Link copied
With the 2026 CMA Awards nominations now confirmed, many fans online have been speculating that Morgan Wallen's absence from key categories like Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year could be because he withdrew himself from consideration.
It's something we've seen with the GRAMMYs, where Wallen and his team decided not to submit I'm the Problem or any singles from the record for consideration this year. It's an approach many other artists have also taken with the GRAMMYs specifically in recent years, including Zach Bryan, Drake, The Weeknd and more.
But the CMA Awards is a slightly different kettle of fish. While the GRAMMYs utilise an opt-in process, where artists have to actively submit their music for consideration, the CMA Awards does not allow artists to remove themselves from the ballot process.
As a result, Wallen's apparent ‘snub’ - as many fans are declaring it - in this year's 2026 CMA Awards nominations must simply be a result of CMA members’ voting, rather than any decision from Wallen and his camp to withdraw his music.
Fans might remember back in 2020, when Garth Brooks announced that he'd be withdrawing himself from the Entertainer of the Year category after receiving flak for winning in 2019, when many thought Carrie Underwood was deserving of the title.
However, the Country Music Association swiftly clarified that he was unable to do so, with the CMA confirming in an official statement, “The nominees and winners of the CMA Awards are selected by the vote of eligible members of the Country Music Association and not by CMA. The long-standing CMA Awards rules do not allow individuals to remove themselves from the balloting process at any point”.
Even so, Brooks’ very public request not to be considered seemingly did impact the voting, with Eric Church taking the top prize in 2020. And it's very possible that something similar has happened with Wallen, where, despite there being no official withdrawal from the race, his decision not to attend in 2024 or 2025 - despite winning Entertainer of the Year in 2024 - might have influenced CMA voting.
Of course, Wallen and the CMA have a somewhat tense relationship, after the country music governing body banned the Sneedville megastar from the ceremony in 2021 due to his racial slur incident. Then, in 2023, after inviting him to perform with Post Malone and HARDY, they didn't give him any awards, a move that many took as a very high-profile snub, especially given how much of the promotion around the show was based on the fact that he, Post and HARDY were appearing.
Then, in 2024, Wallen won Entertainer of the Year, but decided not to show up, leading to a very awkward conclusion to the TV broadcast. In 2025, Wallen was again absent.
With Wallen continuing to post touring numbers few other artists in any genre can compete with, along with colossal streaming figures, he is viewed by many as the biggest artist in country music, making his omission from the Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories in particular raise a few eyebrows online.
It does feel like a shame, given how this would've been one of the most competitive Entertainer of the Year categories in recent memory, with both Wallen and Ella Langley cementing themselves as two of the most prominent figures in modern country.
Langley is the leading nominee for this year's awards, with a momentous nine nods. The ‘Choosin’ Texas’ hitmaker is joined in the prestigious Entertainer of the Year category by Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton and Cody Johnson. After a blockbuster year, Langley is widely tipped to secure her first ever Entertainer gong.
