In perhaps the least surprising development in recent CMA Awards history, Ella Langley emerged at the front of the pack when nominations for the 2026 telecast were announced Thursday morning, scoring nine in all, just one shy of the all-time single-year record set by Alan Jackson in 2002.
Miranda Lambert has this year second-most nominations, with seven. Some are for her own releases, but it’s notable that four of Lambert’s nods come for her work as a songwriter or producer on recordings by… Ella Langley.
Others being rewarded by Country Music Association voters with multiple nominations include Kacey Musgraves and Ben West (Langley’s co-producer) with five each; Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Stephen Wilson Jr. with four each; and Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs and Dave Clauss (Langley’s mix engineer) with three nominations each. (Scroll down for the full list of nominees.)
Foremost among Langley’s nine nods is her first-tine nomination for the CMAs’ top prize, entertainer of the year. Given that Langley has the biggest hit of the year in any genre with “Choosin’ Texas,” a smash that helped propel her to arena headliner status, she has to be considered a frontrunner for the top prize despite this being her first time landing in that rarefied territory.
