Hard to believe.
With the 60th annual CMA Awards airing live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in just over a month on Wednesday, November 18th, the buzz surrounding the show keeps growing with each passing day. With Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves leading the way with the most nominations across the 12 major categories, Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson and Stephen Wilson Jr. are also among the night’s top-nominated artists.
Following the trend set by the past two CMA Awards, women absolutely dominate this year’s set of nominees. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Ella Langley is riding the highs of her record-shattering success with “Choosin’ Texas” to a staggering nine nominations. These nominations include her first-ever Entertainer of the Year nod, Album of the Year for Dandelion, Single and Song of the Year for both “Be Her” and “Choosin’ Texas,” Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Event of the Year (“I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Morgan Wallen) and Music Video of the Year (“Choosin’ Texas”).
Right behind her with seven is “Choosin’ Texas” co-writer and superstar, Miranda Lambert, who snagged seven nominations. These include her work on both Langley’s Dandelion and “Choosin’ Texas” as well as Female Vocalist of the Year, and two Musical Event of the Year nods for “A Song to Sing” with Chris Stapleton and “Horses and Divorces” with Kacey Musgraves.
Leading the charge for the men are the likes of Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson and Stephen Wilson Jr with four nominations. In particular, Wilson Jr. is primed to have a huge night. As a fan-favorite amongst many alt. country fans and us here at Whiskey Riff, the “I’m a Song” singer snagged four nods, including his first-ever Male Vocalist of the Year mention, New Artist of the Year and Song and Music Video of the Year for “Gary.”
And as the anticipation for this year’s awards continues to grow in the days leading up to the show, there’s bound to be a ton of discussions around which artists deserve to win each award, who continues to get robbed and everything in between.
Every year, many wonder how certain artists and bands (especially in the alternative scene) continually get snubbed, but rarely do we ever take a look at the biggest stars that have somehow never been able to snag a single award throughout decades-long careers.
Without further ado, let’s dive into 10 major artists who have shockingly (for better or worse) never taken home a single CMA award.
Dwight Yoakam
Despite bigger names such as Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and more being the primary names you associate with the beloved ’90s era of country music, there’s no denying that Dwight Yoakam is one of the most talented and ultimately underrated artists from the era. With two Grammys, two ACM awards and a plethora of platinum records, the “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere” singer has his fair share of hardware throughout his career.
With that being said, however, he has been inexplicably shut out at the CMAs. Overall, he’s scored eight overall nominations from 1986 to 2001, including Male Vocalist and Single of the Year (“Ain’t That Lonely Yet) in 1993 and four separate Vocal Event of the Year nods.
Pretty baffling to me, considering his overall impact over the past 40 years.
Nominations – 8
- Horizon Award (1986)
- Music Video of the Year – “Honky Tonk Man” (1986)
- Vocal Event of the Year – “Streets of Bakersfield” (1988)
- Vocal Event of the Year – “Buzzin’ Cousins” (1992)
- Male Vocalist of the Year (1993)
- Single of the Year – “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” (1993)
- Vocal Event of the Year – “Same Old Train” (1999)
- Vocal Event of the Year – “Alright, I’m Wrong” (2001)
Zach Bryan
It’s hard to imagine a more fascinating artist in today’s country music landscape than Zach Bryan. In a six-year span, the “Something in the Orange” singer has gone from recording his debut album, DeAnn, in a Florida Airbnb and scoring viral hits online to selling his publishing catalog for a staggering $350 million and, most notably, setting the record for highest-attended concert in U.S. history when he performed to a crowd of 112,408 at Michigan Stadium.
Though there’s no doubt that artists such as Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson and Cody Jinks were the forefathers of the current independent and alternative country renaissance we’ve currently been experiencing over the better half of a decade, there’s no denying that Bryan was the one who blew the door off the hinges, so to speak.
Despite being so popular and cemented in the mainstream as far as all-genre artists are concerned, Bryan has never won a single CMA Award. And while that might seem surprising to casual fans, it makes a lot of sense considering the Oklahoma native himself publicly stated he never wants to be considered at the show back in 2022.
“Guys, I don’t and will never want to be considered at the CMAs. My pride is fine and I appreciate all the love and support and I say it with every ounce of respect to other country artists
To be clear, I’m not trying to insult the validity of a CMA, I respect any artist who receives one and the existence of them; I’m just saying on a personal level it is not one of my priorities to have awards on a shelf in my home. There’s room for more important things there.
I think there are so many talented artist that deserve awarded and will be awarded, and some just don’t care enough about a silly TV program to need an award in the first place.”
Nominations – 3
- New Artist of the Year (2023)
- Music Event of the Year – “I Remember Everything” (2024) [Producer]
Marty Robbins
There’s absolutely no denying that Marty Robbins was a force to be reckoned with in the early days of country music commercially. Til this day, his iconic 1959 album, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, remains a standard of the genre. Despite so many classics, ranging from “Big Iron” to “El Paso,” Robbins never took home any CMA Awards.
In fact, he only received three nominations — all coming in 1970 for Male Vocalist and Single/Song of the Year for “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife.”
Nominations – 3
- Male Vocalist of the Year (1970)
- Single of the Year – “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” (1970)
- Song of the Year – “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” (1970)
Clay Walker
Like Yoakam, Clay Walker was another unsung hero of the 90s. With six #1 hits, four platinum albums and major hits in the 2000s such as “She Won’t Be Lonely Long” and “Fall,” you’d think that Walker would have been shown some love from an awards standpoint.
That’s simply not the case, however. As of today, the “If I Could Make a Living” singer has not received a single nomination — let alone an award — at the CMAs.
Nominations – 0
Chris Young
Though his output over the past decade or so has been less-than-stellar, there was a time when Chris Young was one of the hottest young artists out there. Unlike his output recently, when he debuted, Young was actually spearheading a bit of a traditional movement in the genre. Though he got rewarded for the success of his early work, snagging back-to-back New Artist nods in 2010 and 2011, he never got as much as a nomination for standout hits like “The Man I Want to Be” “Gettin’ You Home” and “Tomorrow.”
A bulk of his eight career nominations came in 2021 for his collaboration with Kane Brown, “Famous Friends,” however, the song failed to secure any awards in 2021.
Nominations – 8
- New Artist of the Year (2010)
- New Artist of the Year (2011)
- Musical Event of the Year – ‘Think of You” (2016)
- Musical Event of the Year – ‘Famous Friends” (2021) [Producer]
- Single of the Year – ‘Famous Friends” (2021) [Producer]
- Music Video of the Year – ‘Famous Friends” (2021)
Kip Moore*
Like many artists out there today, Kip Moore is one of those names that simply has never gotten the attention he deserves. Despite having a #1 right out of the gate with his debut single “Something ‘Bout a Truck” back in 2012, the Georgia native has routinely fallen into the “severely underrated” category throughout most of his career. And yet, it’s never really mattered. He’s carved his own path, earned his own fans around the country, and even around the world, building an impressive and sustainable career without much help from the likes of country radio.
Throughout the years, he’s simply gotten better with age. It seems as if many artists, especially those like Moore who experience success early in their career, tend to fizzle out creatively and never try to reinvent themselves as creatives. That’s simply never been the case with the “She’s Mine” singer.
Ironically, Moore only received his two career CMA nominations early in his career — being nominated for New Artist of the Year twice in 2013 and 2014. Despite only dropping better, more introspective bodies of work since then, he’s been completely shut out of any further nominations, let alone awards.
*Won the 2024 CMA Artist Achievement Award, but not a mainline award
Nominations
- New Artist of the Year (2013)
- New Artist of the Year (2014)
Rosanne Cash
Daughter of the Man in Black, Rosanne Cash, put together quite a successful career for herself, scoring a Grammy in 1985 for “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” (and an additional 12 nominations), 11 #1 hits, three gold albums and more. Despite all the success, she was never able to secure a major award win at either the CMAs or ACMs.
What makes the CMA shutout so shocking is the fact that she was nominated a staggering 10 times from 1981 to 1989, scoring six separate Female Vocalist nominations in the process.
Nominations – 10
- Horizon Award (1981)
- Female Vocalist of the Year (1982)
- Horizon Award (1982)
- Female Vocalist of the Year (1985)
- Female Vocalist of the Year (1986)
- Female Vocalist of the Year (1987)
- Female Vocalist of the Year (1988)
- Vocal Event of the Year – “It’s Such A Small World” (1988)
- Single of the Year – “Tennessee Flat Top Box” (1988)
- Female Vocalist of the Year (1989)
- Vocal Event of the Year – “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” (1989)
Sam Hunt
Look, I can’t say I’m too upset about this one, but it’s downright shocking that Sam Hunt never took home at least one CMA during the height of his career. With smash hits like “Body Like a Back Road,” “House Party,” “Take Your Time” and more, he was everywhere from 2015-2020.
Despite the popularity with modern country fans and pop fans alike, Hunt is currently 0/6 in his career at the CMAs. Notably, “Take Your Time” and “Body Like a Backroad” both hit the rare trifecta of getting a Single and Song of the Year nod in 2015 and 2018, respectively. However, he came home empty-handed every time.
Nominations – 6
- New Artist of the Year (2015)
- Single of the Year – “Take Your Time” (2015)
- Song of the Year – “Take Your Time” (2015)
- Single of the Year – “Body Like a Back Road” (2018)
- Song of the Year – “Body Like a Back Road” (2018)
- Song of the Year – “Body Like a Back Road” (2019)
Cole Swindell
Say what you want about Cole Swindell, but there is absolutely no denying that the “Chillin’ It” singer was a massive artist during the peak of bro-country, scoring smash hits with the likes of the aforementioned track, as well as singles like “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey,” “Let Me See Ya Girl” and “Middle of a Memory.”
Despite how popular the aforementioned hits were, none of those ever received nominations at the notoriously mainstream-leaning show. And then, neither did any of his deeper singles like “You Should Be Here” or “Break Up In The End.”
Instead, he racked up two New Artist of the Year nods, two nominations for 2021’s “Never Say Never” and one for his collaboration/remix with Jo Dee Messina on “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.”
Nominations – 5
- New Artist of the Year (2014)
- New Artist of the Year (2016)
- Music Video of the Year – “Never Say Never” (2022)
- Musical Event of the Year – “Never Say Never” (2022)
- Musical Event of the Year – “She Had Me At Heads Carolina (Remix)” (2023)
Brantley Gilbert*
Finally, Brantley Gilbert has never taken home a CMA Award throughout his career. In a similar vein to Hunt and Swindell, there’s no doubt that Gilbert was successful during the heyday of bro-country. After scoring a Song of the Year nod for writing “Dirt Road Anthem,” which was popularized by Jason Aldean, Gilbert would only score a New Artist of the Year nod in 2012 and an admittedly forgettable Musical Event nomination for “What Happens in a Small Town” with Lindsay Ell.
Nominations – 3
- Song of the Year – “Dirt Road Anthem” (2011)
- New Artist of the Year (2012)
- Musical Event of the Year – “What Happens in a Small Town” (2019)
*Won the 2013 CMA Triple Play Award, but not a mainline award
