's hosting the show while she's nominated in it. The 60th annual CMA Awards air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tuesday, November 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the same night on Disney+.

For a run that already handed us an ACM sweep, a pair of VMA nods, and a Hot 100 record that keeps rewriting itself, this one feels like the biggest yet. If you want to catch her before awards season peaks, the Dandelion Tour is rolling through the fall.