Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! The CMA Awards are coming up in a few weeks, and there is a lot of talk about who might take home awards during the ceremony. The biggest award of the night will be the “Entertainer of the Year” award. There is no telling who might take home the award, but whoever does will have a permanent spot in country music history. This year’s nominees are Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson.

The CMA Awards began in 1967 when Eddy Arnold took home the very first “Entertainer of the Year” award. Throughout the show’s history, 36 different artists have taken home the award, with Garth Brooks holding the record for the most wins with a total of seven. Those 36 artists have a combined total of 733 number one songs. That’s crazy to think! 

You may wonder how the winner is decided. Well, there are over 7,000 members of the Country Music Association who vote for the CMA Awards. They base the “Entertainer of the Year” category off chart performance of singles and albums, the ability to draw a large crowd at their live shows, their performance in music videos, their presence on social media, and their overall contribution to country music. After considering all of these factors, the CMA goes through several rounds of voting, and they eventually determine a winner.

When an artist wins this award, it shows they have made a lasting impact on country music, and they are an official member of the country music family.

Previous winners of this award are Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, George Strait, and many others. It is one of the highest honors for an artist to win an award that so many legends have won. 

If Cody or Chris win the award, it would be their first CMA  “Entertainer of the Year” win, and they would prove their impact on the genre. However, if Luke, Lainey, or Morgan win, it would be their second win. It will be interesting to see who takes home the award.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back soon!