Lainey Wilson has been named as the host of the 2025 Country Music Association Awards on ABC — handling those duties by herself this year, after having been brought on as one of three co-hosts for the previous year.
Producers picking the country star to be the telecast’s sole pilot is a sign of how fast her star has risen and how dominant she is as an ambassador for country music at the moment. As it happens, this will mark a rare occurrence of an artist who is nominated for the most trophies on a televised awards show also being the host of that show. Going into this year’s CMAs, Wilson is tied with Ella Langley and Megan Moroney for the most noms, with six each.
It’s only the second time in the last 22 years that the CMAs have gone with a solo host. The previous instance came when Luke Bryan took the reins alone for the 2021 telecast. Prior to that, it hadn’t happened since Vince Gill was the sole host for the show for a long run that lasted from 1994 to 2003.
In 2024, Wilson came on board as a third member of the hosting team, joining Bryan and football great Peyton Manning, who had been paired up as a duo the previous two years.
“I grew up watching the CMA Awards like it was the Super Bowl,” Wilson said in a statement, “so to be hosting for a second year is a true honor. I’m humbled that CMA has trusted me with this role, and I can’t wait to love on this genre that has given me so much.”
The 59th annual show airs live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. ET. It will be available be available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
If Wilson should stay on as host for years to come, she has a couple of role models whose boots she might follow in, as far as racking up a lot of successive years fronting the broadcast.
The aforementioned Gill had a long stint as host with his 10-year run. But the hosts who racked up the greatest number of years in the role were Carrie Underwood, who assumed the role for a dozen years from 2008 to 2019, followed by Brad Paisley, who co-hosted with Underwood for the first 11 of those 12 years. (In her 13th year, Underwood co-hosted with Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton.)
The awards Wilson is up for this year include the top prize, entertainer of the year, which she previously won in a surprise victory in 2023, the first time she was nominated. She is considered a leading favorite to reclaim it this time around, given her recent success selling out her first headlining arena tour. (Last year, she was nominated for the top award a second time but lost to Morgan Wallen, who did not show up to claim the prize.)
Besides being up for entertainer of the year again, Wilson’s other five nominations this year are in the categories for female vocalist of the year; single of the year and song of the year (both for “4x4xU”); album of the year (for “Whirlwind”); and music video of the year (for “Somewhere Over Laredo,” a single included on the deluxe version of “Whirlwind”).
“Whirlwind” is only Wilson’s third major-label album, after she began her career climb with 2021’s “Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’.” A small recurring role on the hit TV series “Yellowstone” provided a boost in her rise to fame. She has had eight top 5 hits on the country airplay chart in the last five years, five of those as a solo artist and three as a featured duet partner.
