It still matters. That’s all you need to know about Lainey Wilson when it comes to Entertainer of the Year awards.
The “Somewhere Over Laredo” singer picked up another nomination for CMA Entertainer of the Year ahead of the 2025 show. This is her third straight year in the category, and if she wins, it’ll be her second win.
- The 2025 CMA Awards will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
- Once again, the broadcast will originate from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
- Watch the CMA Awards live on ABC, or the following day on Hulu.
Related: 2025 CMA Awards Nominations — Snubs and Surprises!
Nominations were announced at 12PM CT on Monday (Sept. 8), with the EOY category coming last. That meant a lot of anxious waiting around for Wilson and other Entertainer hopefuls.
In a video shared to social media, one sees Wilson applauding fellow nominees Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen (filming began after Luke Combs was mentioned first). She looks like a football fan desperately hoping their team’s kicker makes a Super Bowl-winning field goal with no time left on the clock.
What she does next is just as awesome.
We’re going to guess that the person filming was her future husband Duck Hodges. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was a friend or assistant.
It doesn’t matter.
The predictable thing to do would be to wrap your arms around the neck of whomever is closest and break into tears, but Wilson smiles, jumps up and down and slaps hands in a very sporting kind of way. She’s Caitlin Clark after a clutch 3-pointer that she’s trained all her life for. She wants this nomination, but she also feels like she deserves it.
She’s absolutely right.
Wilson’s business-like approach to her career is part of why she’s picked up three lifetime EOY (CMA and ACM) awards. This isn’t a girl who just feels lucky to be here.
She’s a grown woman who knows she’s put the work in and has earned it. That’s very inspiring.
In total, Wilson picked up nominations in six categories, but this year she might have found something even more valuable: balance. Talking to Taste of Country, she reflected on the true vacation she took last summer and admitted she was able to stop and soak it all up for a little while.
PICTURES: See Inside Lainey Wilson’s Nashville Home
Keep scrolling to see some of our favorite parts of her home!
Gallery Credit: Jess Rose
Lainey Wilson and Duck Hodges’ Relationship Timeline
Lainey Wilson and Duck Hodges dated for nearly four years before getting engaged in February 2025. Here is a timeline of their romance, from first date to going public, to moving in together, to now!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
