The individual with the most CMA Awards ever could change this year. When the 59th Annual CMA Awards airs on Nov. 18, Chris Stapleton and Brooks & Dunn have the chance to make history.
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Both country acts are tied for receiving the most CMA Awards ever, each having won 19 trophies over their storied careers. With Stapleton up for three awards and Brooks & Dunn competing in the Vocal Duo of the Year category, each has the chance to set a new record this year.
Stapleton also has another history-making opportunity. Should the “Tennessee Whiskey” singer come out victorious as the Male Vocalist of the Year, it’d be his ninth win in the category. With a win, Stapleton, who currently has the most Male Vocalist wins at eight, would also tie Blake Shelton and Vince Gill for most consecutive category victories with five straight.
Lainey Wilson Has Several Chances to Set CMA Awards Records
Those aren’t the only potentially historic moment that could take place at the 2025 ceremony. Lainey Wilson, who will host the ceremony for the second consecutive year, has the chance to set several records.
With six nominations, Wilson has the opportunity to win the five major categories (Entertainer, Female Vocalist, Album, Single, and Song of the Year), and would become the first woman and second person ever to do so. Alan Jackson is the only individual to accomplish the feat, having done so in 2002.
While Miranda Lambert currently holds the title for the most awarded female solo artist at the CMAs, Wilson could claim that honor. If Wilson comes out victorious in five of her six nominated categories, she’ll tie Lambert with 14 wins. A six-win night would make Wilson the sole recorder holder, while winning just one award would see claim second place from Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift.
If either Wilson, Megan Moroney, or Ella Langley win all six awards they’re nominated for, they’d break the record for most wins in a single night. The record currently sits at five wins, a feat that Wilson, Jackson, Gill, and Johnny Cash have accomplished.
Elsewhere, with a win for Album of the Year, Wilson would become the second-only woman to nab the award twice. Lambert is currently the only woman to have done so.
If Wilson becomes the Female Vocalist of the Year for the fourth-straight year, she’ll join Lambert and Reba McEntire as the only women to have done so.
Should Wilson walk away with the night’s top honor, she’d join Taylor Swift and Barbara Mandrell as the only female, multi-time Entertainer of the Year winners.
Other Potential CMA Awards Records
The top category is a highly competitive one, with Stapleton, Wilson, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, and Morgan Wallen all up for the honor. If Combs wins, he’ll join Jackson, Garth Brooks, and George Strait with three victories in the category.
That’s not Combs’ only chance to set a record. If his “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” wins Single of the Year, he’d become the ninth artist to nab the trophy multiple times.
Kenny Chesney could also have a big night. If he and Moroney win Musical Event of the Year for “You Had to be There,” Chesney will become the sole record holder in the category with five victories.
Langley and Riley Green are also nominated in the category. If “Don’t Mind If I Do” wins, they’ll become the first duo to win the trophy two years in a row. Last year, they won with “You Look Like You Love Me.”
To see who makes history, tune in to the 59th Annual CMA Awards when it airs Nov. 19 at 8/7c on ABC.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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