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The 2025 CMA Awards spotlighted a country music album that has captivated audiences since its debut.
On Wednesday, November 19, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Lainey Wilson was awarded her first CMA recognition of the night, winning Album of the Year for her 2024 release, Whirlwind.
“Mom and Daddy, look, check it out!” Wilson exclaimed in surprise. “I genuinely didn’t see this coming.”
She took a moment to express her gratitude to her fans, acknowledging her label, band, and country radio. “I have the best fans in the world,” Wilson declared to the audience. “They’ve been there every night, singing along to every track on this album.”
The 2025 CMA Awards drew country music’s brightest stars to Nashville, showcasing their style from the outset. Held on Wednesday, November 19, the event marked a significant shift as Lainey Wilson took the reins as the solo host for the first time, having previously co-hosted with Luke Bryan.
The “Hold My Halo” artist, who was also the ceremony’s host, added that she wrote Whirlwind while her life was “constantly changing” as her fame rose. “I just remember being that little 11-year-old girl who would come home from school and pick up my guitar and pour my heart and soul into that guitar, and that’s how I navigated and communicated,” she recalled. “And that’s exactly what I did these last two years of my life when I felt like my life was changing but I still felt exactly the same.”
Other nominees in the Album of the Year category included Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay?, Zach Top’s Cold Beer and Country Music, Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion and Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem.
Moroney, 28, and Wilson, 33, led the pack with six nominations each at the 2025 awards show. In addition to Album of the Year, Moroney was in the running for Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “Am I Okay?” and Musical Event of the Year for “You Had to Be There” with Kenny Chesney, while Wilson contended for Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “4x4xU” and Music Video of the Year for “Somewhere Over Laredo.” (Prior to the live event, both artists lost Music Video of the Year to Ella Langley and Riley Green’s “You Look Like You Love Me.”)
Lainey Wilson is the most popular female country artist to come around in a decade. She’s released five studio albums — 2024’s Whirlwind is her latest — racking up CMA Awards and a Grammy and selling out arenas globally. That’s no small feat in a world where country radio is king and rarely plays two […]
Top, 28, racked up five CMA Awards nods, including for Male Vocalist of the Year, New Artist of the Year and Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “I Never Lie.”
For his part, Wallen, 32, earned nominations in three categories, including Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year.
Although Malone, 30, trailed behind his Album of the Year competitors with two total nods, he was already a winner prior to the 2025 awards show, taking home Musical Event of the Year for his and Blake Shelton’s song, “Pour Me a Drink,” before the live ceremony began.
Lainey Wilson. Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Of the 2025 contenders, Wilson was the only previous Album of the Year winner for Bell Bottom Country in 2023. The year before, her album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ lost the category to Luke Combs’ Growin’ Up in 2022.
The 59th Annual Country Music Association Awards is gearing up for a memorable ceremony full of music and more memorable moments. The 2025 awards show, which airs on Wednesday, November 19, will be hosted by Lainey Wilson. “I grew up watching the CMA Awards like it was the Super Bowl, so to be hosting for […]
As for Wallen, he was previously up for Album of the Year twice. His Dangerous: The Double Album fell to Chris Stapleton’s Starting Over in 2021, and One Thing at a Time was defeated by Wilson’s Bell Bottom Country in 2023.
Moroney, Top and Malone each earned their first Album of the Year nominations in 2025.
Leading up to this year’s ceremony, Wilson already had nine CMA Awards on her shelf, Wallen had two and Moroney and Malone each had one. Top, for his part, landed his first-ever career nominations in 2025.