53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards were held on November 13, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony recognizes some of the best country music released during the eligibility period. Carrie Underwood hosted the event with special guest hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, celebrating legendary women in country music.
Background "In addition to awarding the year's best and brightest in the genre, the 53rd Annual CMA Awards will celebrate the legacy of women within country music, and we couldn't think of a more dynamic group of women to host the show." said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern. For the first time in CMA history, women were nominated in every category, except Male Vocalist of the Year. However, when all was said and done, the sole female Entertainer of the Year nominee, Carrie Underwood, lost the top honor to Garth Brooks; upsetting fans and leading to Garth Brooks stepping down from the category the following year.
Winners and nominees The CMA Awards nominees were announced live on Good Morning America by Jimmie Allen, Ashley McBryde, Midland and Morgan Wallen. For the 53rd CMA Awards, an artist must have released work in the eligibility period which ran from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. On November 6, 2019, Kris Kristofferson was revealed to be the recipient of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Winners were denoted in Bold.
Entertainer of the YearAlbum of the YearGarth Brooks Eric Church Chris Stapleton Carrie Underwood Keith UrbanGirl — Maren Morris Center Point Road — Thomas Rhett Cry Pretty — Carrie Underwood Dan + Shay — Dan + Shay Desperate Man — Eric ChurchMale Vocalist of the YearFemale Vocalist of the YearLuke Combs Dierks Bentley Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton Keith UrbanKacey Musgraves Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Maren Morris Carrie UnderwoodVocal Group of the YearVocal Duo of the YearOld Dominion Lady Antebellum Little Big Town Midland Zac Brown BandDan + Shay Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Florida Georgia Line Maddie & TaeSingle of the YearSong of the Year"God's Country" — Blake Shelton "Burning Man" — Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne "Girl" — Maren Morris "Millionaire" — Chris Stapleton "Speechless" — Dan + Shay"Beautiful Crazy" — Luke Combs, Wyatt B. Durrette III, Robert Williford "Girl" — Maren Morris, Sarah Aarons, Greg Kurstin "God's Country" — Devin Dawson, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy "Rainbow" — Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves "Tequila" — Dan Smyers, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan ReynoldNew Artist of the YearMusician of the YearAshley McBryde Cody Johnson Midland Carly Pearce Morgan WallenJenee Fleenor, Fiddle Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar Mac McAnally, Guitar Ilya Toshinsky, Banjo/Guitar Derek Wells, GuitarMusic Video of the YearMusical Event of the Year"Rainbow" — Kacey Musgraves; (Dir. Hannah Lux Davis) "Burning Man" — Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne; (Dir. Wes Edwards) "Girl" — Maren Morris; (Dir. Dave Meyers) "God's Country" — Blake Shelton; (Dir. Sophie Muller) "Some of It" — Eric Church; (Dir. Reid Long)"Old Town Road (Remix)" — Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus "All My Favorite People" — Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne "Brand New Man" — Brooks & Dunn and Luke Combs "Dive Bar" — Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton "What Happens in a Small Town" — Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay EllWillie Nelson Lifetime Achievement AwardKris Kristofferson
International Awards AwardRecipientInternational Artist Achievement AwardKacey MusgravesInternational Country Broadcaster AwardBaylen LeonardJo Walker-Meador International AwardSusan HeymannJeff Walker Global Country Artist AwardTravis Collins and Ward Thomas
Performers Artist(s) Song(s) Dolly Parton Reba McEntire Carrie Underwood Jennifer Nettles Karen Fairchild Kimberly Schlapman The Highwomen Tanya Tucker Gretchen Wilson Crystal Gayle Terri Clark Sara Evans Martina McBride Celebrating Women of Country "Those Memories of You" "You're Lookin' at Country" "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" "Delta Dawn" "Redneck Woman" "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" "Better Things to Do" "Born to Fly" "Independence Day" Dan + Shay "Speechless" Miranda Lambert "It All Comes Out in the Wash" Reba McEntire "Fancy" Chris Stapleton Pink "Love Me Anyway" Old Dominion "One Man Band" Carrie Underwood "Drinking Alone" Luke Combs "Beer Never Broke My Heart" Kelsea Ballerini "Homecoming Queen?" Kelsea Ballerini Lindsay Ell Runaway June Maddie & Tae Ashley McBryde Carly Pearce Little Big Town "Girl Crush" Lady Antebellum Halsey "What If I Never Get Over You""Graveyard" Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne "Hard Workin' Man" Maren Morris "Girl" Blake Shelton Jenee Fleenor "God's Country" Thomas Rhett "Remember You Young" Dolly Parton For King & Country Zach Williams "God Only Knows" "There Was Jesus" "Faith" Keith Urban "We Were" Dierks Bentley Sheryl Crow Chris Janson John Osborne Joe Walsh Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award honoring Kris Kristofferson "Me and Bobby McGee" Eric Church "Some of It" Kacey Musgraves Willie Nelson "Rainbow Connection" "Rainbow" Garth Brooks Blake Shelton "Dive Bar"
Presenters Presenter(s)AwardLara Spencer and Deana CarterSingle of the YearJennifer Nettles and Kristin ChenowethSong of the YearBlanco Brown and Jim GaffiganNew Artist of the YearJimmie Allen and Midland Vocal Duo of the YearHannah Brown, Cody Johnson and Morgan WallenVocal Group of the YearBobby Bones and Joe WalshAlbum of the YearTrisha YearwoodMale Vocalist of the YearJanie Fricke, Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride and Pam TillisFemale Vocalist of the YearReese WitherspoonEntertainer of the Year
Notes Carrie Underwood returned as host for her twelfth time; however, she was not joined by Brad Paisley for this year's show. Following the broadcast, Underwood announced that she would not return as the host for the 54th CMA Awards. Jenee Fleenor was the first female ever to be nominated for Musician of the Year and subsequently became the first female to win the award. Kris Kristofferson was unable to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award in person because he had a prior commitment to play a show on the same night.
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