The 2023 CMA Awards are going down Wednesday night (Nov. 8) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, so now we wait and see: Who will emerge the night’s big winner?
Lainey Wilson heads into the show as the leading nominee, with nine nods. (In fact, she and her “wait in the truck” collaborator HARDY already took home two prizes for their hit duet before the show.) Next up is Jelly Roll with five nods, Luke Combs and HARDY with four, and Jordan Davis, Ashley McBryde, producer/mix engineer Joey Moi, songwriter/producer Jordan Schmidt, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and musician/producer Derek Wells with three.
You can follow along with Billboard below to see who leaves the night’s top winner.
Entertainer of the year
Luke Combs
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
Single of the year
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
“Fast Car” – Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews
“Heart Like a Truck” – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“Need a Favor” – Jelly Roll; Producer: Austin Nivarel; Mix Engineer: Jeff Braun
“Next Thing You Know” – Jordan Davis; Producer: Paul DiGiovanni; Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley
“wait in the truck” – HARDY (feat. Lainey Wilson); Producers: HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells; Mix Engineer: Joey Moi
Album of the year
Award goes to Artist, Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville – Ashley McBryde; Producers: John Osborne, John Peets; Mix Engineers: Gena Johnson, John Osborne
Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Gettin’ Old – Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Mix Engineers: Michael H. Brauer, Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews
One Thing at a Time – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi, Cameron Montgomery; Mix Engineers: Josh Ditty, Joey Moi, Eivind Nordland
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat – Kelsea Ballerini; Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym; Mix Engineers: Dan Grech-Marguerat, Alysa Vanderheym
Song of the year
Award goes to Songwriter(s)
“Fast Car”; Songwriter: Tracy Chapman
“Heart Like a Truck”; Songwriters: Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson
“Next Thing You Know”; Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne
“Tennessee Orange”; Songwriters: David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams
“wait in the truck”; Songwriters: Renee Blair, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt
Female vocalist of the year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Lainey Wilson
Male vocalist of the year
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Vocal group of the year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band
Vocal duo of the year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War And Treaty
Musical event of the year
Award goes to Artists and Producer(s)
“Save Me” – Jelly Roll (with Lainey Wilson); Producers: Zach Crowell, David Ray Stevens
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina (Remix)” – Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina; Producer: Zach Crowell
“Thank God” – Kane Brown (with Katelyn Brown); Producer: Dann Huff
WINNER: “wait in the truck” – HARDY (feat. Lainey Wilson); Producers: HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells
“We Don’t Fight Anymore” – Carly Pearce (featuring Chris Stapleton); Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Carly Pearce
Musician of the year
Jenee Fleenor
Paul Franklin
Rob McNelley
Derek Wells
Charlie Worsham
Music video of the year
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
“Light on in the Kitchen” – Ashley McBryde; Director: Reid Long
“Memory Lane” – Old Dominion; Directors: Mason Allen, Nicki Fletcher
“Need a Favor” – Jelly Roll; Director: Patrick Tohill
“Next Thing You Know” – Jordan Davis; Director: Running Bear
WINNER: “wait in the truck” – HARDY (feat. Lainey Wilson); Director: Justin Clough
New artist of the year
Zach Bryan
Jelly Roll
Parker McCollum
Megan Moroney
Hailey Whitters
2023 CMA Broadcast Awards
Finalists for broadcast personality of the year (by market size):
Weekly National
“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Cumulus/Westwood One
WINNER: “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Compass Media Networks
“Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Silverfish Media
“On The Horizon with Buzz Brainard” (Buzz Brainard) – SiriusXM
“Y’all Access with Kelly Sutton” (Kelly Sutton) – Firefly Media/Silverfish Media
Daily National
WINNER: “Angie Ward” – iHeartMedia
“The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek “Big D” Haskins, Sean “Bubba” Powell, Patrick Thomas, and Carsen Humphreville) – Silverfish Media
“Katie & Company” (Katie Neal) – Audacy
“Nights with Elaina” (Elaina Smith) – Westwood One
“The Sam Alex Show” (Sam Alex) – Sam Alex Productions, LLC
Major Market
“Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Kia Becht, and Sam Sansevere) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
“Frito & Katy” (Tucker “Frito” Young and Katy Dempsey) – KCYY, San Antonio, Texas
WINNER: “Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
“Josh, Rachael & Grunwald” (Josh Holleman, Rachael Hunter, and Steve Grunwald) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.
“Scotty Kay” (Scotty Kay) – WUSN, Chicago, Ill.
Large Market
“The Big Dave Show” (“Big Dave” Chandler, Ashley Heiert, and Jason “Stattman” Statt) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
“The Morning Drive with Mike Kellar and Jenny Matthews” (Mike Kellar and Jenny Matthews) – KBEQ, Kansas City, Mo.
“Scott and Shannen” (Scott Dolphin and “Shannen O” Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
“Tim & Chelsea In The Morning” (Tim Leary and Chelsea Taylor) – WIRK, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
WINNER: “The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Tay Hamilton) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
Medium Market
“Cait & Bradley Morning Show” (Cait Fisher and Matt Bradley) – KWEN, Tulsa, Okla.
“Clay & Company” (Clay Moden, Rob Banks, and Kadie Daye) – WYRK, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
“Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
WINNER: “Mo & StyckMan” (Melissa “Mo” Wagner and Greg “StyckMan” Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
“Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
Small Market
“The B100 Morning Show with Brittney Baily” (Brittney Baily) – WBYT, South Bend, Ind.
“The Eddie Foxx Show” (Eddie Foxx and Amanda Foxx) – WKSF, Asheville, N.C.
“Officer Don & DeAnn” (“Officer Don” Evans and DeAnn Stephens) – WBUL, Lexington-Fayette, Ky.
“Steve & Tiffany in the Morning” (Steve Waters and Tiffany Kay) – WFLS, Fredericksburg, Va.
WINNER: “Steve, Ben and Nikki” (Steve Stroud, Ben Walker, and Nikki Thomas) – WXBQ, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
Finalists for radio station of the year (by market size):
Major Market
KCYY – San Antonio, Texas
WINNER: KEEY – Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minn.
KKBQ – Houston, Texas
KSCS – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.
Large Market
WIRK – West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
WKDF – Nashville, Tenn.
WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
WINNER: WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
WWKA – Orlando, Fla.
Medium Market
WINNER: KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
WGGY – Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.
WPCV – Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
WQMX – Akron, Ohio
Small Market
KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
WBYT – South Bend, Ind.
WKML – Fayetteville, N.C.
WINNER: WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.