When the 2026CMA Awards nominationswere announced on Thursday (Sept. 10),Ella Langleybecame just the eighth artist in CMA history to land two single of the year nominations in the same year. Interestingly, the first five times this happened, it involved male artists. The last three times, it has involved female artists.
Langley is nominated both as artist and co-producer of her hits “Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her.” She co-produced both hits with Miranda Lambert and Ben West.
The other nominees in the category are Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” (which she co-produced with Jack Antonoff), Lainey Wilson’s “Somewhere Over Laredo” (produced by Jay Joyce) and Cody Johnson’s “The Fall” (produced by Trent Willmon).
This marks the first time in CMA history that female artists have accounted for four of the five nominees for single of the year.
In three of the seven previous cases where an artist had two single of the year nominations in the same year, that artist won with one of their nominated hits. In the four others, they lost to someone else. So, there’s no strong evidence that an artist with two nominations will split their votes, though many believe such a phenomenon exists.
Here are the eight times in CMA Awards history that one artist had two singles vying for single of the year. We also show you who won that year. Who will win this year? We’ll find out on Nov. 18, when the 60th annual CMA Awards are presented at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
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Johnny Cash, 1969
Nominated singles: “A Boy Named Sue,” “Daddy Sang Bass”
Winner that year: “A Boy Named Sue”
Notes: Cash’s version of Shel Silverstein’s story song beat out his version of Carl Perkins’ song. This was Cash’s first of two wins in this category. He also won for his haunting reading of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” in 2003. The other 1969 nominees were Glen Campbell’s “Galveston,” Charley Pride’s “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)” and Freddy Weller’s version of Joe South’s pop hit “Games People Play.”
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Merle Haggard, 1970
Nominated singles: “Okie From Muskogee,” “The Fightin’ Side of Me”
Winner that year: “Okie From Muskogee”
Notes: This was Haggard’s only win in this category. The other nominees were Charley Pride’s “(I’m So) Afraid of Losing You Again,” Marty Robbins’ “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” and Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’.”
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Jerry Reed, 1971
Nominated singles: “Amos Moses,” “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot”
Winner that year: Sammi Smith’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night”
Notes: Reed’s two nominees lost to Smith’s exquisite reading of Kris Kristofferson’s classic ballad. The other nominees were Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden” and Freddie Hart’s “Easy Loving.”
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George Strait, 1997
Nominated singles: “Carried Away,” “One Night at a Time”
Winner that year: Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine”
Notes: Strait had won in this category the previous year with “Check Yes or No.” If he had won this time, he would have become the first artist in CMA history to win back-to-back single of the year awards. It was not to be.
Instead, Lady A became the first act to achieve that feat in 2009-10 with “I Run to You” and “Need You Now.” Strait won for a second time in 2008 with “I Saw God Today.” The other 1997 nominees were Pam Tillis’ “All the Good Ones Are Gone” and Tim McGraw with Faith Hill’s “It’s Your Love.” McGraw finally won in 2004 for “Live Like You Were Dying.”
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Alan Jackson, 2002
Nominated singles: “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” “Drive (For Daddy Gene)”
Winner that year: “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”
Notes: Jackson’s tender rumination on 9/11 was his second winner in this category, following “Chattahoochee” (1993). “Where Were You” wasn’t the only song inspired by the events of 9/11 to be nominated: Toby Keith’s tonally opposite “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” was also in the finals. The other nominees were Martina McBride’s “Blessed” and Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song).”
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Miranda Lambert, 2010
Nominated singles: “The House That Built Me,” “White Liar”
Winner that year: Lady A’s “Need You Now”
Notes: Lambert may have split her votes, though Lady A’s crossover smash had such broad appeal it might well have won anyway. Lambert won four years later for “Automatic.” The other nominees were Easton Corbin’s “A Little More Country Than That” and Blake Shelton’s “Hillbilly Bone” (featuring Trace Adkins). Shelton finally won nine years later with “God’s Country.”
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Lainey Wilson, 2023
Nominated singles: “Heart Like a Truck,” HARDY’s “Wait in the Truck” (featuring Wilson)
Winner that year: Luke Combs’ “Fast Car”
Notes: This was the only time that an artist received one nod as a lead artist and one as a featured artist in the same year.The other nominees were Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” and Jordan Davis’s “Next Thing You Know.”
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Ella Langley, 2026
Nominated singles: “Be Her,” “Choosin’ Texas”
Winner that year: To be determined
Notes: The other nominees are Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You,” Lainey Wilson’s “Somewhere Over Laredo” and Cody Johnson’s “The Fall.”