The countdown to the 49th Annual CMA Awards has officially begun!
With only two days left until showtime, CelebSecrets4U is giving you the breakdown on what you can expect from country music’s biggest night hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley for the eighth year in a row.
Today, we are sharing our thoughts on who will be taking home the awards for all participating categories — Entertainer of the Year, Male/Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (Awarded to the Songwriters), Single of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, Music Video of the Year, and Musician of the Year.
The 49th Annual CMA Awards airs Wednesday, November 4th @ 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
Entertainer of the Year
- Garth Brooks
- Luke Bryan
- Kenny Chesney
- Eric Church
- Miranda Lambert
This is a really tough category this year. If you look at fan polls, Eric Church should win. If you look at who’s had the best tour, Garth Brooks should probably win. However, we’re leaning toward Kenny Chesney. Both Chesney and Brooks have broken records this year with their touring. The one advantage Chesney has over Brooks is the music itself. Four of Chesney’s singles from his most recent album have become hits on the radio while Brooks has not had the same success. Does the Country Music Association look at that as well? Who knows, but we’re gonna give it to Chesney for that reason.
New Artist of the Year
- Sam Hunt
- Maddie & Tae
- Chris Stapleton
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Thomas Rhett
Sam Hunt is just too good not to win this category. He took the country world by storm with his debut album Montevallo. His songs became hit singles on the radio and his album topped three of Billboard’s Country charts within the first month of its release. Hunt even headlined his own tour — selling out 15 shows within 1 minute of the tickets going on sale. Also, the song he wrote for fellow country artist Keith Urban, “Cop Car,” was nominated for a 2015 Grammy Award. As you can see, he’s been doing pretty well for himself this year and we’d like to see him rewarded for all of his success!
Female Vocalist of the Year
- Miranda Lambert
- Kacey Musgraves
- Carrie Underwood
- Lee Ann Womack
- Kelsea Ballerini
This is such a tough category with very talented women. But we’re going to have to give this one to Carrie Underwood! Back from having a baby, Carrie has truly proved herself this year with songs like “Somethin’ Bad” and “Little Toy Guns,” which hit the Top 10 on the Hot Country Charts — making this Carrie’s 21st top ten hit. We all know Carrie for her catchy hits and undeniable vocals deeming her a very high contender in this category. Carrie also took home 3 awards at the 2014 CMA’s and we can definitely see her taking home another this year!
Male Vocalist of the Year
- Dierks Bentley
- Luke Bryan
- Eric Church
- Blake Shelton
- Chris Stapleton
These guys are definitely killing it at the country game! But it has been a successful year for Luke Bryan. He is no stranger to the CMA’s and winning Entertainer Of The Year at last year’s awards we can definitely see him taking home the award for Male Vocalist of the Year. With his single “Kick the Dust Up” and a nationwide tour, there is no denying his talent. Luke deserves this award!
Musical Event of the Year
- “Django and Jimmie” — Willie Nelson and Marle Haggard
- “Lonely Tonight” — Blake Shelton (Feat. Ashley Monroe)
- “Raise ‘Em Up” — Keith Urban (Feat. Eric Church)
- “Smokin’ and Drinkin’” — Miranda Lambert (Feat. Little Big Town)
- “Wild Child” — Kenny Chesney (Feat. Grace Potter)
From Blake and Miranda’s divorce to Kenny Chesney’s tour announcement, all of these nominees have had a pretty busy year. We predict that Blake Shelton will win Musical Event of the Year with “Lonely Tonight” ft. Ashley Monroe. This song is Blake Shelton’s 14th consecutive number 1 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
Music Video of the Year
- “Biscuits” — Kacey Musgraves
- “Girl Crush” — Little Big Town
- “Girl in a Country Song” — Maddie & Tae
- “Little Red Wagon” — Miranda Lambert
- “Something in the Water” — Carrie Underwood
Of all these amazing music videos, we had to narrow it down to one. Our prediction is that “Something in the Water” by Carrie Underwood will take the win. The video featured beautiful lyrical dancers, and of course, the glowing Carrie Underwood in a gorgeous nude gown.
Musician of the Year:
- Sam Bush
- Jerry Douglas
- Paul Franklin
- Dann Huff
- Mac McAnally
Musician of the Year is a really special category because it highlights the individuality of a performer. Our prediction for Musician of the Year is Mac McAnally, who is currently signed to Mailboat Records. Mac recently released an album A.K.A. Nobody, which has done very well throughout the year.
Vocal Group of the Year
- Lady Antebellum
- Little Big Town
- Rascal Flatts
- The Band Perry
- Zac Brown Band
As you all can see, everyone that is nominated is incredibly talented and they all had amazing music this year, but we think Little Big Town will be going home with the award this year for the 2015 CMA Vocal Group of the Year. They took the award last year as well, and we think they can do it again! They had huge success this year with “Girl Crush” and we really do feel like this is their year for this category.
Vocal Duo of the Year
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Florida Georgia Line
- Maddie & Tae
- Thompson Square
Everyone on this list for this year’s CMA Vocal Duo of the Year killed it this year, but it has to come down to only 1 winner. We are fans of all 5 duos, but this year we have high hopes for Florida Georgia Line! They have taken this award 2 year’s in a row now, and we believe they will be winning it again! They had huge success with “Sippin’ on Fire” and “Anything Goes,” which were both hit singles this year. Also, they recently wrapped up their second headlining tour, which was incredible and ranked #3 according to Billboard!
Album of the Year (Awarded to the Artists)
- Jason Aldean – “Old Boots, New Dirt”
- Kacey Musgraves – “Pageant Material”
- Little Big Town – “Pain Killer”
- Kenny Chesney – “The Big Revival”
- Chris Stapleton – “Traveller”
This is such a tough choice. I mean, you have Jason Aldean’s “Old Boots, New Dirt,” which won Top Country Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards and you also have Little Big Town’s album which you know has to be good since the group was nominated in 5 other categories (not including their feature in Miranda Lambert’s “Smokin and Drinkin” that’s up for Musical Event of the Year). All these artists have created such amazing albums, it’s just so hard to choose! BUT, in our opinion, if we had to choose the best country album of the year, it would have to go to….*drum roll*….Little Big Town’s Pain Killer! The harmonies and lyrics are just so infallible. If you aren’t a country fan, you’ll definitely be one after listening to Pain Killer.
Song of the Year
- Kenny Chesney (Written by Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally) – “American Kids”
- Little Big Town (Written by Lori McKenna, Hilary Lindsey, Liz Rose) – “Girl Crush”
- Randy Houser (Written by Eric Church, Casey Beathard) – “Like a Cowboy”
- Eric Church (Written by Eric Church, Casey Beathard) – “Like a Wrecking Ball”
- Sam Hunt (Written by Sam Hunt, Josh Osbourne, Shane McAnally) – “Take Your Time”
The nominees in this list are all so amazing, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love each of their songs! Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time” is a refreshing take on a typical love song. The lyrics create a fairy tale love-story, but set in modern times. Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” created quite a lot of controversy due to critics claiming the song was referring to lesbianism, but throughout all the buzz, the track came out triumphant. LBT and their incredibly talented songwriters (McKenna, Lindsey, and Rose) concocted a track that would stay at number one on Billboard’s country songs chart for 11 weeks straight (setting a new record). With that alone, we predict that Song of the Year will be awarded to the songwriters of “Girl Crush”.
Single of the Year
- Kenny Chasney – “American Kids”
- Little Big Town – “Girl Crush”
- Lee Brice – “I Don’t Dance”
- Sam Hunt – “Take Your Time”
- Eric Church – “Talladega”
Again, the choice for Single of the Year is so difficult to make! The nominees include a record-breaking song that sparked some controversy, a catchy tune that everyone (including non-country fans) can relate to, and a very personal song that connects to the listener in an emotional way. In a perfect world, everyone would win, but the reality is, only one can come out on top. Our prediction for who will win the Single of the Year is… a tie between LBT’s “Girl Crush” and Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time.” The two tracks are just so catchy and different — it’s just too hard to pick either one. The Country Music Association sure has a difficult choice to make here!
Do you agree with our choices? Who do you think will take home each award? Let us know in the comments!
