Ella Langley at the 2026 CMA Awards: Noms & How to Watch

If you are trying to sort out exactly what Ella Langley is up for at the 2026 CMA Awards, here is the short version: she leads the entire field with nine nominations, more than anyone else in country music this year, and the show airs Tuesday, November 18. We already covered the morning the nominees landed in our full breakdown of Ella's nine CMA nods — this page is the one to bookmark for the run-up: every category, who she is actually competing against, and where to watch.

What Ella Langley is nominated for at the 2026 CMA Awards

The nine break down like this:

• Entertainer of the Year — her first-ever nomination in the top category.
• Album of the Year — for Dandelion.
• Female Vocalist of the Year.
• Single of the Year — nominated twice, for both "Be Her" and "Choosin' Texas".
• Song of the Year — again doubled up, "Be Her" and "Choosin' Texas" both in the songwriting race.
• Music Video of the Year — for "Choosin' Texas".
• Musical Event of the Year — for "I Can't Love You Anymore" with Morgan Wallen.

Two albums into her career, that is a stunning spread — headline recognition (Entertainer, Album, Female Vocalist) plus the doubled-up single and song races that show how deep Dandelion runs. If you are new to the record, our take on what "Be Her" is really about is a good place to hear why voters kept coming back to it.

Who she is up against in the big categories

This is the part the announcement coverage tends to skip, so here is the actual competition where it matters most.

Entertainer of the Year is the one everyone will be watching: Ella is in with Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and reigning winner Lainey Wilson. It is the first time in three years that two women are nominated in the category at once. Ella's case is simple — "Choosin' Texas" has been the biggest hit in any genre this year, and a first-time nominee rarely walks in with a résumé like that.

Female Vocalist of the Year puts her against Miranda Lambert, Megan Moroney, Kacey Musgraves and Lainey Wilson — arguably the toughest room on the ballot, and a category where the veterans tend to have the edge.

Album of the Year stacks Dandelion up against Luke Combs' The Way I Am, Kacey Musgraves' Middle of Nowhere, Zach Top's Ain't in It for My Health and Parker McCollum's self-titled record.

Single of the Year is where the math gets interesting: with both "Be Her" and "Choosin' Texas" nominated, Ella holds two of the five slots, alongside Taylor Swift's "I Knew It, I Knew You", Lainey Wilson's "Somewhere Over Laredo" and Cody Johnson's "The Fall". Doubling up can split a vote — but it can also mean the category is hers to lose.

The record she just tied

Nine nominations is not just a big number — it ties the most CMA nominations any woman has ever pulled in a single year. Miranda Lambert set that mark in 2010 and matched it in 2014, and Lainey Wilson drew level in 2023. Ella now stands with them, which is why so much of the coverage has framed her not as a newcomer having a moment but as country's next arena-scale headliner. Lambert followed her this year with seven nominations; Kacey Musgraves landed five.

How to watch the 2026 CMA Awards

The 60th annual CMA Awards air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tuesday, November 18 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, and stream the same night on Disney+ (next-day on Hulu). Lainey Wilson is pulling double duty as host while she is nominated in the show — including going head-to-head with Ella for Entertainer of the Year. If you only tune in for one category, Entertainer late in the broadcast is the one to catch.

Where she goes from here

Awards night is still two months out, and Ella is not slowing down to wait for it — the Dandelion Tour rolls through the fall, and if you want a primer on the songs that got her here, our best Ella Langley songs, ranked is the fast way in. We will update this page as the CMA performance lineup and any category surprises firm up.