Lainey Wilson snagged the biggest award of the night at the 2025 CMAs! She just won her second Entertainer of the Year award, making her the third woman to ever do it.
She beat out four of the genre’s biggest superstars to take it home: Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen were all nominated at Wednesday night’s ceremony.
Lainey Wilson’s CMA Acceptance Speech
“Thank you Jesus. Thank you Mama, Daddy and Duck,” she said wearing camouflage bellbottoms. “I could not do this without my village.”
Wilson also took Female Vocalist and Album of the Year at the CMA Awards. She’s become the dominant artist in the genre — one whose talent and work ethic is universally respected by her peers.
Of course, she thanked the fans, too. “They just keep making my dreams come true. We ’bout to party at Bellbottoms Up,” she shouted, referring to her Nashville bar.
Why Did Lainey Wilson Win Entertainer of the Year at the 2025 CMA Awards?
Wilson is arguably the hardest-working performer in this category — and not only because she just finished hosting the whole 2025 CMA Awards by herself!
This young superstar has been putting in the work all year long. Her live shows are immersive, her singles are consistent chart-toppers and her commitment to her fans is self-evident.
it’s hard to call Wilson an up-and-comer at this point, since she’s already a bona fide superstar who won the CMA Entertainer of the Year trophy in 2023. But Wilson is a little newer to the game than the other acts in this category, and she’s entered into her A-Lister status with a self-assuredness and steady hand that promises a career that’ll stick around for a long time.
Why Isn’t Morgan Wallen at the 2025 CMA Awards?
Fans might be disappointed that Wallen didn’t attend the awards show, but they’re probably not all that surprised.
He’s been skipping awards shows for a while now, including last year’s CMAs, when he won Entertainer of the Year for the first time.
The singer hasn’t said expressly why he stopped going to awards shows. Some fans guessed that he had a grudge against the CMA — and other country music institutions — after they banned him from the 2021 awards after his racist slur scandal.
But he’s been back since then, once in 2022 and once in 2023, both times to perform. It seems like that theory probably isn’t it — or at least, isn’t the whole story.
Whatever the reason, Wallen all but told fans he wouldn’t be back for this year’s CMAs during a pop-up at the Ryman Auditorium in early November.
The singer was a surprise guest at Ella Langley’s headlining show. Before they sang a duet version of his Jason Isbell cover, “Cover Me Up,” Wallen cracked a joke: “It takes more than an awards show to get me out to Broadway these days, I’ll tell you that.”
The 2025 CMA Awards took place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and aired live on ABC. Lainey Wilson served as host of the show this year. The broadcast will be available to stream next-day on demand on Hulu.
2025 CMA Awards Red Carpet Pictures
See country music’s best dressed from the 2025 CMA Awards. These red carpet pictures feature CMA performers, presenters and more, plus country music’s hottest couples.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
9 Country Stars Who Skipped the 2025 CMA Awards
We knew Blake Shelton would miss the CMA Awards, and weren’t surprised to not see Morgan Wallen. However, the list of stars who skipped in 2025 is much longer than anyone expected.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
