On September 30, 2024, the Association announced that Lainey Wilson, would join fellow CMA award winner Luke Bryan and NFL superstar Peyton Manning as the pair would once again return as the hosts for the upcoming ceremony. Nominee eligibility ran from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.[2]Voting for the CMA Awards Final Ballot ends Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Chris Stapleton has the opportunity to extend his Male Vocalist of the Year win count to eight, which would be the second time he has won the award in four consecutive years. He currently holds the record in this category with seven wins.
Old Dominion has the chance to set the record for consecutive Vocal Group of the Year wins this year with seven. They currently share the record of six with The Statler Brothers, Little Big Town, and Rascal Flatts.
Both Brooks & Dunn and Chris Stapleton have the opportunity to become the most winning CMA Awards artists of all time this year. Brooks & Dunn are currently tied with Vince Gill at 18 wins and a Vocal Duo victory would move them ahead to 19. For Stapleton, he currently has 16 wins and is nominated for five awards this year, so winning three of the five would move him into first.
Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood have their nomination streak ended after nearly two decades of being nominated in every ceremony since 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Aja Romano of Vox wrote that although there may be "logistical reasons" behind the snub, "the CMA has a noticeable pattern of erasing and sidelining Black women" and that "Beyoncé is actively aware of this gatekeeping, [...] It’s hardly any wonder she distanced herself and her album from the country establishment from the start; she likely knew well before the rest of us that the CMAs were never going to let her in the door".[13] Highlighting that the first black woman to win an award at the CMAs was Tracy Chapman for Luke Combs' cover of "Fast Car" in 2023, Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone wrote that it "feels less like honorable accomplishments and more like bright red indicators of the sectors of the industry that are most resistant to change" and stating that "the institution has barely made an effort to recognize Black artists to begin, so at some point the snubs begin to register as expected rather than surprising".[14]
US nonprofit civil rights organization Color of Change president Rashad Robinson accused the ceremony to not recognized African Americans country musicians and the history of the genere, stating: "Recognizing Beyoncé at the CMAs would force everyone to confront a multitude of truths: the roots of country music in Black music, the history of racism in country music and the prospect of having to give up not only their white audiences but the part of their audience that can’t stand to see Black excellence succeed in this country. It would also force them to confront the one enclave of culture they use as an escape from ever having to see Black people: their music".[15]