Does Lainey Wilson's Unveiling as 2025 CMA Awards Host Signify a New Era for the Ceremony?

Lainey Wilson has been unveiled as the 2025 CMA Awards host, with the ‘Heart Like a Truck’ hitmaker taking the helm after co-hosting with Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning last year.

Speaking ahead of the momentous announcement, the Louisiana native has underlined how much she's looking forward to the November 19th ceremony in Nashville, “I grew up watching the CMA Awards like it was the Super Bowl, 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”.

It's an interesting call from the Country Music Association, with the hosts (at least in recent years) generally being revered legacy artists that are not really in contention for the key awards on the night, such as Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and Reba McEntire.

Lainey Wilson, meanwhile, goes into the 2025 CMA Awards as one of the favourites to win the most coveted gong of the evening, Entertainer of the Year, as well as Female Vocalist of the Year and a host of other accolades. Wilson took home the Entertainer of the Year title back in 2023, with Morgan Wallen winning last year.

Awards shows have come under an increasing amount of flak in recent years for being out of touch with younger listeners, and continuing to champion safer, mainstream artists over dynamic, genre-blurring acts that boast more buzz and streaming might.

Perhaps the CMA's decision to recruit Lainey Wilson, who is unquestionably one of the leading figures in the genre and is beloved by virtually all factions of the country world, is a sign that they are attempting to embrace this younger demographic.

Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, for instance, were brilliant hosts, but they unquestionably appeal to a slightly older demographic than, say, Lainey Wilson and Morgan Wallen. With country music experiencing a streaming boom courtesy of Gen-Z listeners that champion the likes of Shaboozey and Dasha, the CMA Awards have been in need of revamping and modernising for the past five years or so.

And there's still more work required if the CMA Awards wants to resonate with younger listeners that don't generally want to sit through a two hour broadcast. Even so, Wilson's appointment is a move in the right direction. Whether it can truly strike a chord with these listeners will depend on how forward-thinking the actual awards are. If Old Dominion win Group of the Year again, for example, this will elicit a collective eye-roll and an immediate switch across to another channel.

These permutations, however, are out of the hands of Wilson. Regardless of who triumphs, given how amusing, witty and assured Wilson was during the 2024 broadcast, we have no doubt the ‘4X4XU’ crooner will be a fantastic host this November.

Wilson is currently in the middle of her hugely popular Whirlwind Tour, with the country titan set to headline Music City's Bridgestone Arena and Ruoff Music Center later this week.

For more on the CMA Awards, see below:

Featured photo courtesy of Robby Klein/Disney